Dr. Graeme Worboys has kindly forwarded valuable information from a recent event in Australia.  He and Dr. Stephen Woodley gave Masterclass presentations on landscape-scale conservation and ecological integrity at the Parks Beyond Boundaries 2012 conference at Adelaide, Australia on May 25.  This was the Fifth International Biennial Parks Forum Management and Leadership Conference.

Their presentations and other conference outputs can be viewed at: http://www.parksforum.org/cms/pages/Seminars%2C-Master-Classes-%26amp%3B-Speaker-Tours.html

Additional presentations from the main Parks Beyond Boundaries 2012 conference are also available in video form on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ParksForum/videos

Breaking News from Dr. Graeme Worboys:

I am very pleased to advise that the Australian Government has released Australia’s draft National Wildlife Corridors Report today for community consultation. The draft report to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment, The Hon Tony Burke MP, was prepared by the National Wildlife Corridors Advisory Group, a Group which was chaired by the Hon Bob Debus AM.

This is the first whole-of-continent approach to connectivity conservation for the world and recognises a range of different corridors at different scales , including, importantly, a few select and strategic (yet to be designated) National Wildlife Corridors. The draft report also advises that new Legislation is proposed to be introduced later this year to formalise the implementation of the NWC plan. This is a proactive step by the Australian Government to help achieve both Aichi (CBD) Targets as well as Australia’s own Biodiversity Strategy targets. It is a formidable step forward in assisting Australian and migratory species survive in a climate change world. Comments on this draft would be very welcome and the website provides guidance on how to achieve this. The Draft Plan will be upgraded and then formalised by the Minister following the  community consultation period which ends on April 20^th 2012.

News coverage of the report. Press Release of the report. Editorial opinion of the report.

Draft report is available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/wildlife-corridors/index.html

Nik Lopoukhine, Chairman of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), has recently received new honors for his diligent work as an advocate of protected areas.

He has been selected by Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to receive the prestigious J.B. Harkin Award for 2012. Harkin is considered the Father of Canadian National Parks. This award is given to those who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the conservation of Canada’s parks and wilderness.

We send Nik our hearty congratulations - "Well done, sir!".

As we prepare for the Sept. 2012 World Conservation Congress in Korea, the IUCN is featuring a series of  valuable articles that allow people with local conservation interests to raise issues for mountain experts and the Congress to address.  Dr. Graeme Worboys is featured in this month's article on ways for local people to engage in a variety of important mountain protection issues: Local to Global––a Swiss-Italian valley brought to IUCN's Congress

Dr. Graeme Worboys has alerted us that an important environmental report has recently been published.  The Australian State of the Environment Report on Connectivity Conservation, prepared by Ian Pulsford and Graeme is now publicly available on this website: http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2011/report/land/index.html

We are pleased to announce that the fourth national assessment of the state of Australia’s environment was launched today by the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the Hon Tony Burke MP. For the first time in national environmental reporting, Australia State of the Environment 2011 goes beyond a descriptive summary of evidence to include graded ‘report-card’ style assessments of environment condition and trends, pressures and management effectiveness. It also includes discussions of the drivers of environmental change, resilience, risks, and future projections or ‘outlooks’. Written by an independent committee of experts, the report covers nine aspects of the Australian environment – atmosphere, inland water, land, marine environment, Antarctic environment, biodiversity, heritage, built environment and coasts. The State of the Environment 2011 Committee and Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities thank you for your involvement in the report’s preparation.  Australia State of the Environment 2011 is available online, along with a range of additional material, at www.environment.gov.au/soe <http://www.environment.gov.au/soe>