Promoting Connectivity Conservation Around the World
The Center for Large Landscape Conservation, as an official Non-governmental Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), provides leadership and expertise throughout the Union, at World Conservation Congresses, and across the field of international conservation. Since joining in 2016, the Center has played a prominent role to advance conservation at large, connected scales, from policy and dialogue at international conferences to planning and action at local levels. This includes:
- Leading preparation and negotiation of the 2020 policy resolutions Ecological connectivity conservation in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and Wildlife-friendly linear infrastructure, and the 2025 policy resolution Recognising and Reporting Ecological Corridors
- Contributing expertise to identify connectivity-specific actions for the Global Species Action Plan and addressing the impacts of linear infrastructure on Asian elephants
- Gary Tabor – the Center’s founder and first CEO – serving as Chair of the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG) from 2017-2025
- Rob Ament – Senior Conservation Advisor for the Center – Co-Chairing the CCSG’s Transport Working Group and Asian Elephant Transport Working Group
- Fernanda Teixeira, Linear Infrastructure Ecology Advisor at the Center, serving on the Steering Committee of the Latin American and Caribbean Transport Working Group
- International Connectivity Program Manager Aaron Laur being appointed as one of three new Co-Chairs of CCSG
- International Policy and Partnerships Specialist Gabriel Oppler serving as a representative to the IUCN Youth Advisory Committee from 2021-2025
Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group
The Center is committed to elevating connectivity conservation through collaborative partnerships, highlighted by our role as Secretariat of the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG). Established in 2016, the CCSG is composed of 1200+ volunteer members from 125+ countries. Members are experts working in government, scientific, academic, non-profit, and business sectors with more 450 institutions represented across the community.
CCSG Members have produced dozens of peer-reviewed papers, technical reports, and guidance documents to help inform and guide connectivity conservation worldwide, including:
- The IUCN Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors, which has been downloaded more than 100,000 times across five language translations. These groundbreaking guidelines are the work of 16 co-authors led by Gary Tabor of CLLC, Jodi Hilty, and Stephen Woodley, with more than 100 contributors.
- The WCPA Technical Report Addressing ecological connectivity in the development of roads, railways and canals, part of implementing the 2020 policy resolution “Wildlife-friendly linear infrastructure,” which has been downloaded more than 5,000 times since its publication in 2023.
- CCSG’s contributions to the newest report, GLO Thematic Report on Ecological Connectivity and Land Restoration, with the UN Convention on Combating Desertification and Convention on Migratory Species, advances connectivity conservation for global restoration strategies.
Working Groups:
To maximize involvement and contributions, CCSG has created the Marine Connectivity Working Group and three groups focused on the impacts of roads and other linear transportation infrastructure: Transport Working Group, Latin American and Caribbean Transport Working Group, and Asian Elephant Transport Working Group.
Banner photo: Asian elephants, Thailand – Adobe Stock
