Cambridge, MA – Chesapeake Conservancy has been selected to participate as a member of the second cohort of the International Land Conservation Network’s (ILCN) Large Landscape Peer Learning Initiative. This initiative, which will take place through 2022, “connects conservation practitioners around the world to build relationships, share insights, advance strategies, and solve problems. From Canada to Chile, China, Kenya, and far beyond, governments, non-profit organizations, companies, private individuals and indigenous peoples are working to protect and care for a wide diversity of landscapes, from high-nature value landscapes shaped by low-intensity farming to large expanses of wild lands.”

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Chesapeake Conservancy President & CEO Joel Dunn praised the initiative, stating:

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“Chesapeake Conservancy is honored to participate in the ILCN Large Landscape Peer Learning Initiative. This initiative is an incredible opportunity to work with large landscape conservation leaders on some of the most difficult challenges we face as a global community, such as climate change and habitat fragmentation.

“The need for collaboration on conservation has never been more important or urgent than it is today. Scientists from around the world have agreed that in order to prevent the global biodiversity crisis, where at the present moment, one million species are threatened by extinction, humans must conserve fifty percent of the world’s lands and waters for nature by 2050. An interim target of 30% lands and waters conserved by 2030 has been set, and many nations and landscapes are now adopting this important goal.

“Chesapeake Conservancy is experienced in achieving landscape-scale conservation objectives through partnerships. Along with the National Park Service, Chesapeake Conservancy is the co-convener of the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership, a large landscape collaborative featuring federal and state agencies and non-governmental organizations working in partnership to conserve 2 million additional acres by 2025, with the further goal of protecting 30% of the Bay watershed by 2030.

“As we work to achieve this ambitious landscape conservation goal, Chesapeake Conservancy is also working with the National Park Service and other partners to define Indigenous Cultural Landscapes and protect lands important to the indigenous peoples of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This effort, and efforts to direct conservation benefits to underserved communities and communities of color, are essential to the greater landscape conservation movement.

“We welcome the opportunity to engage with other landscapes around the world through the ILCN Large Landscape Peer Learning Initiative on how we can overcome challenges and accelerate conservation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and beyond.”

Feature Image by Vicki Paulas