Professional Associations Research Network

The Professional Associations Research Network (PARN) is the centre of knowledge and expertise on issues relating to professionalism and professional bodies. A member-led organisation with members in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and Kenya, PARN provides a research enriched network for professional bodies, and a range of specialist, knowledge-based services and events.

Our research has generated over 20 publications, on issues such as social networking, governance, ethics, continuing professional development (CPD), membership, professional standards and equality and diversity. Through our research, we aim to identify and promote interesting practice among professional bodies in the UK and abroad, and develop useful models. PARN conducts research for professional bodies and other stakeholders with an interest in professionalism.

Building on over a decade of research and sector expertise, PARN offers a range of consultancy services that positively support professional bodies. These include induction and training for new Council and Board members, ethical code analysis, CPD strategic review, member research, equality and diversity research and support, governance strategic review and bespoke benchmarking research.

For further information on PARN's research, services, publications or events visit www.parnglobal.com or email info@parnglobal.com.

Countdown 2010

IEEM has signed up to the Countdown 2010 declaration: that all European governments and members of civil society, at every level, have taken the necessary actions to halt or significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity by 2010.

Countdown 2010 is a powerful network of active partners working together towards the 2010 biodiversity target. Each partner commits additional efforts to tackle the causes of biodiversity loss. The secretariat – hosted by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) – facilitates and encourages action, promotes the importance of the 2010 biodiversity target and assesses progress towards 2010.

2010 International Year of Biodiversity UK Partnership

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). A global target to significantly reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010 was agreed by nearly 200 countries back in 2002. The next conference of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010 will assess international progress towards this target. As part of the IYB, the CBD has called for countries around the world to raise the profile of the year by encouraging diverse organisations to engage with the issues and celebrate the importance of biological resources. The CBD is collaborating with key organisations including IUCN, UNEP and UNESCO.

The IYB-UK partnership, which IEEM joined in May 2009, is an informal partnership of many organisations in the UK from diverse sectors who share a common concern to conserve our biodiversity, and who wish to raise awareness and encourage active participation around the issues that affect biodiversity loss. The IYB-UK secretariat, hosted by the Natural History Museum in London, is actively working with diverse partners and organisations around the UK and internationally as plans are developed for activities for the year ahead.

At the heart of its plans, the IYB-UK partnership aims to support the three key messages that the CBD believes will support their goal:

1. to raise awareness of how biodiversity is important for human well-being as well as preserving the quality of the environment;
2. to point out that globally, the current rate of biodiversity loss is severe, by some accounts up to 100 times the natural rate of extinction and that we need to work together to halt this loss; and
3. that there are many 'success stories' which point the way to the future.

Through the activities of the network the partnership aims for everyone in the UK to realise that biodiversity is all around us, and that biodiversity and ecosystems are the very foundations of human well-being.

Society for the Environment

IEEM is a founding member of the Society for the Environment.

The Society aspires to be the leading and co-ordinating professional body in environmental matters and a pre-eminent champion of a sustainable environment. The Society will achieve this by nurturing and harnessing the combined resources, knowledge, expertise and achievements of its 17 Constituent Bodies.

SocEnv has been granted a Royal Charter which enables Constituent Bodies to award their members the status of Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv). For the first time environmentalists can achieve a level of recognition enjoyed by many other professions.

There are now over 4000 qualified Chartered Environmentalist professionals working in key environmental and sustainability roles worldwide - in businesses, local government and NGOs. 

Apply for Chartered Environmentalist status >>

European Federation of Associations of Environmental Professionals

IEEM is a member of the European Federation of Associations of Environmental Professionals (EFAEP).

EFAEP is an association of environmental professionals from all over Europe and was founded in 2002 in response to the increasingly important and diverse role of environmental professionals. The restoration, protection and enhancement of the environment is no longer a secondary phenomenon but has penetrated all areas of life. In response to the growing sensitivity of society to environmental issues, the activities of environmental professionals have been steadily growing over the past decades and have become an unquestionable necessity.

EFAEP brings together professionals who are working in the field of the environment all over Europe and gives them an opportunity to exchange their experiences from their home countries, to find common solutions and to learn from successes and failures made in the current and future member countries of the European Union.

ENEP is the European electronic Network of Environmental Professionals. It is a web portal set up by EFAEP, where its members can record their contact and professional details and where both members of EFAEP and non-members can search for environmental professionals. The two main aims of ENEP are to facilitate active communication and exchange of knowledge between EFAEP members, and to provide access to the expertise and experience of environmental professionals at the European level. This will also give the environmental professionals of Europe a platform where they can present their professional profiles, where they can get in touch with each other, and where clients and service providers can meet. ENEP is the unique web tool EFAEP uses to connect its more than 15,000 members. It is currently the only internet site in Europe letting environmental professionals thoroughly describe their own experience and capabilities, effectively classify their skills, and quote their papers and projects in order to build a really complete profile. IEEM members can create their own free profiles at www.environmentalprofessionals.eu.

EFAEP also responds to consultations at a European level. Most environmental legislation comes from Europe and it is vital to be able to influence this through the collective professional voice of EFAEP.

EFAEP also holds seminars and conferences on relevant topics.

www.europarc.org
www.europarc-ai.org

Europarc Federation

The Europarc Federation is the umbrella organisation of Europe's protected areas. It unites national parks, regional parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves in 38 countries, with the common aim of protecting Europe's unique variety of wildlife, habitats and landscapes.

IEEM joined the Federation to gain both understanding and experience from protected areas in Europe and also to increase our presence and influence in Europe.

IEEM is also a member of the Atlantic Isles Section of the Federation, which works with protected areas and their partners in England, Iceland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

www.eurosite-nature.org

Eurosite

Eurosite's mission is to exchange, enhance and promote expertise in the management of sites for nature, throughout Europe.

Eurosite is now the largest network of organisations devoted to nature conservation management across Europe. 27 countries are represented by more than 100 member organisations including public bodies, private organisations and Non-Government Organisations. For the benefit of nature and the human enjoyment of it, the goal of Eurosite is to enhance European nature conservation, through both the management of land and water and through the dissemination of practical information and working directly with site managers.

Eurosite was created in 1989 in response to a clear demand for the exchange of practical nature management information within Europe.

IEEM has joined Eurosite in order to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge and experience.

IUCN - The World Conservation Union

The World Conservation Union is the world’s largest and most important conservation network. The Union brings together 82 States, 111 government agencies, more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership.

The Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

It supports and develops cutting-edge conservation science; implements this research in field projects around the world; and then links both research and results to local, national, regional and global policy.

In its projects, the Union applies sound ecosystem management to conserve biodiversity and builds sustainable livelihoods for those directly dependent on natural resources. The Union is actively engaged in managing and restoring ecosystems and improving people’s lives, economies and societies.

IEEM is a member of the UK section of IUCN.  This meets on a regular basis and tries to add value to the work of its members. Recent events have been on the UK contribution to Countdown 2010, valuing biodiversity and the re-introduction of species in the UK.

Freshwater Biological Association

The Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and IEEM are natural partners in ensuring the effective management of our fresh waters based on good science. The FBA has had 80 years’ involvement in understanding how our freshwater ecosystems work, and in providing the resources – identification guides, training courses, scientific meetings, research facilities – to enhance the expertise of the scientific and management communities.

The two organisations originally came together to run a conference, on The Future of Freshwaters at the University of Warwick on 16-17 September 2009, and have since also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, a declaration of our intention to continue to work together to improve our understanding and stewardship of fresh waters.

Natur

IEEM and Natur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 15 December 2009. Natur is the Welsh Institute of Countryside and Conservation Management and exists to stimulate and develop the skills with which we manage the living environment of land and sea, which are critical to our success as a society, among countryside and conservation professionals within a uniquely Welsh context. Under the terms of the MoU, the two organisations agree to work together, wherever feasible, for the benefit of the environment as a whole, towards achieving environmentally sustainable development and for the conservation of biodiversity.

Find out more at http://www.natur.eu.com

www.britishecologicalsociety.org

British Ecological Society

The British Ecological Society (BES) is a learned society and was established in 1913 by academics to promote and foster the study of ecology in its widest sense. The BES currently has around 4,500 members spread around the world. The core activities are the publication of results of research in ecology, the development of scientific meetings and the promotion of ecological awareness through education at all levels.

IEEM and the BES hope to work collaboratively for the benefit of both IEEM and BES members, and also the wider ecological sector.

eianzecology.blogspot.com

EIANZ Ecology

EIANZ Ecology is a Special Interest Section of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ). EIANZ is Australia and New Zealand’s professional association for environmental practitioners. The Institute has always had a strong focus on ecology and in April 2008 EIANZ Ecology was formally approved by EIANZ as a Special Interest Section.

EIANZ Ecology and IEEM hope to work collaboratively for the benefit of both IEEM and EIANZ Ecology members, and also the wider ecological sector.

Institute of Environmental Professionals - Sri Lanka

The Institute of Environmental Professionals - Sri Lanka (IEP-SL) was created in 2006 to uphold the dignity and raise and reputation of the environmental profession in Sri Lanka, and to extend the profession and its services to the country at large for the benefit of the public.

IEEM and IEP-SL signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2008. From this it is hoped that benefits will be gained for both professional bodies through working closely together on matters of common understanding in the environmental field.