Policy
As the only member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature with 50 years’ family planning expertise, we seek changes to conservation policy, from inside the conservation sector, to reflect the importance of reproductive health and rights. We also hold Observer Status with both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Environment Programme. We use this unique status and expertise to seek to change the narrative. We believe that removing barriers to family planning should be a priority within biodiversity and climate policy.
IUCN
We chair the IUCN Biodiversity & Family Planning Task Force. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, is the only global membership union composed of both government and civil society organisations. The Task Force is the first and only IUCN entity focussed exclusively on the connections between reproductive and environmental health. The Task Force is a result of the landslide vote, in support of our historic resolution, “Importance for the conservation of nature of removing barriers to rights-based voluntary family planning” at IUCN’s World Conservation Congress.
Thriving Together
On 11 July 2019, World Population Day, we launched our Thriving Together campaign, which you can read about on our campaign website.
Publications
Our recent cross-sectoral work includes the following reports:
Climate change engagement: A guide for SRHR organisations
Numerous sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) organisations have told us that they want to begin actively engaging in climate change policy and action. Whilst they know and understand the critical importance of reproductive choice as a climate adaptation and resilience building response, they have also shared that climate change is such a massive topic, that it can sometimes be hard to know where to start. With our partners at MSI Reproductive Choices, YADNET and PHE Ethiopia Consortium, we responded to these calls with this publication.
Removing Barriers to Family Planning, Empowering Sustainable Environmental Conservation
Our paper “Removing Barriers to Family Planning, Empowering Sustainable Environmental Conservation: A Background Paper and Call for Action” summarises why removing barriers to family planning is critical for women’s and girls’ health and empowerment, and sustainable environmental conservation.
The Importance of Human Reproductive Health and Rights for Cheetah Conservation
Population, Health and Environment conservation programmes incorporate voluntary and rights-based family planning actions, with conservation-focused sustainable livelihood interventions. They can achieve greater conservation, health and gender outcomes than single sector programmes. This paper looks at the geographical overlap of areas of family planning need, which are also a priority for cheetah conservation.