CBSG North America Working Group

Convenors: Anne Baker, Philip Nyhus

The recently-formed CBSG North America regional network (inclusive of the USA and Canada) will make its debut at the CBSG Annual Meeting in Orlando.  The mission of CBSG North America is fairly lofty, and we hope that discussion within this working group will form the foundation for an exciting start to this new CBSG regional network.

The mission of CBSG North America is to increase the effectiveness of species conservation efforts by:

  • facilitating and promoting collaboration among conservation stakeholders: North American zoos and aquariums, the IUCN/SSC Specialist groups, conservation NGO’s, the academic community, and government entities;
  • assisting in the assessment of risks to threatened and endangered populations;
  • increasing awareness of the PHVA process and facilitating its use in conservation planning;
  • expanding participation of North American zoos and aquariums, the academic community, wildlife agencies, SSC taxon specialist groups, and other interested parties in the work of CBSG;
  • providing training in facilitation and modeling for species risk assessments and conservation planning;
  • providing assistance to the CBSG staff that supports their efforts to develop and test new conservation management tools;
  • working collaboratively with other CBSG regional networks.

 

The conveners (Anne Baker and Philip Nyhus) would like to take advantage of the location of the CBSG Annual Meeting in North America to hear from members in this region about their needs and wants with respect to conservation activities and how CBSG North America might assist them. If you are from the North American region we hope you will plan to attend this working group session, think about the following questions, bring your own set of questions, and share your thoughts with others in the community.


1. Conservation planning has emerged as a topic of considerable interest.  The co-conveners of CBSG North America are interested in facilitating and developing opportunities to promote more effective conservation planning, including building on prior work by CBSG and other IUCN entities.

Questions:

  • In what ways have you, your organization, or your networks engaged in conservation planning?
  • When you begin conservation planning for your organization, who is usually involved?
  • How do you evaluate potential conservation initiatives?
  • Which conservation efforts at your organization (your zoo or aquarium, your NGO, your SSP, etc.) have been successful, and why?  Which have been less successful and why?  What would have made a difference in those less successful efforts
  • Apart from funding, what is the main challenge to your organization to becoming involved in a conservation effort?
  • In what ways could CBSG North America contribute to promoting opportunities or tools to support more effective conservation planning and action?


 
2. CBSG North America hopes to facilitate and promote collaboration among conservation stakeholders, including  North American zoos and aquariums, the IUCN/SSC specialist groups, conservation NGO’s, the academic community, and government entities.  One idea the co-conveners have discussed is to host a small meeting to learn about, discuss, and brainstorm:  (1) examples of existing collaborations that have worked well, (2) ideas for how to strengthen current collaborations, and (3) opportunities to develop novel collaborations to promote the effectiveness of species conservation efforts.  Another idea would be to focus more specifically on the role zoos as catalysts for conservation.

Questions:

  • Do you think such a meeting would be worthwhile to pursue?
  • What possible focus areas (thematic, geographic, institutions, or other) do you think might generate the most enthusiasm?
  • Would you, your institution, or your network be interested in collaborating in this effort?


3. As the newest CBSG regional network, CBSG North America is interested in promoting awareness about CBSG North America and encouraging new “membership” among diverse stakeholders in the United States and Canada, particularly among groups (like academic and research institutions, government agencies, and other conservation organizations) that may be less familiar or have had less experience interacting with CBSG.

Questions:

  • What strategies do you think might be effective to increase awareness and participation in CBSG North America?
  • How might you or your institution contribute to these efforts in 2013-2014?


We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

 

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