Considering its mission to multiply knowledge on the subject and its experience in creating and managing subnational government subnets, ICLEI South America launched its thematic subnet of Local Protected Areas.

The executive secretary of ICLEI South America, Rodrigo Perpétuo, highlighted the importance of the initiative for the conservation and preservation of the environment. “ICLEI South America is very proud to launch a sub-network so that municipalities can exchange experiences, have access to financing instruments, and are able to improve, collectively, the management processes of their Conservation Units,” he said.

Conceived within the context of the regional Protected Areas project and other conservation measures at the local government level, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the sub-network aims to provide continuity to the connections and learnings generated during the four years of the project and go further, multiplying the learnings in conservation and preservation of biodiversity.

The initiative is open to subnational governments engaged and/or interested in the theme of biodiversity, with a focus on local protected areas and other conservation measures. It also aims to provide its members with tools to improve the management of protected areas.

A series of activities will be offered in addition to the connections between actors, including support in creating a profile and using the CitiesWithNature platform.

Also, among the necessary requirements for local governments to enter the subnet, is the commitment to the dissemination of knowledge on the themes and reporting of actions on the CitiesWithNature platform.