The IUCN Bulletin Number World Conservation · 2016-05-19 · the poorest groups who are the most vul-nerable to the costs of environmental change and disasters. We realize that conservation

World Conservation

The IUCN Bulletin Number

12005

World Conservation CongressBangkok, 17–25 November 2004

2 World Conservation 1/2005

Introduction

3 Only One World Achim Steiner

4 What they said Esther Camac, William Karesh, Wilson Campos

5 Photospread Welcome to the Congress

World Conservation Forum

6 Redefining the agenda Steve Edwards

Ecosystem management7 Bridging sustainability and productivity Simon Rietbergen

8 Action on the marine front Claudio Campagna

8 What they said André van der Zande, Nestor Windevoxhel

9 Now is the time Sylvia Earle

Health, Poverty and Conservation10 Responding to the challenge of human well-being

Gonzalo Oviedo

12 What they said Kerstin Mechlem, Raymond Forde, Dilys Roe,Krystyna Swiderska, Emile Frison, Anitry Ny AinaRatsifandrihamanana, Solomon Zvanaka

13 Photospread The great exchange

Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction14 Managing risk in a changing world Sue Mainka

16 What they said Eric Chivian, Hugh Blackett

Markets, Business and the Environment17 Strengthening corporate social responsibility, law and

policy Joshua Bishop

18 What they said Hon. Kim Yeadon, H.E. Anand Panyarachun,Richard Sandbook, James Griffiths

20 In print at the Congress

Members’ Business Assembly21 Conservation with a human face

Yolanda Kakabadse

Resolutions and Recommendations22 Putting conservation into development

Steve Edwards, Frederik Schutyser and Sue Mainka

25 Photospread Keyword: partnership

IUCN Programme 2005–200826 Where we’re going Bill Jackson

Commission mandates28 Moving in unison IUCN Commission Chairs

Interview with the President30 Conservation is everybody’s business Valli Moosa

32 Photospread Celebration and farewell

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The IUCN family of members, partners and secretariat staff gathered in Bangkok,Thailand, from 17–25 November for the 3rd IUCN World ConservationCongress. More than 4800 participants, including over 40 Ministers,1000 scientists, over 150 business people and hundreds ofrepresentatives from non-governmental organizations,

participated in over 500 separate sessions and events.Their purpose was to set the conservation agenda for

the future and to address governance, policy and programme issues of the Union.

www.iucn.org/congress/

Congress graphics designed by 124 Communications, Bangkok

World Conservation 1/2005 3

creation of markets for previously non-traded environmental services suchas watershed protection, biodiversitymaintenance, carbon sequestration, andrecreation. Moreover, through its atten-tion to inclusiveness, participatoryprocesses, governance and scale, theecosystem approach has achievedimportant points of intersection withthe development debate.

Biodiversity: vulnerability and risk

The theme ‘Biodiversity Loss and SpeciesExtinction – managing risk in a changingworld’, while highlighting current threatsto species and pressure on ecosystemsthrough analysis of the 2004 IUCN RedList of Threatened Species and prelimi-nary review of the Millennium EcosystemAssessment, linked these discussions withwider discourses on vulnerability and risk,to both people and nature, indicating howinvesting in nature can help us lower thelevels of risk faced by society.

It emphasised, for example, how al-ien invasive species and climate changeare having a negative impact on small is-lands and vulnerable communities world-wide. It also stressed the need to refocuson the underlying causes of biodiversityloss to have a real and enduring impacton reducing biodiversity loss.

Magical moments are also defined by thetimes. IUCN has achieved a tremendousamount over the past four years in re-thinking, re-energizing and repositioningitself in response to a changing world –but also in playing its part in helping shapethe future. The Congress helped bringmany of these new efforts into focus.

What are the elements of this newworld of conservation? I think that theycan be viewed through the lens of ourfour World Conservation Forum themes,which aimed to bridge the conservationand development divide and to demon-strate the relevance of our knowledge toboth people and nature.

Ecosystems: a unifying framework

The theme of ‘Ecosystem Management –bridging productivity and sustainability’helped position the ‘ecosystem approach’as a new unifying and organizing frame-work for the conservation movement. Theapproach reaches beyond our traditionalconservation focus, extending biodiver-sity into other sectors of the economy, aswell as contributing to the long-term vi-ability of protected areas by emphasizinglinkages in the landscape.

It also opens the door to thinkingabout the value of ecosystem goods andservices to the wider economy, and the

Introduction

Only One WorldWhat did Bangkok achieve for

People and Nature?

Poverty: playing our part

The theme ‘Health & Poverty and Con-servation – responding to the challengeof human wellbeing’ helped our commu-nity articulate a new relationship with theglobal human agenda. We have demon-strated that biodiversity is important insustaining the livelihoods of the rural poor,and that sustainable natural resourcemanagement can play a critical role in al-leviating poverty. We also know that it isthe poorest groups who are the most vul-nerable to the costs of environmentalchange and disasters.

We realize that conservation has notalways given sufficient attention to its so-cial impact, and that it can not solve allpoverty problems, but that conservationmust play its part in poverty reductiontoday. Rights-based approaches, whichuse legal mechanisms to promote equi-table access to resources and informa-tion, emerged in the Congress as animportant approach in addressing

Achim Steiner

The 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress was in manyways a Director General’s dream. Magical momentsdo not happen everyday and when they do they arealways remembered. Looking out over a sea of partici-pants’ faces from the podium of the plenary hall I wasstruck by the outstanding collective talent, commit-ment and energy of members and partners. It was aprivileged glimpse into the power of our Union.

IISD Daily Summaries: www.iisd.ca/sd/iucn/wcc3/Congress sponsors and partners:

www.iucn.org/congress/general/partners.cfm

Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado,Honorary President of BirdLife International,presents an IUCN gold medal to HerMajesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand for hercontinued efforts in conservation.

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poverty/environment relationships. Sev-eral Resolutions adopted in the Members’Business Assembly have given IUCN a newmandate to explore these links further.

The Marketplace: leveraging itspower for conservation

Finally, the theme ‘Markets, Business andthe Environment – strengthening corpo-rate social responsibility, law and policy’highlighted how the marketplace shapesthe options for biodiversity conservation,including a review of the role of businessas key actors. There were some 50 busi-ness-related events, and more than 150people from the business communityattending the Congress, indicating theimportance of the World ConservationCongress as platform for dialogue.

Many constructive discussions tookplace with representatives from the pri-vate sector that could not have happened

ten years ago, and these focused more on‘how to’, rather than ‘whether to’ engage.Business models that work for both poorpeople and the environment were ex-plored, and new mechanisms for promot-ing linkages between the environment,business and trade were examined, suchas the emerging markets for ecosystemgoods and services. A key message toemerge for the conservation movementwas that markets are shaped by peoples’choices and we must become adept atinfluencing these choices to leveragethe power of the marketplace forconservation.

A touchstone for conservation

The 3rd IUCN World Conservation Con-gress will also be remembered as an eventput on for and by its members. We cametogether as a global Union and throughthe sponsored workshops, conservation

platforms, knowledge marketplace,contact groups, and future dialogues wecreated space for each other. IUCN willalways represent a wide range ofworldviews, interests and values. Al-though some of the discussions were veryintense and involved, there was an im-portant threshold which prevented de-bates getting monopolized or descendinginto acrimony. Amidst all this creative di-versity the Congress was energized by thatwhich united it – rather than that whichdivided it. Together I think Bangkok hasrecreated IUCN as a touchstone in theconservation movement around whichpeople can work together on some of themost pressing issues of our times.

A vote of thanks

This Congress could not have taken placewithout the generous support of our hostcountry – the Kingdom of Thailand – andmy most profound thanks go to the RoyalFamily of Thailand and the Ministry ofNatural Resources and Environment whoprovided us with a superb venue and col-laborated with us to make this Congresssuch a success. Congress participants werecharmed by the helpfulness, hard workand grace of their Thai hosts. I would liketo thank Minister Suwit Khunkitti, in par-ticular, who accompanied us through tendays of hard work with humour, patienceand vision.

I would also like to thank and con-gratulate members of the new IUCNCouncil for undertaking such challengingroles and their success in obtaining theconfidence of their constituencies. Aselected representatives of the global con-servation community they will play a sig-nificant role in shaping the futuredirection of conservation and the strate-gic positioning of the Union over the nextfour years.

Finally, my thanks go to the hundredsof people who put huge amounts of timeand energy into the Congress over somany months – much of which was invis-ible in the auditorium but vital to anyonewho knows what needs to happen back-stage for a Congress to succeed. Fromthe ‘ideas people’ and ‘behind the scenes’organizers, the logistics and technicalteams on-site, key note speakers,panelists, volunteers and not least ourgenerous sponsors. It all adds up to amonumental team effort that deservesour applause for delivering “the bestIUCN Congress ever”!

Achim Steiner is Director Generalof IUCN – The World Conservation Union.

Reducing poverty requires both restoring ecosystems and strengthening rights.

– Esther Camac, an indigenous woman representingindigenous and tribal peoples of the tropical forests

The lesson learned from SARS, avian flu, Ebola and other emerging diseases isthat there is truly only one health. If we are to ensure a future for wildlife,people and domestic animals, we must work together to solve these poten-tially disastrous health challenges.

– William Karesh of the IUCNSpecies Survival Commission

All stakeholders should build a solid alliance for conservation achievementsthat support the right of everyone to be free from hunger.

– Wilson Campos, representative fromVia Campesina, the largest farmers’ movement

What they said

The Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre was a superb venue, providing ample spacefor exhibits, meetings, formal and informal events and innumerable conversations.

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At the colourful openingceremony, Her Majesty QueenSirikit of Thailand (centre right)

welcomed Congress participants.Thailand’s Prime Minister ThaksinShinawatra (right) officially opened

the proceedings, and IUCNPresident Yolanda Kakabadseoutlined the challenges faced

by the Union.

Welcome to the Congress

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Redefiningthe

agenda

The World Conservation Congress was surely the premier con-servation event of 2004. For three days it provided a venuewhere the world’s conservation community – including govern-ments, civil society, and the private sector – could meet, net-work, exchange information, and share knowledge. Its purposewas no less than to assess the current state of biodiversity onour planet and to explore the relationship between people,development and conservation.

These discussions came at a critical time, when the environ-mental movement felt compelled to redefine itself in a worldwhose attention is turning away from conservation of speciesand ecosystems toward self-preservation and human survival.

Confidence and vision

The wide-ranging and energetic discussions of the Forum laidthe groundwork for a vision of exactly where our community –and the World Conservation Union itself – will need to be in 10years if we are to realize the Union’s mission. The Forum alsotook the first big step toward realizing that vision, by determin-ing what actions and partnerships are required to bring aboutthe full integration of conservation into development.

Above all, it inspired us to move ahead with confidence, bydemonstrating (1) that the ideals of sustainability, justice andequity are increasingly shared by business, governments, NGOs,and development professionals, and (2) that the conservationcommunity is an equal partner in the pursuit of those ideals.

Unprecedented involvement

The level of participation of members, Commission membersand partners in organizing and leading the substantive discus-sions at the Forum was unprecedented. They formed teams todevelop Global Synthesis Workshops aimed at collecting the lat-est thinking on a range of conservation issues, and organizedtheir own workshops, roundtables, training courses, exhibitsand press conferences.

The result was around 500 extremely productive events.Their results fed seamlessly into the Members’ Business Assem-bly, allowing members to take informed decisions regarding theIntersessional Programme for 2005–2008 and the 118 Resolu-tions and Recommendations which will influence the Union’swork for the next four years.

Measuring success

The initial response of Congress participants to the Forum –based on the replies to a general questionnaire, and more infor-mally from anecdotal comments and dozens of emails – wereextraordinarily positive. The new format was unquestionablyeffective in allowing participants to focus for threedays on current conservation issues. Thehigh level of participation in the Forumunderscored the enthusiastic commit-ment of the Union’s constituency to con-front the very toughest conservation issues:no topic was considered off-limits, andcontroversy was welcomed.

The Forum succeeded in produc-ing a new set of conservation sign-posts – summarized in thefollowing pages – for the Unionand the world-at-large. It high-lighted the clear role for con-servation in the developmentdebate. It also presented plentyof evidence of the progress thatthe conservation movement canmake if we engage fully with ourpartners and are willing to enter intoproductive and respectful collaborationwith other sectors and stakeholders.

Steve Edwards isIUCN Senior Adviser,

World Conservation Congress.

World Conservation Forum

Steve Edwards

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In his eloquent keynote address to the opening session of the Forum,Anand Panyarachun, former Prime Minister of Thailand, spoke ofthe need to demonstrate that development can be achieved withoutdamaging nature.

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Ecosystem Management

Bridging sustainability and productivitySimon Rietbergen

Ecosystem management is essential notonly for biodiversity conservation but alsoto maintain the goods and services onwhich human societies depend. The clos-ing plenary of the Ecosystem Manage-ment theme, and the workshops onagriculture and urban development, fish-eries and aquaculture, provided strongarguments for applying ecosystem man-agement not only to parks but to all hu-man use of natural resources.

Ecosystem management is based onthe simple concept that unless increasinghuman pressures on the planet’s ecosys-tems are better managed, the capacity ofthese ecosystems to provide the goodsand services that we depend on will beseverely impaired, and biodiversity will beirreversibly lost.

Realistic optimism

While the Ecosystem Management work-shop broadcast an optimistic, “can-do”message overall, it nevertheless produceda clear statement of the increasing prob-lems faced by the planet’s ecosystems.This is essential in a world where conser-vation no longer appears to be a top-levelpolitical priority and where the globaldebate is increasingly monopolized byextremely selective readings of thescientific evidence.

In the Ecosystem Managementplenary, historian John Robert McNeil

explained how the human impact on theearth’s ecosystems had increased by anorder of magnitude over the last century.

The workshops on agriculture,fisheries, aquaculture and urbandevelopment also provided powerfulexamples of how unsustainable practicesin these sectors harm not just biologicaldiversity but also human well-being –echoing similar messages delivered to theCongress by the Millennium EcosystemAssessment (see box, this page) and theSpecies Survival Commission’s update ofthe Red List.

Finding solutions

Most of the workshops however were fo-cused on ecosystem management solu-tions rather than problems. Havingproductive debates about solutions re-quires the presence of the mainstakeholder groups and high-quality

Participants in the egoagriculture events at the Congress considered how to improveagricultural productivity and rural livelihoods while enhancing biodiversity and ecosystemservices.

Hillary Masundire, Chair of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management, opens theGlobal Synthesis Workshop on ecosystem management.

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Millennium EcosystemAssessment

Since 2001, thousands of leading sci-entists and policy makers have beenexamining the state of the world’s eco-systems and its impact on humanwell-being.

The Millennium Ecosystem As-sessment is the first and the largeststudy of its kind. The results are be-ing released as from March 2005, butthe Congress got a preview of the re-sults at a press conference and work-shop.

Among the initial findings: onlyfour of 22 assessed ecosystem serv-ices, such as water purification, havebeen enhanced through human action,while more than half have been de-graded.

www.millenniumassessment.org/


moderation. Here, the Union’s convening power was instru-mental in bringing together key representatives from the pri-vate sector with government officials, NGOs and scientists –and facilitation was assured by professional assistance from theCommission on Education and Communication. A good exam-ple was one of the marine workshops, where a diverse gatheringof stakeholders reached agreement on some important princi-ples and criteria for sustainable aquaculture, as well as the needto define sustainability indicators for specific practices in differ-ent regions. This will lead to the development of a number ofregional sustainability frameworks that will have significant buy-in from the private sector.

Conservation goes to town

In ecosystem management as elsewhere, crisis is opportunity.The ecoagriculture workshop showed how concern about theway our food is being produced has opened up new marketing

Marine workshops and events at the Congress were particularlywell-attended.

Action on the marine front

Claudio Campagna

The marine environment took centre stage at this Congress,as demonstrated by the adoption of 12 motions dealing withissues from marine species extinction to deep sea fishing. Insummary, the Congress challenged the marine conservationcommunity to take action in four general areas:

Threats to the high seas. The threats to the rich biodiversity ofdeep-sea ecosystems, including that of seamounts and cold watercoral reefs, are of urgent concern. Improved ocean govern-ance is urgently needed, as well as stricter legal mechanisms toprotect international waters – particularly from high seas bot-tom trawling – and creation of a worldwide network of high seasprotected areas. Two key resolutions were passed by theCongress related to these issues (see page 22).

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool in sus-taining marine biodiversity and resources, but they must bemade more effective and sustainable in the long term. TheCongress passed a recommendation lauding Australia for itsrecent efforts to increase both the number, and total area, ofno-take zones within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, andanother urging all Parties to the Protocol on Environmental

channels for farmers – who are further bolstered by the oppor-tunities provided by emerging ecosystem services markets. Andwhereas the rapid growth of cities is often presented as a causefor concern, the urban workshop showed how innovativemechanisms are transferring funds from urban consumers tothe managers of the ecosystems the city dwellers depend on fordrinking water and recreation.

It was heartening to witness the universal acceptance of theonce-controversial concept of the ecosystem approach to en-vironmental management. This acceptance does not stop atthe conceptual level either – new ecosystem management toolssuch as ecological networks to link up protected areas with bio-diversity-friendly land uses have been translated into action onthe ground, and lessons learned are increasingly being taken upby key actors outside the nature conservation community.

Simon Rietbergen is Acting Coordinator,IUCN Ecosystem Management Programme.

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Five easy steps

The Ecosystem Approach to natural resource management– balancing the demands of people and nature in ecosys-tems to conserve biodiversity and improve livelihoods – isnow a widely accepted principle. This book gives practicalassistance on applying it in the field. Available from theIUCN Bookstore.

Ecological networks are not just a tool for linking up Pro-tected Areas; they are also an essential mechanism formainstreaming biodiversity conservation in other sectorssuch as agriculture.

– André van der Zande, Director General,Ministry of Agriculture, The Netherlands

A significant investment in communication is essential ifnatural resource management is to benefit fully from sci-entific and local knowledge inputs.

– Nestor Windevoxhel, The Nature Conservancy (TNC),CEM Regional Vice Chair for Meso-America

What they said


Protection to the Antarctic Treaty todevelop a network of MPAs, includ-ing one for the Ross Sea.

Sustainable use. Noting the criticaldecline in wild fish, the Congress addressed the pros and consof compensating for the loss of protein with aquaculture, givenits potential impacts on the health of the marine environmentfrom the release of waste materials and the spread of diseaseand exotic species.

The benefits of an ecosystem-wide approach to marine re-source management and a “bottom-up” approach to LargeMarine Ecosystem management were discussed. A resolutionwas passed calling on the Union to further promote stakeholderinvolvement in fisheries management.

The loss of marine species has enormous implications for glo-bal biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, as well as for coastalcommunities and other marine resource-users. An expert paneldiscussion on Extinction in the Sea refuted some persistent,entrenched “myths” about marine species’ resilience to fishingand other pressures. A new, five-year Global Marine SpeciesAssessment will evaluate the status of some 20,000 marine species.

Several motions dealt with the forces driving species loss –such as incidental mortality in longline fisheries, the live reeffood fish trade, and undersea noise pollution – and addressedways to improve management and conservationof species or groups such as sturgeons andwestern grey whales.

IUCN’s Global Marine Programme emergedfrom the Congress encouraged, strengthened, andwith a clear mandate. But it can only tackle itsmany challenges by forging new partnerships andworking closely with the Union’s members andcolleagues in the global marine community.

Claudio Campagna is Researcher of the NationalResearch Council of Argentina (CONICET) and

Director of the Sea and Sky Project (WildlifeConservation Society and CONICET).

For more information, see World Conservation1/2004, Rediscovering Planet Ocean.

Now is the time

When astronauts saw theEarth from space, they real-ized that life is where the wa-ter is. The oceans matter toour very survival. Thereforewe must learn to valuemarine life less as commodi-ties and more as part of thenatural world on which wedepend.

We have been exploitingthe seas without a plan, tak-ing whatever is there. If weare to maintain the function-ing of Earth, we urgently neednew forms of ocean govern-ance. But we are now pro-tecting less than one percentof our oceans. If we don’testablish fully protected areas over large parts of our blue planetwe may soon lose the chance, forever.

IUCN can play an important role in this debate. For exam-ple, US policy on deep seabed mining follows almost word forword a recommendation that came out of the IUCN GeneralAssembly in Ashkebad many years ago.

Discussions in Bangkok among scientists, government offi-cials and others have produced a number of ideas about howwe can improve legal mechanisms for protecting the high seas,and the Congress passed an important resolution on the de-structive practice of high seas bottom trawling which calls forthe UN General Assembly to call a moratorium.

IUCN resolutions, of course, aren’t worth anything on theirown. We have to take them home, take them to heart, and makethem happen. The next decade is our chance to ‘scale up’ ourefforts and turn things around.

This is the time as never before – and maybe never again.

– Sylvia Earle, Executive Director of ConservationInternational’s Global Marine Resource Division and

Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society

More on high seasand coral reefs

High Seas Bottom Trawl Fisheriesand their Impacts on the Biodiversityof Vulnerable Deep-Sea Ecosystems:Options for International Action.(Gianni, 2004. ISBN 2-8317-0824-9)

MPAs in print

Several books were launched in Bang-kok that are useful tools for MPA prac-titioners. Among them is ManagingMarine Protected Areas, a toolkit for theWestern Indian Ocean (ISBN 2-8317-0773-0), produced by partners in theIUCN/NORAD Marine BiodiversityConservation Project in the region(www.wiomsa.org\mpatoolkit.htm).

Another is How is your MPA doing? A Guidebook of Naturaland Social Indicators for Evaluating Marine Protected AreaManagement Effectiveness (Pomeroy et al, 2004. ISBN 2-8317-0735-8), available from the IUCN Bookstore.www.iucn.org/themes/marine/

The 2004 edition of the Status ofCoral Reefs of the World, launchedat the Congress, presents theprogress in coral reef monitoringand status made over the lastdecade. (Wilkinson, 2004. ISBN1447-6185)

Roger McManus of the OceanConservancy joins Sylvia Earle at the‘Defying Ocean’s End’ exhibit.

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www.defyingoceansend.org


Health, Poverty and Conservation

Responding to the challenge ofhuman well-beingGonzalo Oviedo

In the weeks following the World Conservation Congress, twoevents showed the fundamental relevance of our discussions inBangkok on health, poverty and conservation.

The catastrophic tsunami in South Asia in December 2004provided dramatic evidence of how vulnerable the poor are tonatural disasters and how much their livelihoods depend onecosystems. In January 2005, the International Meeting of SmallIsland Developing States held in Mauritius strongly emphasisedthat such countries “are located among the most vulnerableregions in the world in relation to the intensity and frequency ofnatural and environmental disasters and their increasingimpact” – especially on the livelihoods of the poor.

It was therefore opportune that the 2004 Congress offeredmembers their first opportunity within IUCN to discuss health,poverty and conservation links in a systematic way. This initia-tive was encouraged by the messages of conferences such asthe Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development

Community Mubaan

Indigenous peoples, local community groups and local partnerNGOs had a place to voice their concerns at the Congress. ‘Com-munity Mubaan’ gathered community representatives from all overthe developing world, including the finalists for the Equator Prize,indigenous peoples’ organizations, and Thai communities.

Organized by UNDP in partnership with IUCN, the CommunityMubaan served to highlight stories of grassroots sustainable de-velopment efforts and challenges, as well as to encourage dia-logue about developing an enabling environment for communityparticipation in biodiversity conservation. The Mubaan demon-strated that community members, often working in partnership withlocal, national and international organizations, are increasingly tak-ing action to defend their rights, meet their basic needs while pre-serving the biological resources on which their – and everyone’s –future survival depends.

and the Durban World Parks Congress. It was further bolsteredby the world’s commitment to the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs), by the active engagement of a large number ofmembers in poverty-related action, by the agendas of manypartner agencies, and by the rapidly growing constituency withinthe Union representing the interests of indigenous and localcommunities.

The Congress recorded an overwhelmingly positive responseto the question of whether the Union should address issues ofpoverty. But it is fair to say that there were disagreements aboutthe focus, the approach, the extent, the levels, the scales and theresources. While some urged the active involvement of conser-vation organizations in poverty reduction, others voiced theneed for caution and restraint, being careful to link action withthe Union’s mission.

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Highlights

What did we learn from the World Con-servation Forum on the connections be-tween health, poverty and conservation?A few highlights provide a snapshot of therichness of the dialogue.

Conservation matters to all MDGs– but we are still far from achieving thesegoals. One problem in achieving theMDGs on time is a lack of understandingthat the environment should not be con-fined to MDG 7 (“Ensure environmentalsustainability”). The challenge in the shortterm is to show to what extent biodiver-sity and ecosystem services contribute torelief from hunger, health improvementand poverty reduction, that is, to allMDGs, and to uphold the principle ofequitable sharing of the costs and benefitsof conservation interventions.

Coping with climate change. Natu-ral disasters and extreme weather eventsare growing in frequency and devastatingpower due, among other factors, to cli-mate change. The world’s poor suffer themost from these events through lost live-lihoods and worsening health. In the pastdecade, 94% of natural disasters tookplace in developing countries – a trendthat scientists predict will only increase.The conservation community can makea difference by better addressing socialand ecological vulnerabilities, supportingpreparedness, contributing to mitigationand ecological restoration, and buildingpartnerships with the humanitariancommunity and other players.

Conservation and rights. On the onehand, 96 countries of the world have in-cluded the human right to a healthy envi-ronment in their national constitutions.On the other hand, human wellbeing is aright of everyone as established in the In-ternational Bill on Human Rights. Here a

new agenda has been proposed, wherehuman rights represent a meeting pointof the MDGs and the 2010 biodiversitytarget.

Biodiversity conservation can helpsecure sufficient and adequate food forall. Hunger kills 10 million people a year.Some 95% of the 842 million of the world’spoor and hungry live in rural areas, anddepend on the productivity of ecosystemsfor their livelihoods. Measures are neededto break the cycle of food insecurity andenvironmental degradation. A new focusand alliance is needed to harness the con-tribution of conservation to ending hun-ger through biodiversity and ecosystemservices.

Healthy people depend on healthyecosystems and vice-versa. Unfortunatelyit is through human suffering and prema-ture deaths that we are learning howmuch the health of people depends onthe environment – especially the health ofthe poor. One-quarter of all preventablediseases have environmental factors. Ma-laria claims one million lives a year. Kitchensmoke in poor households and other in-door air pollution kill 2.5 million people ayear. To take another example, loss of bio-diversity means missing the chance offinding potential new medicines and oflearning from medical research.

Gender can make a difference. InThailand, 60 women-managed kitchengardens are the sites for 230 recorded veg-etable and similar species, many rescuedfrom neighbouring forests before theywere cleared. Agro-biodiversity is oftenin the hands of women, who are the stew-ards of varieties that sustain self-sufficiencyand improve nutrition. But women needsecure tenure and access rights as well asenabling and empowering interventions.

People, environment and businessneed good governance and opendialogue. Weak governance, corruptionand lack of law enforcement mostly af-fect the poor and powerless. They alsodiscourage business from committing it-self to an agenda of poverty reduction,conservation, good environmentalmanagement, transparency and socialresponsibility. The need for the rule oflaw and transparency for securing envi-ronment-friendly business investmentsand corporate social responsibility wasemphasised.

Mobilizing inner power. Belief sys-tems, from indigenous and traditionalpeoples’ spiritual customs to institution-alized religions, are powerful means forenvironmental stewardship. They alsoprovide wider ethical frameworks forgood practices, information, knowledgeand skills. Further, they are usuallypeople-centred, with special regard forthe poor and vulnerable. The conserva-tion community can improve its perform-ance by linking with faiths and seekingcommon goals centred on ethical valuesconcerned with nature and humandignity.

Culture and tradition. Traditionalways of life are often healthier and betterfor the land than regimes imposed onthem, and are spiritually and culturallyrewarding. These traditional ways of lifehave come under threat, leading not onlyto unsustainable land use but also to de-creasing health and loss of culture. Res-toration of traditional land-use systemsor customary rights may be part of thesolution.

Water management for ecosystemsand people. Water is the core element oflife – and also the key to addressingpoverty reduction and health needs. Foodsecurity depends on water availability.Water-borne diseases have dramaticallygrown partly due to mismanagement ofwater resources and conversion ofnatural ecosystems. Contributing tosound water management forecosystems, biodiversity and humanwellbeing is an essential duty of theconservation community.

Gonzalo Oviedo is IUCNSocial Policy Advisor.

A new publication launched at the Congress ex-plores opportunities and ways to make participa-tory protected area management succeed, byeffectively engaging indigenous peoples and lo-cal communities as conservation partners.

IUCN Best Practice Protected Area GuidelinesNo 11. ISBN 2-8317-0675-0, 2004. xvii + 112pp.ill., £15. Order number B1180.

Indigenous and Local Communities andProtected Areas: Towards Equity andEnhanced Conservation

Reports from Forum sessions:www.iucn.org/congress/

forumreports.htm


When disaster strikes

Combining the resources of the Interna-tional Federation of the Red Cross andRed Crescent Societies and IUCN will helpensure that governments understand theimportance of strong and effective linksto communities which live in poverty,despair and environmental degradation.An example is the Caribbean region, tor-mented by hurricanes with the power todestroy the entire ecological balance ofour islands.

The Red Cross must work with theconservation community to forge an alli-ance between humanity and nature whichbenefits not just the people in need today,but also generations to come.

– Raymond Forde, Governing CouncilMember of the International Federation of

the Red Cross and Red CrescentSocieties and President of the Barbados

Red Cross Society

What they said

The right to food

The right to adequate food is recognisedin the Universal Declaration of HumanRights and the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights: it is“the fundamental right of everyone to befree from hunger”. Yet worldwide morethan 852 million people remain hungry,and many more suffer from micro-nutrient deficiencies.

Poverty and food insecurity are botha consequence and a cause of environ-mental degradation, forcing people toabandon traditionally sustainable prac-tices in favour of unsustainable ones.

– Kerstin Mechlem, Legal Officer of the UNFood and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Learning Group forconservation and povertyreduction

Many conservation agencies remain scep-tical about their role in poverty reduc-tion, arguing that interventions such asprotected areas struggle even to financethemselves, let alone generate benefits forlocal people. Similarly, many developmentagencies are unconvinced as to the po-tential for conservation to contribute totheir objectives.

IIED used the opportunity of the WorldConservation Congress to launch an in-ternational “Learning Group”, supportedby the Ford Foundation, to help bridgethe divide between conservation and de-velopment practitioners.

– Dilys Roe and Krystyna Swiderska,International Institute for Environment and

Development (IIED)

Gender analysis in forestconservation

The spiny forests of southwestern Mada-gascar are home to thousands of uniqueand rare species. In late 2002, WWF initi-ated an environmental education projectwith five villages along the Mikea forestwhich are heavily dependent on forestresources.

By integrating participatory genderanalyses in project design, WWF has beenable to provide village women with newskills for natural resource use and repro-ductive health. Women are learning tomobilize resources for small revenue-generating activities, such as sewing andraising poultry, and have become strongadvocates for conservation in theirhouseholds and their community.

– Anitry Ny Aina Ratsifandrihamanana,Conservation Director, WWF Madagascar

and West Indian Ocean IslandsProgramme Office

Tackling ‘hidden hunger’

The question of hunger is not just aboutproducing enough food but about thequality of food produced. Low nutrientcontent can cause ‘hidden hunger’. InTamil Nadu some varieties of millet whichthrive under difficult conditions and havehigh nutrition content have been lost, re-placed by other varieties. Africa has hun-dreds of species of leafy vegetables whichare often more nutritious than popularones like cabbage. Healing the land

The local church identified our GomanaEnvironmental Project site in SouthernZimbabwe as the worst degraded land inthe locality. Virtually all trees had beenchopped down, topsoil eroded, gulliesformed, water sources dried up and landrendered barren and unproductive.

Today the land is healing, thanks tothe integration of tree planting with Chris-tian ceremony. Men and women, clad incolourful church regalia, first pray andthen plant their seedlings in what they callthe Lord’s Acre, digging contour ridges tominimize soil erosion, and building struc-tures to capture rainwater. Restoring ourenvironment has become part of the veryheartbeat of the local church life andvillage spirituality.

– Solomon Zvanaka, Director of theZimbabwean Institute of Religious

Research and Ecological Conservation(ZIRRCON)

IUCN Social Policy webpage: www.iucn.org/themes/spg/themes.html

Tsunami response

A few weeks after the Congress, Thai-land was one of several nations dev-astated by the Indian Ocean tsunami.The Union quickly mobilized its widenetwork, including its members andCommission experts, in the recoveryeffort, and has recently signed anagreement with the Swiss Governmentfor post-tsunami rehabilitation. Formore on IUCN’s tsunami work, see

www.iucn.org/tsunami/

There are many opportunities for im-proving livelihoods by exploiting ne-glected or underutilized species, and cropsthat are important at the local level.

– Emile Frison, Director General of theInternational Plant Genetic Resources

Institute (IPGRI)


The World Conservation Forumprovided plenty of opportunity forparticipants to exchange ideas andexperience with colleagues.

Video messagesNobel Peace Prize Winner, WangariMaathai, though a video address, invitedCongress participants to share in the gloryof her prize and spread the message of theimportance of sustainable environmentalmanagement, good governance and equityfor peace.

Nelson Mandela, former President ofSouth Africa, conveyed three requests tothe Congress, appealing that participants:not “turn their backs” on rural economies;balance development and environmentneeds; and “uphold the power and majestyof nature”.

Singer Sting sent a short film whichunderscored the responsibility of humanstowards all species and future generations.

The great exchange

High-level roundtablesMinisters and senior representatives fromthe business and NGO sectors discussed arange of issues from ecosystem services inthe Asia-Pacific to business and theenvironment, development cooperation andinternational environmental governance.

IUCN Futures DialoguesHigh-level dialogues were held at the presscentre on future energy systems, informa-tion technology and biotechnology, andinternational environmental governance(pictured: Emil Salim of Indonesia).

World ConservationLearning NetworkThe introductory meeting of the WorldConservation Learning Network (WCLN)was held at the Congress. The WCLN is aglobal partnership of educational institutionsand the international community to build thecapacity of professionals to meet conserva-tion and sustainable development goals.

Keeping in touchParticipants made good use of the internetzone and members’ business centre.

ExhibitionThe Thai Government, Congress sponsorsand IUCN members, partners, pro-grammes, projects and Commissionsbrightened the Convention Centre withmore than 120 exhibits. Pictured: exhibit ofConservation International.

Knowledge MarketplaceA series of roundtables hosted by IUCNmembers and partners offered a chance todiscuss topics related to the Forum themes.

Conservation PlatformsThese presented regional programmes andinitiatives, book launches and allianceannouncements. Pictured is a panel on theCountdown 2010 campaign (see page 16).

Thai hospitalityThe host country welcomed delegates witha reception, buffet dinner and spectaculartheatre performance.

Institute@iucn Bangkok“How-to” training courses were offered bythis Smithsonian-UNDP partnership forbuilding the capacity of policy makers,governments and civil society to designand implement sustainable developmentand to achieve the Millennium DevelopmentGoals.

Press conferencesMembers and partners took advantage ofthe Press Centre to announce initiatives,present awards and launch publications.The Congress attracted 578 registeredmedia representatives.

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Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction

Managing risk in a changing world

Sue Mainka

Human activities, including those related to global climatechange, are driving biodiversity loss and ecosystem destructionat an unprecedented rate. The evidence is provided by key prod-ucts such as the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species re-leased at Bangkok, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment– the biggest-ever assessment of the state of knowledge aboutlife on Earth.

Together these studies underpinned much of the debateduring the Congress workshops on “Biodiversity Loss and Spe-cies Extinction – managing risk in a changing world”, at whichparticipants thrashed out some of the options and priorities foraction.

The good news: there is hope. People are starting to realizethe value of biodiversity for their own well-being. Governmentshave made the commitment to significantly reduce the rate ofbiodiversity loss by 2010, and signed on to the MillenniumDevelopment Goals which include environmental sustainability.

Our collective energies during the Forum focused on howto combat the escalating problems of invasive alien species, theunsustainable use of medicinal species and climate change.For the first time we have sufficient information at our disposalto design effective conservation strategies.

Participants were presented with a range of actions that, iftaken, would diminish harmful changes in ecosystems. Theseinclude:

correcting market failures;eliminating subsidies that promote excessive use of specificecosystem services;increasing the transparency and accountability of govern-ment decision-making related to ecosystems, includingthrough greater involvement of concerned stakeholders; andplacing greater emphasis on adaptive management.

Preventing invasions

Combating problems such as the spread of invasive alien spe-cies involves conveying the message that it is much easier andcheaper to prevent biological invasions in the first place than itis to get rid of them once they have taken hold. Dealing withexisting invasions needs cooperation across all sectors of societyincluding government and business, together with the sharingof information and lessons learned.

As the bill for eradicating species is already running intobillions, one innovative tactic raised during the Forum is toengage the insurance sector by showing it that society will haveto bear the costs of invasives if no one else claims responsibility.

Other recommendations included ensuring effective inputto the World Trade Organization to help reduce the impacts of

trade liberalization on the spread ofinvasives. Promoting the use of nativespecies rather than introduced species forbiological control, aquaculture and horti-culture is essential.

Stopping over-use

There was no shortage of ideas on how toaddress the unsustainable use of wild

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2004 IUCN Red ListThe Congress opened to the news that the worldis facing an escalating global species extinc-tion crisis. The launch of the 2004 IUCN RedList of Threatened Species at the start of theconference revealed that 15,589 species face extinction, more than half ofwhich are plants.

A companion publication, the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Spe-cies: A Global Species Assessment (ISBN 2-8317-0826-5) is the most com-prehensive evaluation ever undertaken of the status of the world’sbiodiversity. It includes the Red List Index (RLI), a critical new tool that willhelp track changes within taxonomic groups over time.

www.iucnredlist.org

Top left: one of North America’s rarest mammals, theBlack-footed Ferret Mustela nigripes. Above:Critically Endangered snail Trachycystis clifdeni fromSouth Africa.


species that are the source of manymedicines used today. This over-useputs huge pressure on humanity’s abil-ity to keep the world’s people healthy,and jeopardizes future plant- andanimal-derived medical applicationsnot yet discovered. It not only puts atrisk the basic livelihoods of millionsof people, but corporate businessprofits as well.

The forum workshops highlightedseveral positive signs that political andeconomic drivers can be engaged tohelp solve the often complex set ofproblems. New initiatives, such as re-gional commitments from the Asso-ciation of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) to address wildlife trade,show hope for the future. A growingfocus on the part of the private sectoron certification standards and sustain-able procurement is also beginning toshow positive results. More emphasisshould be placed on understanding“why consumers consume” to guideinnovative interventions that changeconsumption patterns.

Reversing over-exploitation hasto involve all stakeholders andincorporate local knowledge andmanagement systems. This means

Oracle valuesbiodiversity information

Oracle Corporation donated US$3 million to the SpeciesInformation Service (SIS), an initiative of IUCN and its Spe-cies Survival Commission. SIS is poised to transform envi-ronmental decision-making through universal access to thelatest biodiversity information, and produces scientific prod-ucts such as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

establishing links between different sectors of society such asscientists, economists, the business community, and traditionaland conventional medical practitioners. It means creating in-centives for communities and civil society to participate in man-aging the resources from which they receive tangible benefits.

Adapting to a warmer Earth

Climate change is one of the most important direct drivers ofchange for species, ecosystems and their services. Changes intemperature and precipitation will change bio-productivity. Sealevel rise will flood lands used for food production and threatenmangroves and other vegetation that protect shorelines. Cli-mate change is projected to increase the difficulty of meetingour needs for clean water, energy and food, and to increasebiodiversity loss. Once again, it is the poorest and most vulnerablecommunities that will be hit hardest.

Birds in the spotlight

Important BirdAreas in Asia, pub-lished by IUCNmember BirdLifeInternational, is thefirst comprehen-sive inventory ofAsia’s most impor-tant places for birdsand biodiversity.

Launched atthe Congress byBirdLife’s Honorary President, HIH Princess Takamado ofJapan (pictured here with Noritaka Ichida, Director ofBirdLife International’s Asia Division), the report revealsthat more than half of Asia’s bird areas have no legal desig-nation, or are only partially protected by law, and warns thatone in eight of the region’s 2700 birds are threatened withextinction unless these areas are adequately protected andmanaged.

The Directory of Important Bird Areas in the Kingdom ofThailand was launched at the same time.

BirdLife, an IUCN member, is the Listing Authority forbirds for the IUCN Red List.

www.birdlife.org

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The Biodiversity Reporting Award

Winners of the 2004 Biodiversity Reporting Award were announced at the Congress.The award was established in 1999 to recognise outstanding environmental reportingin the biodiversity-rich countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Madagascarand Peru. The award is organized by Conservation International, the International Centerfor Journalists (ICFJ) and the International Federation of Environmental Journalists(IFEJ). The seven winners were Erick Ortega of Bolivia, Carlos Enrique Fioravanti andLiana John of Brazil, Luis Fernando Molina Prieto of Colombia, Nicosia Smith ofGuyana, Hajasoa Raoeliarivelo of Madagascar and Marienella Ortiz Ramírez of Peru.

www.biodiversityreporting.org/


A broad alliance of European governments and NGOs hasadopted the goal of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010.The Countdown 2010 Initiative was the subject of a high-level Conservation Platform and one of the Global Synthe-sis Workshops at the World Conservation Forum.

The IUCN Regional Office for Europe is providing theInitiative’s Secretariat.

The European Countdown 2010 is a response to theglobal goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity “toachieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate ofbiodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levelas a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit ofall life on earth”.

Within the context of the Countdown 2010 campaign,European members sponsored a pre-Congress excursionto Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park, during which a dona-tion of equipment was made to the park (photo at left).

Zoom on the invasives

One of the most photogenic events of the Forum was thecompetition “Zoom on the invasives” organized by IUCNand Fujifilm. Its purpose was to highlight the impact of inva-sive species on biodiversity and livelihoods, and draw at-tention to the main findings of Forum discussions on thetheme “Coping with Aliens”.

www.sur.iucn.org/competition/concurso_about.htm

Although governments and businesses are starting to takeresponsibility for their greenhouse gas emissions, we are nowpast the point where warming of the Earth’s atmosphere can beavoided. A growing emphasis is therefore being placed on ad-aptation. While more aggressive emissions reductions areneeded, effective sustainable development depends on climatechange adaptation becoming part of natural resource planning.

We clearly have a long way to go to meet the global biodiver-sity targets, and so the conservation community must workharder to show the critical link between effective ecosystemmanagement and human well-being. The message is starting tofilter through to decision makers, and the IUCN Programmecan help chart the way towards a more sustainable future.

Sue Mainka is Senior Coordinator,IUCN Global Programme.

What they said

Educating the public

We must protect biodiversity if we are to protectourselves. Our job is to educate others, particularly thepublic, so we can help them to understand that theirhealth ultimately depends on the health of the globalenvironment.

– Eric Chivian, Director, Centre forHealth and Global Environment,

Harvard Medical School

Improved timber sourcing

Interest from responsible buyers in the EU is a powerfulincentive to participate in sustainable timber procure-ment – and for one company in Indonesia has meant afour-fold increase in furniture exports since theydemonstrably improved their sourcing.

– Hugh Blackett,Tropical Forest Trust

www.countdown2010.net/Tamas Marghescu, Regional Director of the Union’s Europeanoffice, and park officials open the newly-equipped facilities atThailand’s Khao Yai National Park.

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Markets, Business and the Environment

Strengthening corporate social responsibility,law and policy

The urgent need for conservation to engage with business was aconsistent theme throughout the Bangkok Congress. Perhapsmore surprising was the remarkable readiness shown by theprivate sector to help the conservation community put marketsto work for biodiversity.

The Congress attracted representatives from all types of busi-ness – from multinational companies to small-scale entrepre-neurs — to share their experience and know-how and to reachout to one another and to the wider IUCN family.

A number of tools to help businesses improve their envi-ronmental performance were discussed in Bangkok:

1. Certification of sustainability

Voluntary certification of social and environmental perform-ance covers a growing range of goods and services, from timberand food to cotton and tourism. But certification can only workif businesses understand and support sustainability, and if NGOsunderstand and accept that these activities should contribute tothe profitability of businesses.

The certification approach is expanding, with recent initia-tives including the development of markets for new ‘green’ prod-ucts and services, the ‘greening’ of mainstream markets, andthe targeting of market players other than final consumers.

The IUCN community can help to adapt certification initia-tives to developing countries, e.g. reduce costs; work to improveunderstanding of the relation between voluntary and manda-tory standards; encourage strengthened monitoring and en-forcement; and promote wider participation in the governanceof certification.

2. Socially responsible investment

Some international financial institutions are starting to includeenvironmental and social considerations in their investmentdecisions and setting sustainability standards for projectfinancing.

Kerry ten Kate, Director of Investor Responsibility at InsightInvestment, a UK fund manager, told us in Bangkok: “Capitalmarkets can create a big lever for conservation by supportinginvestor responsibility, internalizing costs and moving towardslong-term investing”.

Financial institutions in the private sector increasingly real-ize that sustainability is key to determining the success of in-vestments in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The IUCNcommunity can and should engage with banks, insurance com-panies and pension funds to ensure the rigor of their biodiver-sity policies and to communicate the business case forbiodiversity. The conservation community is also well-positionedto promote responsible SMEs and to identify opportunities forsocially-responsible investors.

Joshua Bishop

3. Business and biodiversity partnerships

Biodiversity partnerships between business and conservation-ists are widespread and working. Getting to know each other iscritical to the success of partnerships between business andconservation groups, but their effective engagement requiresclarity and consensus about principles, targets and indicators.

The Congress called on IUCN members and business part-ners to share their experiences, strengthen NGO capacity toaddress corporate policies at the head office level as well ascorporate action at the operational level, and develop effectiveguidelines for conservation NGOs seeking private sector fundswithout compromising their integrity or independence.

4. Marketing ecosystem services

Finance for biodiversity conservation has stagnated, in spite ofincreased understanding of the importance of biodiversity forsustaining economies and livelihoods. “Public finance for

www.biodiversityeconomics.org

Seed Award finalists visit Community Mubaan.

Seed awards

The twelve finalists of the first biennial Seed Awards, chosenamong 260 entries from sixty-six countries, presented theirwinning projects to the Congress.

Seed – Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment andDevelopment – is a collaborative government-backed effortof IUCN, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) toinspire and support new, locally-driven entrepreneurial part-nerships for sustainable development.

Five winners will be announced during the 13th Sessionof the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in April2005.

www.seedinit.org

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conservation is facing a crisis and we need to think of creativenew ways to fund biodiversity conservation,” pointed outMichael Jenkins, President of Forest Trends, in our Bangkokdiscussions.

Markets for watershed protection, carbon sequestration andbiodiversity services can offer powerful incentives for conser-vation, by creating new financial opportunities for landownersand local communities. Climate change mitigation is the mostrapidly emerging new market, through payments for CO

2 emis-

sion reductions under the Kyoto Protocol.Even without payments, however, it often makes good busi-

ness sense to reduce environmental impacts. In Bangkok weheard how BP saved US$650 million while reducing emissionsof CO

2 by 10% from 1990 levels.

What can IUCN do? We should seek to strengthen govern-ance and access to information about ecosystem service mar-kets, in order to build trust and facilitate participation bydeveloping countries and small-scale resource users. Anotherpriority is to pilot economic incentive schemes and share expe-riences, while closely monitoring their environmental, economicand social impacts. Conservationists can also clarify how re-source management practices affect the quality and quantity ofecosystem services, essential information for the design ofeffective markets.

5. International trade and biodiversity

Trade is a key driver of economic growth and business invest-ment; our challenge is to make it friendlier

to the environment. TheCongress showed that

IUCN can be an effec-tive convener and cred-

ible knowledge-providerin the trade debate.

The conservation commu-nity must articulate more

clearly the links between tradeand biodiversity, taking into ac-count the special concerns ofthe South.

Eliminating subsidies thatencourage over-use of re-sources – particularly in agri-culture and fisheries – isanother priority. IUCN should

also focus on improving coher-ence between trade and environmen-

tal regimes and protecting “policy space”for the environment. This requires capacity

building, better policy integration and empowermentof those currently marginalized from trade debates.

Although the business case for biodiversity is strong and gettingstronger, only a small proportion of companies include socialand environmental criteria in their decision-making. Furtherchange is needed in the behaviour of both companies and con-sumers, based on a mix of regulation and voluntary approaches.

Joshua Bishop is IUCN Senior Adviser, Economics and theEnvironment.

This article was prepared in collaboration with IUCN staff andCongress participants.

Carbon credits:a powerful incentive for reforestation

There is an emerging relationship between the objectives ofpublic policy, the global need for solutions to environmentaland social challenges, and the potential to harness capital mar-kets in our pursuit of the most appropriate solutions.

In 1998, Australia saw its first carbon trade, which occurredbetween State Forests of New South Wales, the government-owned forestry agency, and Pacific Power, an electricity genera-tor. We sold the carbon credits from a one thousand hectarearea of government-funded plantation over ten years. This re-ceived substantial media attention, and we realized that thiscould provide a powerful new incentive for private investmentin reforestation.

Buyers in the largely emerging biodiversity services marketsinclude businesses, non-profit organizations, research institutes,donors, governments and private individuals.

Our task is to continue to demonstrate the benefits of thesetypes of investments and to disseminate them to potentialinvestors.

– Hon. Kim Yeadon, Member of Parliamentfor New South Wales, and Former

Minister for Forestry, Australia

IUCN’s interactionwith the privatesector was a majortopic of debatethroughout theCongress. Pictured:Juan Carlos Bonillaof ConservationInternationalsummarises thecontact groupdiscussion of aresolution related tothis topic.II

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What they said

Ecosystem Marketplace

One solution to the crisis in conservation finance has beenoffered by the Katoomba Group’s Ecosystem Marketplace.

Aimed at promoting and supporting markets for eco-system services, the Ecosystem Marketplace is an informa-tion clearing-house which consolidates information on newecosystem markets, including those for ecosystem-basedcarbon, water and watershed services, biodiversity, wetlandsand endangered species.

The Ecosystem Marketplace was launched at the Con-gress by Forest Trends, a US-based NGO which specializesin sustainable market-based conservation strategies.

www.ecosystemmarketplace.com


Finding a common language

We are, once again, at a critical time of transition for IUCN andfor the world of conservation. Having articulated a compellingvision for a sustainable future, the Union must now take a morerealistic look at how that vision might best be achieved. This willrequire all the creativity and energy that it can muster.

It will also require IUCN moving beyond the comfortableconfines of the green community to understand and influencenew circles. And it will mean finding a common language withthe private sector and with those organizations that set the fun-damental rules of international behaviour, whether among statesor among economic partners.

The private sector case for biodiversity is compelling. Busi-ness and markets cannot function if ecosystems and the serv-ices they provide – like water, fibre, food, etc. – are underminedor destabilized. Companies that understand and manage theirbiodiversity impacts are better equipped to secure their licenseto operate, strengthen their supply chains, appeal to conserva-tion-conscious customers and investors, and develop newbusiness opportunities.

The environment community case for working with busi-ness is also strong. Governments can no longer be relied on todeliver conservation alone. Working jointly with business,leveraging the private sector’s capacity to marshal resources,skills and know-how to implement change in support of biodi-versity, can become an additional and powerful conservationstrategy for IUCN.

– H.E. Anand Panyarachun,former Prime Minister of Thailand and Chair of the Thailand

Business Council for Sustainable Development

Get on with it

It is clear to most that the private sector is the key group in theformal economy that actually delivers what people need – or atthe very least supplies intermediaries to deliver. The develop-ment charities do not make pipes or refine energy or pack soap,for example.

It follows that the sector, in all its heterogeneity, is a vital partof development. But until recently it has not really been recog-nised formally as a part of the development equation – particu-larly where poverty reduction is the target. There are not toomany amongst those who run aid agencies and NGOs who regarda dialogue with commercial players as a priority. This is chang-ing, as it must.

When it comes to the IUCN family it is doubly vital that theEnvironment part of the development equation features in thiswidening debate. Once again we see “growth” at any cost beingchampioned – rather than environmentally and sociallyresponsible growth. So thereis much work to do.

This cannot proceed onthe basis that the only wayforward is to regulate the pri-vate sector. Certainly enforcedregulation is needed. Fairtrade regulations are vital too.But there is so much more todo at a micro level to ensurethat commercial develop-ment does not ruin the planetas it progresses.

Partnerships:what makes a happy marriage?

Why should business and NGOs collaborate? To help answerthis question, a workshop panel of ten business and NGO ex-perts involved in existing partnerships discussed why they areinvolved in collaborative relationships. Practitioners representedmany parts of the world and a range of sectors including oil andgas, forestry, mining, aggregates, services and tourism.

Panelists were passionate about the value of their specificcollaborations – confirming these are delivering enhanced bio-diversity and business benefits to both partners and are impor-tant to sustainability strategies. The importance of getting toknow each other before entering into formal arrangements wasstressed as critical to short- and long-term success. Fundingand sustaining partnerships was also a considerable butmanageable challenge.

The positive role of NGOs as educators and influencers ofbusiness thinking and action was considered significant by thosecompanies that are actively addressing biodiversity. Sharedlearning between organizations is a very important co-benefit.Creative resourcing was also evident, with NGOs being able toparticipate in capacity-building and training initiatives of part-ner companies on topics like planning, asset management,health and safety.

In spite of some residual skepticism, it’s clear that the ideaof business-NGO partnerships is gaining wide acceptance.Previous partnerships involving government agencies have beenuseful in getting the “ground rules” of engagement clearly andequitably established, in keeping with other forms of partner-ship – including marriage! As in any such union, it helps to learnfrom experience.

– James Griffiths, World Business Councilfor Sustainable Development

This must be a niche for IUCN. The Union can contributebest practice with communities, local capacity building, envi-ronmentally sane investment appraisal and so much more.

The resolutions passed in Bangkok did not reject coopera-tion with the private sector but they boxed it in somewhat. Thisis more than fair if one considers what certain firms have toanswer for historically. But making sure the Union’s values arenot sold short is one thing – using the theology of green purity toprevent sensible and much needed dialogue to find sustainabledevelopment solutions quite another.

Let’s get on with it.

– Richard Sandbook, former IUCN Councillor for WesternEurope and currently senior advisor to UNDP

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The Global Synthesis Workshop on markets, business and the environment summarised the breakoutdiscussions on corporate responsibility, trade, investment, certification and partnerships.

www.wbcsd.org/web/projects/ecosystems/iucnworldcongress.pdf


Water as a Human Right?John Scanlon, Angela Cassar and Noémi Nemes

Formally acknowledging water as ahuman right could encourage theinternational community andgovernments to enhance theirefforts to satisfy basic humanneeds and to meet the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. This publica-tion clearly and carefully sets outthe competing arguments and thechallenges.

IUCN Environmental Policyand Law Paper No. 51. ISBN 2-8317-0785-4, 2004, 240 x 165mm, ix+ 53pp., £8.50. Order no. B2060

Can Protected Areas contribute to PovertyReduction? Opportunities and Limitations

Lea M. Scherl, Alison Wilson, RobertWild, Jill Blockhus, Phil Franks, JeffreyA. McNeely and Thomas O. McShane

This book presents a balancedperspective on how protected areasrelate to poverty, both positively andnegatively, based on a broad consen-sus of leading organizations workingin conservation and development.

ISBN 2-8317-0830-3, 2004, 210 x150mm, viii + 68pp., figures, colourphotos, £10.50. Order no. B2095

The World Conservation Bookstore exhibit at the Congress.

New books, reports, strategies and guides often tookcentre stage at the Congress, an indication of theenormous productivity of the Union and its members.A small selection:

Managing Mountain Protected Areas:Challenges and Responses for the 21st CenturyEdited by David Harmon and Graeme Worboys

A compilation of theresults of a workshop ofthe 2003 Vth IUCN WorldParks Congress, thisbook offers expertadvice on managingclimate change andother issues includingfragmentation ofhabitats, loss ofmountain species,community involve-ment, and the culturaland spiritual values ofnatural sites, particu-larly mountain WorldHeritage Sites.

ISBN 88-86728-98-0,2004, 432pp.

In print at the Congress

Guidelines for Planning andManaging Mountain ProtectedAreasSynthesised and edited by LawrenceHamilton and Linda McMillan

This is a new edition of the 1992handbook of principles and practicalguidelines aimed at conserving therich mountain heritage of nature andculture in the high places of ourworld, and directed to those who havea role in managing protected areas in mountain environments.

ISBN 2-8317-0777-3, 2004, 239 x 164mm, xi + 83pp., b/wphotos, £11.50. Order no. B2055

Mountains times two

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Graeme Worboys, WCPA Vice-Chair forMountains (left), and FredericioCinquepalmi of the Ministry of the Envir-onment of Italy, during the launch of“Managing Mountain Protected Areas”,a publication technically and financiallysupported by the Government of Italy.

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Catalogue now available:

World Conservation Bookstore 2005

The World Conservation Bookstore is a compilation of titlesavailable from: IUCN, CITES – Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, IUCN– The World Conservation Union, the Ramsar Convention onWetlands, TRAFFIC – the joint wildlife trade monitoring pro-gramme of IUCN and WWF, and the UNEP-World Conserva-tion Monitoring Centre. It includes relevant titles from IUCNmembers or other publishers, and takes orders online:

www.iucn.org/bookstore/


Yolanda Kakabadse

What a fantastic Congress!As I hand over the Presidency of The World Conservation

Union to my worthy successor, Valli Moosa, I am thrilled tothink back on the eight years I have shared with the Union as itsPresident, and of our many accomplishments together whichfound their culmination in the Members’ Business Assembly ofthis Congress.

This periodic gathering of the IUCN family always shows theUnion at its best. In Bangkok, after grueling hours, passionatediscussions and laser focus, the members:

adopted 118 Resolutions and Recommendations whichprovide clear guidance on broad policies related to IUCN’sIntersessional Programme for 2005–2008, and on criticalconservation issues of global importance;

approved the 2005–2008 Programme and the Commissionmandates;

examined the Union’s finances and auditor’s reports, andapproved a new financial plan;

heard and digested external reviews of the Union and itsCommissions;

studied reports from the regional committees and forums;

considered changes to the statutes and rules of procedure;

elected a President, Treasurer, six Commission Chairs and24 Regional Councillors;

welcomed 29 new members to the IUCN family (admittedby Council just before the Congress);

honoured several of the Union’s most dedicated supporterswith awards for their service.

By fulfilling these duties, the members did more than takecare of necessary red tape. They set the agenda for the Unionand for the conservation community for the next four yearsand beyond. That agenda, as expressed in the Union’s unifiedProgramme, is expanding in ambition and scope as we speak.In the past eight years, the Union has fully acknowledged thelinks between biodiversity conservation and social issues suchas human rights, poverty reduction and equity. This transfor-mation was clearly seen in the Programme and in the Congressworkshops and resolutions. Thanks to IUCN, conservation isbecoming more relevant to all branches of our human family.

At the Assembly the members also selected the conserva-tion leaders who will guide and implement our agenda as the

Union’s governing body. I think we sometimes overlook theimportance of this act.

Take our Commission Chairs. The Union’s six Commissionshave a total membership of over 10,000 volunteer scientistsand conservation practitioners from a huge number of varieddisciplines and cultures. The Chairs are responsible for ensur-ing that these experts gather and synthesise state-of-the-artknowledge and information and disseminate it throughout theUnion’s global network and beyond. Their work is sometimesthankless, always difficult, and we owe them a great debt ofgratitude.

Expanding Council’s role

In terms of the Union’s governance, I think a major accom-plishment during my term as President was to increase theprofile and role of Council. This was long overdue. The Coun-cil is one of the Union’s major lifelines to the worldat large, and to the conservation communi-ties of every continent. We must make thegreatest use possible of their expertiseand their great influence in their re-spective regions, and help them tospread the Union’s message.

In return, our Councillorsshould become more re-sponsive and accountableto the members of theirregions, and participatemore fully in efforts to fur-ther decentralize and region-alize the Union.

Finally, I must thank onceagain the Congress organizers,our Thai hosts and particularlyIUCN Secretariat members whoworked so tirelessly to make the Con-gress a great success. I hope that togetherwe have helped to give the world of conser-vation a more human face.

Yolanda Kakabadse wasPresident of IUCN from 1996–2004.

Members’ Business Assembly

Conservationwith ahuman face


Steve Edwards, FrederikSchutyser and Sue Mainka

At each World Conservation Congress, themembers of the Union put forward theirvision for the future of conservation. TheResolutions and Recommendationsadopted by IUCN’s members in Bangkokprovide a framework for action as wework to implement our Programme andfulfill the World Conservation Strategy.

IUCN’s new Programme for 2005–2008firmly embraces the need for successfulconservation to address the underlyingcauses of biodiversity loss. A key aspectof that work includes joining the globalcommunity that is working towardsachieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals as well as the targets set in theJohannesburg Plan of Action and the 2010Biodiversity target set by the Conventionon Biological Diversity. IUCN believes thatconservation is a central requirement toachieving these goals, as the conditionof the environment within which people

live and the services provided by thatenvironment will greatly influence long-term human well-being.

A total of 118 Resolutions and Rec-ommendations were adopted at the 3rd

IUCN World Conservation Congress inBangkok in November 2004 (see Box 1for the scorecard of decisions). This addsto the existing body of IUCN policy guid-ance (788 Resolutions and Recommen-dations from previous Congresses andGeneral Assemblies) that needs to be takeninto consideration as we implement theIUCN Programme 2005–2008. The mo-tions adopted in Bangkok do not alter theoverarching framework provided by the2005–2008 Programme, but do offer guid-ance on approaches to conservation and/or specific action that could be taken bythe Secretariat and Commissions on awide range of issues. Finally, some reso-lutions discuss changes to the governanceof the Union. The full list of Resolutionsand Recommendations adopted is avail-able on the IUCN website.

Resolutions relating to governanceprovide specific guidance to application

of a precedence clause when applyingIUCN policy. This is particularly impor-tant as conservation paradigms shift andneeds vary. The precedence clause sim-ply means that from now on, in caseswhere IUCN has two policy statementswith conflicting ideas or advice, the mostrecent policy statement is valid. Otherresolutions relating to governance coverissues of transparency and language.

With respect to IUCN’s approach toconservation, a number of motions wereadopted relating to incorporation of theideas of human rights, poverty alleviationand the use of landscape-scale and eco-system approach based actions. TheseResolutions demonstrate the Union’s rec-ognition of the key role that people playin both conservation and sustainable

Resolutions and Recommendations

The Union decides

Technology greatly improved the votingprocess at this Congress.

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development and reinforce the focus ofthe Programme on underlying causes ofbiodiversity loss.

Within the body of Resolutionsadopted at Bangkok, several themes andareas of work can be highlighted, includ-ing marine issues, management of pro-tected areas, engagement with the privatesector, the relationship between povertyalleviation and biodiversity conservationand genetically modified organisms(GMOs).

Marine fisheries and biodiversity

“The urgent need to adopt strict controlsover high seas fisheries and to improveconservation of marine biodiversity werethe two dominant themes,” noted CarlGustaf Lundin, Head of IUCN’s GlobalMarine Programme. Taken together,these Resolutions and Recommendationssignal the Union’s increasing concernover the lack of effective regulations tocontrol, and where necessary prevent,destructive fishing practices on the highseas, with special concern for the impactof unsustainable high seas bottomtrawling.

Members specifically call on the UNGeneral Assembly to halt bottom trawl-ing in areas not covered by Regional Fish-eries Management Organizations or othermanagement agreements until regimesare in place to protect high seas biodiver-sity that are consistent with establishedlegal frameworks, such as the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea.

Protected areas: shifting emphasis

More than ten of the adopted Resolutionsand Recommendations have protectedareas as their main focus but with a shift-ing emphasis in the key issues for the fu-ture. These include addressing a numberof gaps in existing coverage, e.g. freshwa-ter and marine protected areas, as well asexplicitly calling for integrating protectedareas in the wider landscape, and for pro-tected areas management to liaise andcooperate more closely with their localcommunities. IUCN continues its lead-ership role, building on the continuingdebates, not least at the Vth IUCN WorldParks Congress, which determine the

future of protected areas thinking andpractice.

Working with the private sector

The two Resolutions addressing relation-ships between IUCN and the private sec-tor (RESWCC3.060, Influencing privatesector actions in favour of biodiversity, and061, IUCN’s interaction with the privatesector) underscore members’ recognitionthat successful conservation of biologicaldiversity requires engagement with theprivate sector. Both Resolutions call forthe preparation of guidelines to promotetransparency in the relationships with theprivate sector, the principle of “freeprior and informed consent” when deal-ing with all stakeholders, and the focuson needs to conserve biological diversity.A comprehensive work plan is to be avail-able by the end of 2005, with priority givento “cooperate with the private sector inareas which address the root causes ofbiodiversity loss … where action can bemost effective”.

The relationship between povertyalleviation and biodiversityconservation

One of the key debates at Bangkok cen-tred on a suite of motions that articulatedthe role of conservation in poverty alle-viation and food security as well as notingthat IUCN’s key strength and heartlandremain in the arena of biodiversity con-servation. These two concepts are notmutually exclusive and, indeed, the newProgramme clearly shows that success inboth areas is mutually dependent.

Three Resolutions address the rolepoverty reduction will play in IUCN’s work(RESWCC3.014, 015 and 016), and one

Draft motions submitted before the Congress 127

Draft motions rejected or consolidated with other motionsby the Resolutions Working Group - 13

Total approved motions forwarded for consideration at the Congress 114

New motions submitted at the Congress + 17

Total of motions managed at Congress 131

New motions not meeting sponsorship or rejected bythe Resolutions Committee - 6

Motions withdrawn at the Congress - 3

Motions consolidated with other motions - 2

Total motions put to the vote 120

Motions not approved - 2

Total adopted: 80 Resolutions and 38 Recommendations 118

Motions considered and adopted at the3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress

Contact group on conservation and sustainable management of high seas biodiversity.

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(RESWCC3.017) promotes “... foodsovereignty to conserve biodiver-sity and end hunger”. These Reso-lutions reinforce the concept that,in implementing our Programme,IUCN’s core mission and values alsorecognise that poverty reduction isoften closely linked to our ability toachieve our conservation objec-tives. In particular, IUCN’s Com-missions are called on “... topromote poverty reduction activi-ties which foster the sustainable useof natural resources and biodiver-sity conservation”.

GMOs

GMOs remain a contentious issueamong IUCN members, not leastbecause of the many uncertainties associated with their use.Members have requested that IUCN do substantive work tobetter understand the relationship between GMOs and biodi-versity and to disseminate this knowledge to members and stake-holders. RESWCC3.007 calls for a “moratorium on the furtherrelease of genetically modified organisms until they can be dem-onstrated to be safe for biodiversity, human and animal healthbeyond reasonable doubt.” In addition, this Resolution and

RESWCC3.008, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) andbiodiversity, call for compilation and communication of infor-mation on the risks of GMOs to IUCN members.

What now?

This new body of Resolutions and Recommendations providesadditional guidance for implementing the IUCN Programme.With the proviso that all motions were adopted subject to avail-

able resources, each adopted motion will betracked and implementation reported upon onan annual basis. Updated information will beavailable at the end of each year on the IUCNwebsite.

In addition to overseeing implementation ofthese resolutions, a more strategic issue becameclear at Bangkok. An extremely large number ofmotions (see box) were processed at the Con-gress in only three days. Indeed, one of the fewconcerns reported by participants in feedbackto the Secretariat related to the number of mo-tions that were addressed during the BusinessAssembly, and the capacity of the Union to fairlyconsider the content and implications of each.Perhaps it is time to step back and critically re-consider the rationale behind the Resolutionsprocess. Are there alternative procedures thatwould meet the members’ needs in gaining in-ternational recognition of local problems and/or issues while preserving the policy-setting roleof the Resolutions process? This is a questionthat will need to be addressed as we prepare forthe 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress.

Steve Edwards is IUCN Senior Adviser for theWorld Conservation Congress.

Frederik Schutyser is Programme Officer, IUCNGlobal Programme.

Sue Mainka is Senior Coordinator, IUCN GlobalProgramme.

Contact group on community-conserved areas.

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The text of all motions is available at:www.iucn.org/congress/members/

motions.htmContact group on poverty-related resolutions.

Environmental governance was the subject of two Congress motions as well asdiscussions at a high-level roundtable (pictured).

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The Reuters Foundation and IUCN held a Global awards Cer-emony for the winners of 2004 Environmental Media Awards

The Congress provided an opportunity to create, renew andspotlight a number of conservation partnerships and agree-ments.

NASA and IUCN signed a joint declaration to use NASAsatellite data to help in worldwide conservation efforts.A coalition of organizations showcased their “Conserva-tion Commons”, created in May 2004 for sharing conser-vation data, information and knowledge in new ways.IUCN and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed aMOU to collaborate on poverty alleviation and sustain-able development. The Union also signed agreements withIndia, Pakistan, Switzerland and Viet Nam.Viet Nam and Lao PDR agreed to work against the illegalwildlife trade across their border.IUCN and UNESCO announced a partnership to developindicators to assess the progress in education for sustain-able development.Oracle donated US$3 million to the Species InformationService (see page 15).A new MOU was signed between Ramsar, IUCN, WWF,Birdlife International and Wetlands International.The Swiss reinsurer Swiss Re awarded US$75,000 to aland reform project in Viet Nam for the sound use andmanagement of watersheds.Business and NGO partners WWF, BioRegional andPelicano presented their One Planet Living initiative to cre-ate sustainable communities while conserving and restor-ing woodland and wildlife habitat.The results of the project “Building Partnerships for ForestConservation and Management in Russia”, a collabora-tive effort of the IUCN Moscow Office, Canadian Interna-tional Development Agency (CIDA), Russian partnerorganizations and local communities, were announced.

Satellites for conservation: thanks to a new partnership, NASA’ssatellite data, images and technical expertise will be available toIUCN, particularly the Species Information Service (SIS), ProtectedAreas Learning Network (PALNet) and the World Database onProtected Areas (WDPA).

The Congress offered opportunities to formalize agreements andpartnerships. Here Dr Pham Khoi Nguyen and Achim Steiner sign aMemorandum of Understanding between IUCN and Viet Nam.

Keyword: partnership

Reuters-IUCN Environmental Media Awards 2004

Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan, honorary President of Birdlife,presented the global 2004 Reuters-IUCN Award for Excellence in Environmental Report-ing to Tom Knudson of the United States (left). Mr Knudson’s article, “State of Denial”,published in The Sacramento Bee, was an investigation into California’s consumptionpatterns and their environmental footprint on other parts of the world. It was selected asthe best by a Global Master Jury among six articles from Latin America, North Americaand Oceania, Europe, Asia, English-speaking Africa and the Middle East, and French-speaking Africa. Regional winners (with Knudson, above left): Massoud Ansari, TomásH. Guevara, Jean-Valère Ngoubangoyi, Leon Marshall and Duncan Graham-Rowe.

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Joint statement on climate

WWF Director General Claude Martin issueda statement on behalf of eight major conser-vation groups recognizing that climatechange is undermining their work in combat-ing biodiversity loss. The joint statementrepresented WWF, Birdlife International,Conservation International, Flora and FaunaInternational, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy,Wetlands International, the World Conservation Society, and WorldResources Institute. The statement followed the screening of TheGreat Warming, a new documentary on the effects of climate changesponsored by Swiss Re (pictured).

www.swissre.com

www.iucn.org/reuters/2004


The IUCN Programme for 2005–2008 is the Union’s first majorconservation programme developed through a worldwide con-sultative process since Caring for the Earth was published in1991. It is the product of 18 months of work by IUCN members,Commissions, Secretariat and partners in over 70 countries.

The Assembly approved the Programme more or less unani-mously (we hope that the sole dissenting vote was because some-one pushed the wrong button!). The Assembly also passed asuite of resolutions that add to the Programme and provide aclear indication of the support which the Programme can counton. It has far-reaching implications, both for conservation andfor the future of IUCN.

In a nutshell, the Programme focuses on the linkages be-tween the health of the environment and social and economicsystems. The importance of two of these linkages came out verystrongly in the World Conservation Forum discussions: the rela-tionship between human livelihoods and the health of ecosys-tems, and the potential contribution of business to a healthyenvironment.

One of the major thrusts of the new Programme will be tofocus on the underlying causes of degradation, continuing thework we have already started on these problems.

The Congress confirmed theneed for IUCN to continue ex-panding its policy dialogue be-yond the environmentalcommunity – to finance andtrade ministers, company ex-ecutives and politicians as wellas grassroots organizations,drawing on IUCN’s proven‘convening power’ to bringdiffering groups together.

Meeting point

All these ideas come to-gether in the ecosystem approach.The Programme makes clear the importance of the envi-ronment to social and economic policy, and helps the environ-mental community understand the relevant pressure pointsaffecting the economic and social world.

The Programme is driven by IUCN’s mission and vision, andis designed to support the Millennium Development Goals –and not just Goal 7, the environmental goal – but the other

seven MDGs as well. Wewill demonstrate thatconservation can anddoes contribute to eradi-cating extreme povertyand hunger, to educa-tion, to gender equalityand empowerment ofwomen, and to health.

For IUCN this meansusing our knowledge andexpertise to influencegovernance, policy andactions within the eco-nomic and social as wellas environmental arena.We understand that tradeand economic growth isa precondition for an eq-uitable world but, as the

Where we’regoing

A framework for action

IUCN Programme 2005–2008

Bill Jackson

Millennium Development Goals

The Union’s Programme for 2005–2008 furthers the Millen-nium Development Goals by making the connection be-tween conservation and the eradication of extreme povertyand hunger.

The Congress heard a stirring report on the Millen-nium Project from its Director, Professor Jeffrey Sachs ofColumbia University (pictured). The 265-member projectteam is charged with developing a plan for achieving theMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Professor Sachs identified 2005 as a critical year forthe MDGs, and spoke passionately of the need for peace,debt cancellation and a significant increase in official de-velopment assistance.

www.unmillenniumproject.org

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Programme points out, if this takes place at the expense of theenvironment there is no future for life on our planet.

One-Programme strategy

One result of this broader strategic focus is the one-programmemodel. This initiative came from the six Commission Chairsthemselves in recognition of the need for the Commissions,members and the Secretariat to work in a more integrated man-ner in our assessment systems, capacity building and efforts toinfluence policy.

This will require us in the Secretariat to change in two ways:we must (1) improve our capacity at the regional level to workwith our members, and (2) work more closely with our Com-missions to draw on their expertise.

A number of changes have recently been made in the seniormanagement structure of the Secretariat with the aim of meet-ing these two challenges.

Mobilizing Union-wide action

We were able to use this new framework for action almost im-mediately when the tsunami struck Southern Asia and easternAfrica a few weeks after our Congress. We were able to mobilizeour staff, Commissions and members immediately.

However, this catastrophic event also highlighted a concernthat was already identified in the Programme: the changingnature of risk – and how we deal with that risk – whether we arediscussing climate change, habitat destruction or over-harvest-ing. More needs to be done not only to define these risks, but tounderstand and communicate how policies, institutions and prac-tices need to be adapted to cope with risk.

The resolution that approved the Programme gave an agendato our world conservation community of 1000 members. Theother resolutions presented us with a suite of proposals foraction which provide IUCN and the world with a clear indica-tion of the important conservation issues facing us today.

However, even the Programme itself is just a framework, awork plan. We still have to implement these proposals with ourmembers and partners.

But we have never had such broad-ranging support. Throughour Programme activities we are redefining the community withwhich we interact, from the private sector to the educationcommunity. Bangkok brought that community together.

Bill Jackson is Director, Global Programme.

We cannot afford in today’s world to separate conserva-tion from people. Women understand this connection,which is reflected in the Congress theme, ‘People andnature – only one world’. This is why it is so importantfor IUCN to enhance its gender programme. This Con-gress is the first time I have seen such strong integrationof the gender perspective into the many different eventsand issues being addressed. The women’s caucus hasbeen remarkable, with women from all over the worldattending the workshops to ensure that women’sperspectives are being addressed.

The challenge remains, however, how to make surethat this perspective is fully integrated into the CongressProgramme and resolutions.

– Maria Suarez, Radia Internacional Feminista,Costa Rica and Womenspeak Press Team

I am astonished and pleased by developments at thisCongress, the tenth such meeting I’ve attended. Thefirst such meetings were attended by a few hundredscientists and conservationists, where today there areso many people from so many different fields, workingtogether.

For too long conservationists were isolated, but nowthey are coming together with other sectors and part-ners – even business and industry! – to discuss issuesand sometimes even cooperate.

– Jan Cerovsky, IUCN Honorary Member, CzechRepublic; member and former Chair of the IUCNCommission on Education and Communication

The unified programme is a great opportunity for IUCNto further increase its influence by bringing togetherexperts from across the Union. IUCN works best whenit works together.

– David Brackett,Chair of SSC, 1996–2004

The “One Programme” approach and outcome is a ma-jor milestone that we should celebrate, but without be-coming complacent. Our next challenge is to look at thebody of policy that helps shape the Programme. Signifi-cant gaps remain, despite the plethora of motions thatemerge at each Congress. It is time for Council to takethe initiative on this. The measure will be the motionsproposed by Council for the 4th IUCN World Conserva-tion Congress.

– Wren Green, Chair of the Programmeand Policy Committee of the

IUCN Council, 2000–2004

What they said

Bill Jackson, IUCN Global Programme Director, with YolandaKakabadse.

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The IUCN Programme 2005–2008:www.iucn.org/ourwork/ppet/


Commission mandates

Moving inunison

The Congress approved new mandates forits six expert Commissions.

Left to right, top row: Denise Hamú, Taghi Farvar, Sheila Abed,Bottom row: Hillary Masundire, Holly Dublin, Nikita Lopoukhine

The Congress elected CommissionChairs – three new and threereturning. Here they reflect on theirmandates and future plans.

These are enormous challenges, butwe are encouraged by the level of com-mitment to social issues shown in Bang-kok by the IUCN family.

While social justice may not be thecentral objective of conservation, it hasbecome recognised as a central drivingforce and obligation. This makes theadoption of the new unified Programmeof the Union particularly exciting and chal-lenging for CEESP. It is clear that as al-ways, some of the work that CEESP ismandated to do may be controversial:issues of social policy always are! But ifthe past is any guide to the future, we willknow that CEESP is helping the conserva-tion movement hold a beacon that cansee beyond current fads and fashions inconservation, and point the way to con-crete ways of achieving both social jus-tice and conservation and sustainable useof nature at one and the same time. If inthe past nature and people were seen ascontradictory by the conservation estab-lishment, today we know more than everbefore that both have to swim or sinktogether.

– Taghi Farvar, Chair, IUCN/CEESP

CEL:at the cutting edge

I’d like to carry forward the new mandateof the Commission on Environment Law(CEL) in several ways. First of all, we havea large number of members – more than1000. I want to engage them more activelyin our global programme and in imple-menting the Congress Resolutions – boththose that issue a direct call to CEL andthose that present the Union with newchallenges in the cutting edge fields ofhuman rights, health and trade. My own

particularly the Union’s Global andRegional Programmes.

Our third priority relates to environ-mental conventions. Our mission is to bean advocate and source of knowledge andmotivation to support a programme forcommunication, education, participationand awareness (CEPA) linking the majorconventions with regional agreementsand the Decade on Education for Sustain-able Development (ESD).

Resolutions adopted by the Congresswhich will affect CEC include a call forsupport to the Decade, and for the devel-opment of education for sustainabledevelopment in the IUCN Programme.

– Denise Hamú, Chair, IUCN/CEC

CEESP:equity in conservation

CEESP’s new mandate reinforces the cen-tral tenets of our work, based on the eq-uitable sharing of the costs and benefitsof conservation at all levels, while respect-ing human rights. But it points us in sev-eral directions at once: it directs us totake the message of biodiversity conser-vation to the economic community, sowe can make economic policy and trade,market dynamics and biodiversity con-servation more mutually supportive. Ittells us to better integrate biodiversityconservation with poverty eradication andsustainable livelihoods, and to improvethe links between cultural and biologicaldiversity. It instructs us to promotecorporate environmental and socialresponsibility.

Security is a big topic everywhere youturn, and our mandate also calls for con-crete methods and tools to contribute tohuman security while preservingbiodiversity.

CEC: new learningopportunities

The IUCN Commission on Education andCommunication (CEC) enters the 2005–2008 period with a major new priority inits work. This is to guide the planning anddevelopment of the World ConservationLearning Network (WCLN). This IUCN-wide initiative links to other knowledgeinitiatives of the Union (including PALNETon protected areas, ECOLEX on law andSIS on species information).

The WCLN will provide learning op-portunities for natural resource and

development professionals. It willgive IUCN the means to share

its knowledge with universi-ties. In return it will offer aplatform for universities tointeract with the conserva-

tion and development com-munity. Through this newpartnership, CEC will expandaccess to capacity develop-

ment of professionals on-the-job globally.

The second priorityfor our work is devel-

oping capacity incommunication andeducation. During2005–2008 we willhelp provide theskills and know-how in educationand communi-cation neededt o s u p p o r t


organization has been working for manyyears on rights and trade issues, and wasone of the first to make sustainabilityassessments of trade agreements.

I plan also to promote a much moredecentralized way of working, in whichour legal experts will work with the na-tional and regional membership to meettheir needs, in part by improving accessto information and public participation.

Within IUCN, I would like to help bringabout a new level of cooperation amongthe Commissions, and between them andthe IUCN Secretariat. I see inter-commissional programmes as a greatchallenge and opportunity to move innew directions. I also want a consolidatedprogramme for the Commission and theEnvironmental Law Centre. There are alot of opportunities facing us to work in amuch more related way as a Union.

– Sheila Abed, Chair, IUCN/CEL; ExecutiveDirector of the Environmental Law andEconomics Institute (IDEA), Paraguay

CEM:continuity and innovation

While largely happy about the new direc-tions that the Commission on EcosystemManagement (CEM) has taken in recentyears, CEM members at Congress had twoclear demands. One was to be more ac-tively engaged in the Union’s work. Oneway to bring this about is by empoweringCEM’s regional vice chairs to take astronger role in mobilizing Commissionmembers and strengthening the linkageswith the IUCN Secretariat in the regions.

The second demand was to addressnew issues – such as management of LargeMarine Ecosystems, the impact of largeurban systems within the landscapes andvaluation of ecosystem goods and serv-ices. These are interdisciplinary issuesthat will require us to work increasinglyacross the Union, in keeping with the “OneProgramme” approach.

Otherwise, there was quite a bit ofcontinuity. The success of our strategy ofgrowth through partnerships with organi-zations such as the Society for EcologicalRestoration International, CGIAR,ICRISAT and the Society for Conserva-tion Biology was confirmed.

Moreover, CEM’s four cross-cuttingpriorities – the ecosystem approach, eco-system restoration, indicators of ecosys-tem status and ecosystem managementtools – will remain the same. These were“tested and approved” if one considers

how these four priorities kept croppingup in various Forum events – not just ourown. We should note also that all thesethemes are the centre of efforts to reha-bilitate the areas of Asia and East Africathat were devastated by the tsunami ofDecember 2004.

– Hillary Masundire, Chair, IUCN/CEM;Department of Biological Sciences,

University of Botswana

SSC:sailing into the wind

The Congress marked a watershed for theIUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC)as well as for the Union as a whole. Itopened to the news that 15,589 speciesnow face extinction, shown by the 2004IUCN Red List of Threatened Species andthe devastating findings of the recently-completed Global Species Assessment.

decision that all Commissions must joinforces with other parts of the Union todeliver on a single programme. This meansfocusing SSC’s efforts around measurabletargets, no mean feat considering ourcomplexities and the enormous range ofwork carried out by our members.

SSC’s mandate was re-endorsed inBangkok, as was the SSC Strategic Plan(2001 to 2010), our guiding light. We willcontinue to develop the Red List, fullyintegrate it with SIS, and really push onfundraising for both initiatives so that theycan reach their full potential in thecoming years.

– Holly T. Dublin, Chair, IUCN/SSC

WCPA:full speed ahead

The IUCN World Commission on Pro-tected Areas emerged from Bangkok witha full head of steam. Along with the 2003World Parks Congress in Durban, theCongress gave us a clear mandate for thenext four years, and a blueprint in theDurban Action Plan and the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD) Programmeof Work on Protected Areas.

The big news is that the CBD nowrecognises – and sometimes even follows!– our advice. This gives us enormouspotential to influence the internationalconservation agenda. Over the comingyears, WCPA will position itself to provideadvice to the State Parties of the CBD onways to improve protected areamanagement and financing, involveindigenous peoples and localcommunities, build public support,establish a global representative systemof protected areas, and confront theimpacts of global change such as thespread of invasive species.

The Protected Areas Learning Net-work (PALNet) is going to be an impor-tant contribution to global conservation.This interactive, web-based tool will giveready access to the world’s knowledge onprotected areas, and will complementother important IUCN efforts such as SISand ECOLEX.

Many participants were surprised bythe force with which members de-manded that we bring more young peo-ple into protected area conservation andhelp to further their careers. We will defi-nitely be involving them in WCPA work,particularly in research and trainingactivities.

– Nikita Lopoukhine, Chair, IUCN/WCPA

Yet while extinction rates continue to ac-celerate, the Congress showed how reli-able information and expert knowledge,a passion for species in all their forms,and collaboration with all sectors of soci-ety could work together to improve thestatus of biodiversity and the lives of thepeople who depend on it.

The two-day meeting specifically dedi-cated to SSC heard about the work of nu-merous Specialist Groups and looked athow SSC’s tools and products influencethe world’s decision makers. Memberslearned how policy is formulated andadopted in IUCN and how they, as ex-perts, can influence these policies that helpshape global conservation efforts. Thissense of empowerment is critical amonga body of 8000 specialists who volunteertheir time and expertise in pursuit ofSSC’s vision of “a world that values andconserves biodiversity”.

For me, the most significant challengehanded down by the Congress was the


Why did you decide to run for Presidentof The World Conservation Union?

The World Conservation Union is an im-portant organization. Its unique partner-ship between civil society andgovernments, and its ability to bridge theNorth-South divide mean it can accom-plish great things. As the Union’s first Af-rican President, I hope to be part of thataccomplishment.

Moreover, I have great respect for theUnion’s hard-working Secretariat and itsgifted Director General, Achim Steiner,whom I have known for many years.Achim’s skill, his intellect and his leader-ship abilities are such that I felt it wouldbe a privilege to serve with him.

Conservation iseverybody’s

business

What do you feel you can contribute tothe Union?

As a veteran of South Africa’s anti-apart-heid struggle, I think I bring a certaincombativeness, tempered by the patienceone learns when negotiating societal (orpolitical) change. It prepared me to be-come an environmentalist in today’s con-text: we face challenges to our veryexistence that sometimes seem insur-mountable, but we cannot lose hope orthe willingness to fight. The stakes are toogreat.

You started in science, didn’t you?

Yes, I got a BSc degree in mathematicsand physics, but I also got my first taste ofpolitics as an undergraduate, throughmembership in a succession of politicalorganizations. They taught me how todebate authority. This experience is quiteuseful today: environmental protectionhas become a heated political issue,particularly as we face threats likeglobal warming which require actionby governments.

What do you see as the place ofThe World Conservation Union inthe world?

The essential role of the Union isto light the dark corners of con-servation – to bring knowledge andexpertise about the natural worldto those who determine how we

use nature, from the grassroots to thehalls of power. Science is the solid foun-dation upon which the Union is founded,and the source of its world-wide respect.

But expertise is not enough. It is timefor the conservation community to comefully out of its shell. If knowledge is ourstrength, it is ineffectual unless we per-suade our old and new constituencies toinstill it into their policies and practice.We must stop speaking to ourselves.

What new constituencies do you mean?

The newest, in terms of the Union’soutreach, is the private sector. Many ofour members hear these words and fearthe influence of multinationals, but mostare coming around to the realization thatthese companies have thousands of em-ployees and billions in sales, and their in-fluence – on the environment as well ason economies – cannot be ignored. TheUnion has nothing to fear in approachingthem as potential partners. We do so froma position of strength and authority.

We have to remember, too, that theprivate sector includes just about anyonetrying to make a living – a fisher man orwoman, a basket weaver, an agriculturalproducer – most of us, in fact. We are alljust trying to survive, and we are all de-pendent on environmental goods andservices.

Nature conservation is everybody’sbusiness.

Another relatively new constituencyis the international development

An interview with Valli Moosa, incoming President of IUCN – The WorldConservation Union and former Minister

of Environmental Affairs andTourism, South Africa.

Interview with the President

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community. We must confront the per-vasive fallacy that an emphasis on natureconservation compromises the fight toeradicate poverty. They are inextricablylinked. Nowhere is this lesson more clearthan in the Union’s environmental recov-ery efforts in the wake of the Asian tsu-nami. Restoring the economies of thesedevastated regions depends on the resto-ration of their natural resources and thereturn of their biodiversity.

What is your main message to these newconstituencies?

We have to keep repeating the mantra thatwe are natural organisms, dependent onnature and its biodiversity. We must learnto control our voracious appetites, to stopthinking that our destiny is to consumeevery resource to exhaustion. We muststop assuming the right to inhabit everycorner of every ecosystem on Earth, andbegin to show restraint and wisdom inthose habitats we do occupy.

How can people’s attitudes and behav-iour be changed so drastically?

One way, I believe, is through incentives.We have to create, target and communi-cate incentives for environmentallysound, sustainable living. This Congresshas given us some tools of persuasion inthe form of economic, political, legal andethical incentives.

Another way is through education, toraise awareness and mobilize the world’s

citizenry. People – especially wheninformed and vigilant – are our mostpowerful weapon in the battle to protectnature. If they are not involved then ourcause is lost.

What steps would you like the Union totake early in your term?

We must finish the job we have begun:that of bringing nature conservation tothe heart of political and developmentdecision-making at every level.

Specifically, I would urge that we useour National Committees to help securenational consensus on conservation pri-orities and actions. This means, of course,providing them with infrastructure andresources.

Our national committees should col-laborate with non-members – not justconservation organizations, but also reli-gious figures, sports personalities, busi-ness leaders – anyone who wants to workwith the Union and its members to fur-ther conservation.

Next, I would further strengthen ourmembership. This Union is only as strongas its members. We must recruit newmembers among the NGOs and we mustrecruit every one of those governmentsthat are not represented at this Congress.We must also be more responsive to ourmembers.

Our Commissions provide the oxygenwhich the Union breathes. The time islong overdue for them to be adequatelysupported and integrated with the

activities of members and the Secretariat,and this should be a priority of the Union.

We also need to be bolder and moreassertive in the global arena. The WorldConservation Union is the only organiza-tion from the environment communitywith a voice at the United Nations. Wemust do better to exploit our potential atthis level.

We can accomplish a great deal sim-ply through the implementation – andproper funding – of existing multilateralagreements. If we mobilize our mem-bers and offices around the world in thiseffort, we can help build an irresistiblemomentum.

Finally, I want the Union to reach outmore forcefully to the citizens of theworld. We must educate, raise awarenessand engender a spirit of volunteerismamong people everywhere, with specialemphasis on the education and aware-ness of young people. I have great confi-dence that the next generation will not beas timid as we are!

Is all of this possible?

Certainly, given the will to do it. Ourmembers want to take our Union to newheights, and in a sense to a new genera-tion of activity, and we must do our bestto fulfill their expectations.

The Union is like a vigorous animalthat is growing in grace, strength and re-solve. It is time to fully unleash it to facethe greatest challenges to world securityin human history.

Valli Moosa meets the newly elected Council, including CEM Chair Hillary Masundireand SSC Chair Holly Dublin (left).

We must confrontthe pervasive

fallacy thatan emphasis on

nature conservationcompromises thefight to eradicate

poverty. They areinextricably linked.

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Celebration and farewellw

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His Excellency SuwitKhunkitti, Minister ofNatural Resources andEnvironment, Thailand,thanked the Congress forhonouring Queen Sirikitand for providing theopportunity for Thailand’sacademics and NGOs tointeract with experts fromaround the world.

The newly-elected and outgoing Councillors met for the first time.

Outgoing Councillors were thanked for their service and accomplishments.

Luc Hoffmann received the John C. Phillips Medalfor excellence in conservation from YolandaKakabadse. He told the Congress, “IUCN can beconsidered the legitimate voice of a civil societydeeply concerned about the state of our planet.”

Honorary Membership ofIUCN was awarded toAdrian Phillips (left),Marshall Murphree andYolanda Kakabadse.

Participants enjoyed a performance ofclassical Thai dancing.

President-elect ValliMoosa thanks Parvez

Hassan for his decades ofdedicated service to the

Union (right) and receivescongratulations from a

delegate (far right). In hisaddress to the Congress,

Valli Moosa also paidtribute to outgoingPresident Yolanda

Kakabadse, acknowledg-ing her leadership and

thanking her for leavingbehind a “roadworthy”

institution.

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Documents

The IUCN Bulletin Number World Conservation · 2016-05-19 · the poorest groups who are the most vul-nerable to the costs of environmental change and disasters. We realize that conservation