Resource Library

Parks Canada developed these modules to provide staff accessible, self-paced training materials for Steps 1 (Assess) and 2 (Plan) of the Conservation Standards, as well as a set of reference materials.…

The conservation community has committed technical and financial assistance to low- and middle-income country (LMIC) governments to support the management costs associated with protected areas (PAs) as a means of…

An expected result of CMP’s 2017-22 Strategic plan is that “Key Organizations Try & Adopt good conservation practices”, which involves having key individuals successfully pilot the Conservation Standards (CS) within…

Although there is a broad assumption that using an adaptive management framework in conservation  leads to improved conservation efficiency, effectiveness, and impact, there is little robust and  consolidated evidence supporting…

Over the last few years, as the CMP Climate Guidance Working Group has developed Climate-Smart Conservation Practice, a few organizations in the Conservation Standards community have applied different parts of…

The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and FOS Europe have developed a framework and a 10-step method for tackling the big challenges in marine conservation. The framework contains ​definitions,…

This draft “Cookbook” provides a series of “recipes” for “lighter” Conservation Standards (CS) approaches to different scenarios that teams typically encounter. The recipes link to tipsheets that offer practical ideas for…

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is an approach to addressing environmental and development challenges through protecting, maintaining, and enhancing ecosystem services. As part of CMP’s Collaborative Learning Initiatives, Australian NGO TierraMar researched…

Phase I of this learning initiative highlighted the need for the conservation community to continue learning about how to incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) principles into their conservation…

The purpose of the PHE Learning Initiative was to improve CMP’s and, more broadly, the conservation sector’s understanding of PHE and its value to biodiversity conservation, to identify barriers that…

These factsheets are intended to provide a high-level summary of what situation models / results chains are, how they are developed and how to read them. The target audience is…

CapeNature, the conservation authority for the Western Cape Province, South Africa, initiated a process in 2017 to strengthen adaptive management of the protected areas under its management.  Management plans strive…

Collaboratively developed by partners from Quebec, Canada and beyond, this resource builds off of CMP’s threats classification to provide a more detailed, third-level classification, and will provide several benefits :…

This report, a product of CMP’s Collaborative Learning Initiative, provides an overview of Global Environment and Development Agendas: Strategies for Conservation. It includes the defining characteristics of this strategy, a…

This report, a product of CMP’s Collaborative Learning Initiative, represents the first comprehensive attempt to systematically and rigorously assess the effects of the CS on funding success. Nonetheless, we faced…

This report, a product of CMP’s Collaborative Learning Initiative, describes the rationale for and conditions that warrant a holistic approach to conservation efforts. Through a very ambitious and rapid-fire effort,…

CMP and CCNet members have updated the basic presentations supporting the Conservation Standards Steps 1-2. These presentations use high-quality photographs and reduced text on slides, and they include detailed presenters’…

Southern Palawan in the Philippines is home to the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape, the headwater of 33 watersheds and the habitat of newly discovered plants and of wildlife unique to…

In Chile, the Conservation Standards were used to evaluate protected areas (PAs) across an entire country. Chile manages its PAs through its National System of Protected Areas (SNASPE). In 2015,…

Chile is the endemic home to the world’s southernmost palm tree, the Chilean Wine Palm. For centuries, the tree has been heavily exploited, largely for its sap used to make…

There is significant potential to reduce illegal wildlife trade through training and collaborating with airport staff. To take advantage of this potential, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated…

Winners of the 2020 Conservation Standards Case Study Competition, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the International Crane Foundation (ICF) have been working together to conserve crane populations and their…

This guidance is intended to support practitioners undertaking conservation planning in the face of the uncertainties created by climate change. It builds on the already widely used Conservation Measures Partnership’s…

A Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP) working group on climate adaptation, that includes representatives from Foundations of Success (FOS) and World Wildlife Fund, recently had the opportunity to work with colleagues…

Extending along the entire North American east coast, this very comprehensive yet targeted plan seeks to coordinate action to conserve salt marsh-dependent birds. It is a great example of a…

This paper provides a comprehensive hierarchy of key ecological attributes and stresses to match the IUCN standard threats classification. This classification may help with describing and understanding both the natural…

This paper presents a hierarchical classification for climate-change-related stresses to biological diversity used in Step 1 of the Conservation Standards. It is very comprehensive, an excellent academic paper which may…

Political risk and uncertainty are increasing around the world To be effective, conservation organizations need to manage both risks and opportunities due to political uncertainty. Navigating and Adapting to Political…

Description: This is an excellent synthesis of lessons learned from a review of past USAID-supported conservation enterprises. The framework for the review was a set of “learning questions” related to the…

Description: This is an excellent, dynamic set of materials designed to impart key marketable skills associated with Step 3 Implement of the Conservation Standards. It includes 7 narrated modules tailored…

A theory of change to directly incentivize villages and others to reduce the threat of wildlife hunting and increase the populations of wildlife had assumptions and results tested over four…

Following on the success of the first edition of Project Management for Wildlife Conservation, WildTeam has released an updated version 2.0, which is available here. WildTeam – a not for…

This external assessment, commissioned by FOS, provides insight into what the Conservation Standards community needs to do their work better. The intent was to assess how FOS is doing on…

This document provides a very good example of a simple approach to using results chains as a framework for a participatory, theory-based evaluation. WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and FOS (Foundations…

IFAW (The International Fund for Animal Welfare) has developed a comprehensive guide to the the first four steps of the Open Standards.  It takes a simple and clear approach that…

Filled with many handy hints and alternative approaches to steps and aspects of the Open Standards, this toolkit is a very valuable resource.  The document provides approaches to conducting workshops,…

This is a very valuable guide to integrating the Open Standards into the fabric of how conservation organizations do business. If we want to improve the effectiveness of our organizations…

This excellent, thorough, evidence-based application of Steps 1 and 2 of the Open Standards applies to a small wildlife refuge in the United States – the Anaho Island National Wildlife…

Located in one of a very few Asian Tiger source areas, this inspirational tale of adapting actions, strategies, monitoring and even objectives based squarely on evidence by hundreds of people…

The contribution of Healthy Country Planning to empowering indigenous peoples and in getting people back on country is very exciting and this plan is an excellent example of that movement.…

This guide provides an excellent high-level overview of monitoring and evaluation design concepts. It clarifies that teams should consider their resources and need for precision and establishing causality when choosing…

A key foundation of any science is a common nomenclature that practitioners can use to describe—in a mutually intelligible way—the problems they are facing and the solutions they are using.…

This case study shows the evolution of a management plan through several iterations using the Open Standards. One of 56 organizations spanning Australia, Territory Natural Resources Management (TNRM) picked up…

There is no one “right” classification system for threats, but Direct Threats Classification (v2.0) (Version 2.0 en français) has developed an agreed system that optimizes the following criteria: Simple –…

This excellent journal paper seeks to integrate evidence-based conservation with the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation and is freely available online here from the new SCB journal Conservation…

This toolkit focuses on improving the quality of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of projects when planning to evaluate outcomes and impacts. Whilst its stated focus is on small and medium…

This is a very good example of a plan developed to provide a framework for conservation of a species with a broad geographic range. The Reddish Egret is found along…

This is an excellent example of a large, multi country strategic plan in the Central Asian landscape, very effectively using the Open Standards. Altai-Sayan ecoregion in Central Asia is a…

This plan set up the framework for a subsequent Management Plan for the then recently proclaimed Axios Delta National Park, the marine outfall of four rivers near Thessaloniki in Greece. Led…

Penned in 2011, the Painted Dog Conservation Strategic Plan uses the Open Standards to achieve species conservation in almost flawless detail. The document steps through targets, viability, threats and situation…

This report is a good example of how a national agency used results chains to develop common theories of change, objectives and indicators in order to assess effectiveness at varying scales…

Healthy Country Planning is an adaptation of the Open Standards developed for use in participative and cross-cultural situations – typically with Indigenous communities. To better enable this, the language of the…

This series of 4 webinar recordings by Marcia Brown (FOS) and John Morrison (WWF) provides an overview of the Climate-Smart Open Standards.  Another good base resource is the National Wildlife…

Updated to reflect Version 3.0 released in December 2020. Developed and maintained by the CMP Conservation Audits Working Group, the Conservation Audit Guidelines and Tool facilitate an efficient analysis of…

The ongoing Integrated Conservation of Biodiversity and Forests project in Laos has been translating and tailoring OS materials for local use. Two key elements of this are Lao translations of:…

The inspiring Road Traveled in Chile:Lessons and Challenges in Strengthening Adaptive Management in a National System of Protected Areas won the 2018 Case Study Competition handsomely.

The USAID initiative – Learning Group Explores the Effectiveness of Enterprises as a Conservation Strategy, received an Honorable Mention in the 2018 Case Study competition. The team working within USAID…

From Great Conversation to Great Conservation, the Bat Conservation International entry gained an Honorable Mention in the 2018 Case Study Competition. Key lessons learned by Bat Conservation International were that…

Bush Heritage Australia, with their Yourka Reserve – A Unique Tropical Savanna Ecosystem came third in the 2018 Case Study Competition. Key lessons gleaned in this case study were: Don’t let…

Using an Adaptive Management Approach to Expand Efforts to Save Cotton-top Tamarins in Northwest Colombia, by Proycto Titi won second place in the 2018 Case Study Competition. Key lessons arising…

This document briefly describes the challenge of promoting change in cause-driven organizations.  It is written for practitioners who are working on broader adoption and institutionalization of the Open Standards in…

This is an excellent document that aims to show how the Open Standards supports improved performance in conservation organizations.  It describes the Performance Imperative and other frameworks designed to help…

This is a good high-level reference document that helps staff in different roles (including management and support) determine where they can find more information to help them promote and/or understand…

This is a great resource for fundraisers who are looking to identify funds for specific projects. It helps them understand the key characteristics of projects developed with the Open Standards…

The Conservation Capability Maturity model provides a very useful framework for assessing institutional capacity and effectiveness, especially regarding the key processes involved in the practice and management of conservation work.…

This is a great resource for M&E staff or other “integrators” in small to medium-sized organizations that are playing a support role to projects and programs. It provides them with…

This is an excellent guide that explains how to use Open Standards’ supporting systems, Miradi and Miradi Share, to manage project information. In particular, it provides guidance on using Miradi…

This document relates Open Standards concepts and tools with those of the “Collective Impact” framework, which provides guidance for organisations tackling complex “adaptive” problems (such as conservation challenges) involving multiple…

This report describes the emerging Environmental Impact Investing market, a potential source of funding at the scale required to effectively protect global biodiversity. It illustrates how use of the Open…

This is a very useful resource for conservation teams to consult as they are designing their projects and programs. It encourages looking at different aspects of sustainability and being more…

This thoughtful, persuasive and comprehensive report summarizes key findings from Annette Stewart’s Fulbright project: how organizations are using the Open Standards, and specifically how they manage their conservation work. The…

Description: This is a very good overview of high-level work planning. It is a bit repetitive in the prioritization – for some this will be useful, for others this will…

Description: This is a good overview of work planning and budgeting in general. However, it is a bit dated and could use more explicit text to tie it to results…

Thank you to all those who shared your great stories about adaptive management in practice!  You have provided a great opportunity to learn from others around the world who are…

In the southeastern corner of Western Australia, the Spinifex Rangers have reviewed their progress and overall plan for the third time, adjusting of the objectives, indicators, and activities contained in…

Bush Heritage Australia has been involved in the Gondwana Link connectivity project in the southwestern Western Australian biodiversity hotspot for 14 years. Over this time the management plan has cycled…

Ever wonder what happens in the intertidal zone – that area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide? As it turns out, lots happens!…

Rooted in the TNC’s Cascade Head Preserve, this case study features adaptive management using ground based research for the Oregon silverspot butterfly, that later grew to encompass diverse stakeholders for…

Boolcoomatta is a conservation reserve that has been managed by Bush Heritage Australia for 10 years, during which time the management plan has cycled through three major adaptations based on…

Conservation Action Planning (CAP) is a well-spring of the Open Standards, and was codified in an online CAP Excel workbook. Here we give access to both the original and an…

NatureServe Vista is a robust conservation assessment and planning software. It is an extension to ArcGIS 10.x in continuous release since 2004. The tool’s functions fit well with the spatial…

This case study was winner of the 2016 Adaptive Management Case Study competition as it amply demonstrated the power of the Open Standards in refocusing effort according to evidence, the…

Description: This how-to guide on defining outcomes and indicators for monitoring, evaluation, and learning uses the results chains developed in the USAID results chain guide. It provides help identifying key…

Description: This how-to guide on results chains builds off the situation model guide. It helps design teams clearly depict the program’s theory of change by using results chains as a…

Description: This how-to guide focuses on how to develop situation models (aka conceptual models) to map out the biodiversity conservation problem context to be addressed. It is part of a…

This document contains an overview of the WWF Network’s Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management (PPMS). These standards are the product of many inputs, field tests, discussions, debates and…

For a Protected Area training in the Open Standards held in in Mongolia in 2015, a Mongolian guidance version of the Open Standards (v2.0) was developed. This guidance has been…

“Something quite remarkable on a global scale is happening on Wunambal Gaambera country” said Ian Dutton in review ing the plan, “Indigenous people returning to their country have begun to…

Description This is a comprehensive, step-by-step manual for project management. It is accompanied by associated tools and support templates to implement each step of each process, which can be accessed…

Description: This booklet was produced to facilitate the use of Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (OS) in the preparation of the 6th Regional Nature Reserve Management Plan for…

Description: This short technical guide by the TNC to assess the viability of targets was developed to help practitioners accurately document key environmental attributes, indicators and indicator ratings because of…

Description: This short guide was developed to help understand and use conceptual models to document a situation analysis more effectively. It predates integration of human wellbeing and climate change into…

Description: This short guide was developed to help understand and use results chain more effectively. It predates integration of human wellbeing and climate change into the Open Standards. It is…

Description: Part of the FOS Adaptive Management course, this guide covers the development of a monitoring plan in detail, starting with results chains to develop objectives, allocation of indicators and…

Description: Part of the FOS Adaptive Management course, this guide covers how to use results chains to develop objectives, allocate indicators to them and go on to develop a monitoring…

Description: This guide covers how to use results chains to test your assumptions of how your strategies are intended to change the situation.  This is also known as theory of…

Description: This guide covers the very first step in developing a formal action plan – defining goals, using the Sacramento River Basin as an example to illustrate points. It is…

Description: Part of the FOS Adaptive Management course, this guides the first step in developing a formal action plan – defining goals and strategies, using a marine example to illustrate…

Description: Part of the FOS Adaptive Management Course, this powerpoint presentation guides how to do a situation analysis using conceptual models  It uses many examples to illustrate points, is vetted…

Description: Part of the FOS Adaptive Management course, this power-point presentation guides threat ranking, using the Swan wetlands as an example to illustrate points. It is vetted as excellent, but…

Description: This guidance resource supports the implementation of the WWF Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management. Although lacking in examples to illustrate the steps involved in moving from results…

Description: This guidance resource supports the implementation of the WWF Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management. However, to be better guidance, significant updates would be required. Some featured text…

Description: This guidance resource supports the implementation of the WWF Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management. This guidance is very good, but it predates consideration of human wellbeing targets…

Description: This guidance resource supports the implementation of the WWF Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management. However, the coverage of stresses is a little short on examples, and it…

Description: This document is intended as a guidance resource to support the implementation of the WWF Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management. It is a very good resource, but…

Description: This document is intended as a guidance resource to support the implementation of the WWF Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management. It is a very good resource, but…

Description: This guidance document supports the implementation of the WWF Standards of Conservation Project and Programme Management. Some parts of the guidance are now dated.  It could use better detail…

TNC presents this guidance as an evolution in the conservation approach of the Conservancy and the Open Standards more generally. It is centered on four topics: 1) explicit consideration of…

Description: This module was developed as part of an online learning experience to help WWF partners and staff learn how to apply Step 2 (Design) of WWF’s Standards for Conservation…

Description: ConservationTraining is an open and free learning community that offers conservation-based training materials.  With over 25,000 users from over 200 countries enrolled, its mission is to share training with…

Description: This manual provides users with an overview of the Open Standards and detailed step-by-step guidance designed to allow any practitioner or team to learn about tools and methods to…

Description: . This module was developed as part of an online learning experience to help WWF partners and staff learn how to apply Step 1 – Define of WWF’s Standards…

Description: This handbook, tailored to The Nature Conservancy’s use, is one of the earliest manuals developed for implementing the Open Standards. The handbook is designed as a detailed “toolbox” to…

The Conservation Actions and Measures Library (CAML) is an open-source library of Miradi results chains for the most common conservation actions. CAML is based on the idea that we can…

Description: Conservation is inevitably a social undertaking. As such, many conservation teams feel compelled to address human wellbeing when developing their conservation projects. Prior to 2012, Open Standards users had…

Miradi – a Swahili word meaning “project” or “goal” – is a user-friendly program that allows nature conservation practitioners to design, manage, monitor, and learn from their projects to more…