If IUCN members provide fuel, and the Secretariat builds momentum through its global horsepower, the six Commissions help chart the Union 's pioneering course.

Like a pilot, each Commission engages the Union through responsive signals and constant feedback. Hardwired to thousands of specialists in each field who volunteer their time, findings and expertise, the six Commissions calibrate the pulse and needs of conservation on the ground. So while steering according to the approved Programme, Commissions can and do make slight adjustments in speed or direction as need arises.

The 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress made directions and pace both visible and explicit. Without dissent, every Commission sought to work closer with each other, with members and with the Union at large. There has been some progress towards integration, but not enough to satisfy demand.

Linking Commission programmes together - such as the 'marine' and 'water rights' alliances between Commissions on environmental law, social policy, ecosystem management and protected areas - paid healthy dividends over the last year. As did strategic Commission partnerships with, for example, the Society for Ecological Restoration International and the Society for Conservation Biology.

Still, we need more of such outreach efforts, given the Union 's capacity. Commissions recognize that such synergies can mobilize resources, close gaps, avoid duplication and grasp opportunities that spontaneously appear en route.

In 2004, the Commissions were gratified to see years of work on paper gain traction and respect in policy. The Convention on Biological Diversity now recognizes and sometimes follows the advice of the World Commission on Protected Areas. The Commission on Ecosystem Management has long voiced lonely advocacy for the 'ecosystem approach', and last year saw it go mainstream globally in policy and in practice following the December tsunami. And the Species Survival Commission saw how its tools and products have influenced decisions by multinational corporations, within state governments and among global decision makers. Other new directions only began last year, but reveal changes to come.

Some employ cutting edge tools to meet traditional mandates. To leverage knowledge links between field research, technology, universities and cyberspace, the Commission on Education and Communication launched the World Conservation Learning Network. The Species Survival Commission has taken the Red List to the next level, with an Index that synthesized geographical and historical elements into a sobering - yet influential - revelation about biodiversity trends.

Others deploy old tools in fresh fields. The Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy injected the principles of biodiversity conservation into unfamiliar but vital sectors of economic policy, market dynamics, corporate responsibility and poverty eradication. Likewise, the Commission on Environmental Law began welding its message into the larger but closely related context of human rights, health and trade issues. The Commission on Ecosystem Management extended its approach toward addressing new issues such as management of Large Marine Ecosystems, the impact of large urban systems within natural landscapes, and the valuation of ecosystem goods and services. And the World Commission on Protected Areas expanded its existing work to include climate change impacts, the spread of invasive species and - on a brighter note - the energy and ambitions of the next generation of conservationists.

None of these represents a break with the past, but rather an ability to learn from the present. As shown in this report, the Commissions conduct frequent reviews - call it the Union 's internal 'research and development' - of its mission and operations. Commissions never stop recalibrating. They are constantly comparing abstract maps and visible reality as it pilots the most effective and efficient course of action.

Only through endless refinement can they keep the Union at the avant-garde of conservation experience and policy.