Activities to identify, establish or expand legally protected areas and ecological processes. This includes all actions designed to directly protect the ecosystem through parks, reserves, easements (on public lands or private property), or other similar means. These are primarily on-the-ground.

Activities addressing monitoring and enforcing compliance with laws, policies and regulations, and standards & codes at all levels. This category is about implementing and enforcing laws and regulations and increasing capacity to enforce compliance, not about creating or revising laws and policies.

Activities directed at restoring sites, habitats, ecological processes and the wider environment, reducing or removing a stress, and maintaining or improving intact or restored sites. This includes all actions involved in directly managing the restoration or stewardship of habitats.

Outreach and communications activities designed to make people aware of key issues and best practices through informal education. This does not include formal education or training targeted at professionals.

These activities focus on development or implementation of monitoring and evaluation efforts, including status and trends, effectiveness, and implementation monitoring. These are often ongoing or repeated processes, as opposed to one-off research efforts and includes pilot monitoring programs.

Activities focused on developing and providing livelihood, economic, social and other incentives to help people overcome barriers (financial, technical, social, etc.) and ultimately change behaviors. These actions can target individuals, institutions or groups. Does not include easements.

Activities to build the institutional capacity to do better conservation, restoration or protection. Includes activities to finance actions and programs related to ecosystem recovery, and processes that facilitate decision making, including coordination, organization, and communication among groups.

All activities to fund, plan funding, or prioritize funding for any element of recovery.

Activities to develop, change, influence, and help implement formal legislation, regulations, and voluntary standards. This includes strategies and actions aimed at using government powers at all levels to protect and manage species, habitats and natural resources; enacting or changing policy.

Activities focused on development or revision of species, habitat, resource management or pressure reduction plans. This includes feasibility studies, plan design and development, and funding planning; it does not include plan implementation.

These activities focus on filling research needs. These are often one time efforts, not ongoing or repeated monitoring efforts (see Monitoring). This includes pilot programs and development of recommendations or prioritization based on research.

Activities focused on managing or restoring species by directly addressing species populations. This includes on-the-ground projects to recover populations (e.g. species reintroductions) as well as harvest and hatchery programs. This does not include actions or programs addressing habitat.

Activities focused on enhancing knowledge and skills of specific individuals or groups in formal education, informal professional education or a structured training program. This includes technical assistance and tool development but does not include outreach to general public (see Education).