Protected Areas Awareness Campaign Protected areas provide great
opportunities for connecting people with nature and stimulating
their interest in conservation. However, communication
programmes have not always been effective. The IUCN World
Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN WCPA) and the IUCN
Commission on Education and Communication (IUCN CEC) are now
joining forces with protected areas agencies and marketing
experts in order to improve the way in which the values of
protected areas are communicated. The idea is to develop a
global awareness campaign, reaching out to new audiences,
stimulating interest in those that have not yet experienced
protected areas, or who are not aware of their value, but whose
opinion and actions will be crucial to the future of
conservation. In a phrase often heard at the meeting, “going
beyond the usual requires the unusual”. This will be the first
time that that a global campaign has been launched that involved
such a diverse group of partners. Representatives of WCPA, and
CE