Joint Statement

Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW)

Fourteen international organisations join together ahead of World Wildlife Day 2023

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This year’s World Wildlife Day theme of ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’ highlights the many ways in which people can make a positive difference for wildlife.

Wildlife is a key part of natural ecosystems and broader landscapes. Wildlife is also a valuable natural asset which has economic, social, and cultural values from local to international levels. But it is disappearing at a rapid pace. Partnerships are essential to reverse the decline of wildlife and sustain all life on earth. Partnerships can also help reconcile differences between different stakeholders and produce much needed new ideas and solutions.

The Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) is a prominent example of productive collaboration among fourteen international organizations with substantive mandates and programmes to promote the sustainable use and conservation of wildlife resources. The partnership works to increase cooperation and coordination on sustainable wildlife management issues among its members and partners.

Established in March 2013, the focus of CPW was originally on terrestrial vertebrate wildlife, and it was initially tasked with developing guidance for a sustainable wild meat sector. More recently, at the 14th meeting of the CPW in July 2022, the partners recognized that this scope should be extended to address the broader issues of sustainable use of wild species, beyond terrestrial vertebrate wildlife. More recently, at the 14th meeting of the CPW in July 2022, the partners recognized that this scope should be extended to address the broader issues of sustainable use of wild species, beyond terrestrial vertebrate wildlife.

CITES celebrates its 50th anniversary and the CPW celebrates its 10th anniversary this March. The Chair of the CPW, Ivonne Higuero, Secretary-General of CITES said "When the CPW was established, sustainable use and management of wildlife was difficult to find on the political agenda. It is good news that on its 10th anniversary, we can affirm that the importance of sustainable use and management of wildlife have been recognized in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Assessment (IPBES) Report on the Sustainable Use of Wild Species and in several targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework."

On the occasion of World Wildlife Day, the CPW wishes to announce that it has agreed to work together on the following new priorities:

  • To support countries to ensure that the use and trade of wildlife is legal, sustainable and safe;
  • To raise awareness of the links between sustainable use of wildlife, food security, livelihoods and well-being, culture and the integrity of landscapes;
  • To promote the prevention, management and reduction of human-wildlife conflict and enhance coexistence;
  • To embed the sustainable use and management of wildlife in the One Health agenda; and
  • To advocate for sustainable and inclusive wildlife economies.

Vice Chair, Dilys Roe, Biodiversity Team Leader at IIED and Chair of the IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods (SULi) Specialist Group said “With these new thematic objectives, we hope that we will be well-placed to support collective efforts to support countries to implement the newly adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and meet their obligations under the biodiversity-related multilateral environmental agreements.”

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The Partnership collectively would like to wish everyone a Happy World Wildlife Day!

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