Mike Appleton, Vice Chair for Capacity, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, has highlighted the importance of CMA’s new Accreditation Competency Framework.

He said: “At its World Conservation Congress in France in 2021, the IUCN endorsed a target for 2030 of at least 30% global coverage of effectively managed protected areas and areas managed under other effective conservation measures, as a minimum requirement for sustaining global biodiversity and essential ecosystem services.

“Achieving this target (from 17% terrestrial and 8% marine coverage in 2021) will require a workforce that is much larger, more diverse and more professionalized.

The CMA’s new Competency Framework provides a sector-led basis for establishing and accrediting the necessary professional standards for achieving this target in the UK. It should also serve as a model for similar initiatives elsewhere in the world.”