CONSERVATION LEADERS DEBATE ON LINKS LINK BETWEEN NATURE AND POVERTY

A sympsium in The Hague, the Netherlands, was held in february to debate how natural resources can sustain people’s livelihood. Delivering a keynote address, the Union’s Director General Achim Steiner encouraged the environmental community to reflect on human dependence on natural resources and what ecosystems can offer to safeguard people’s livelihood.
This event was organised by the nature andpoverty alliance to bring together a considerable pool of experience and expertise to reflect jointly on these dynamics of this complex issue. Representatives from conservation organisations, development experts, the private sector and governmental agencies from over sixty countries around the world shared experiences through presentations and in panel discussions.
The nature andpoverty alliance is a Dutch collaborative partnership of IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands, WWF Netherlands and Friends of the Earth Netherlands. The alliance began with a joint project called nature and poverty, and originally focused on timber and forests in SE Asia, Marine issues in West Africa, timber and forests in Central Africa and water in the Pantanal area of South America.

More information at www.natureandpoverty.org // report of the Symposium

SAFEGUARDING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE: A GUIDE TO MEDICINAL PLANTS IN NORTH AFRICA

A new Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa, intended to promote traditional knowledge and raise awareness of endangered plants in North Africa, has been launched by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) at the IV Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing, currently held in Granada, Spain. North Africa has one of the oldest and richest traditions associated with the use of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are important for the people of the region, especially in rural areas, as in many places, they are the only source of medicine available. Even in many urban areas, the prices of modern medicines are increasing, and people are turning back to traditional plant remedies. This Guide was developed through a long process of interviews and information gathering from the Bedouin communities and herbalists who still possess knowledge on the value of natural resources, and transfer it from generation to the other through word of mouth. This Guide will help in safeguarding this knowledge for future generations as well as ensure it is available for further investigation and research.
Download the Guidelines for Practitioners// WWF-Denmark// Full story //The North Africa Biodiversity Programme


INTEGRATING INDIGENOUS AND GENDER ASPECTS IN NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Indigenous men and women often relate to and use natural resources in different ways. Yet, these differences are often neglected in the design and practical implementation of externally supported interventions aimed at development, natural resource management and conservation or research. In 2003 five organizations (including IUCN members WWF-Denmark and IWGIA) - formed the IGNARM network on indigenous peoples, gender and natural resource management. IGNARM has recently developed guidlines for practitioners on 'Integrating Indigenous and Gender Aspects in Natural Resource Management'. The aim is to offer some conceptual and practical tools for improving natural resource management activities and to open a dialogue among practitioners as to how gender and indigenous concerns can best be integrated in natural resource management processes. The guidelines will be launched at an IGNARM seminar in Copenhagen, Denmark on 15 September and are available for download at the link below, or at the IGNARM website.
Download the Guidelines for Practitioners// WWF-Denmark// IWGIA // IGNARM // Seminar Invitation

SEMINAR ON POVERTY-ENVIRONMENT LINKS IN IUCN AND SWISS INSTITUTIONS

To provide an opportunity for Swiss environment and development institutions and international partners to prepare inputs for the MDG+5 Summit, and to support information sharing among institutions interested in the links between poverty and the environment, IUCN and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) jointly organized a seminar on "Policy Approaches, Practical Interventions and Lessons on Poverty-Environment Links in IUCN and Swiss Institutions". The two-day seminar took place on 23-24 June 2005 at IUCN Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. This seminar provided a forum for discussion on the links between environment and poverty, based on the international experience of Swiss development and environment organizations, as well as of IUCN as an SDC partner.
Summary (Eng) // Summary (Fr)// Download CD// Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

POVERTY-CONSERVATION MAPPING: THE GEOGRAPHY OF POVERTY AND BIODIVERSITY

Poverty-environment mapping offers a valuable tool to support poverty-focused conservation. Maps of poverty and environmental conditions can pinpoint opportunities for development and are useful to donors and development agencies in allocating investment and targeting activities. Several international institutions have been doing very important work on mapping poverty related indicators and exploring their links with environmental factors. This publication aims to communicate and illustrate the poverty-environment mapping efforts of several of these organizations in order to enhance and improve knowledge of the methodologies and indicators being employed. The initiatives described in this booklet are the work of the institutions that presented at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress held in Bangkok in November 2004, at a workshop entitled Mapping Poverty & Conservation Linkages: Using Decision-Support-System Tools to Help Implement the MDGs.
Download the Publication (1 MB) // UNEP / GRID-Arendal // ADB // Cooperazione Italiana

INDABA ON SOCIAL RESEARCH AND PROTECTED AREAS

IUCN South Africa is hosting an Indaba between 10-13 April 2005 on Social Research and Protected Areas as part of its Transboundary Protected Areas Research Initiative (TPARI) programme. The Indaba will take place at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The purpose of the Indaba is to explore the nature and consequences of social research in communities who live in and around protected areas, and the relations between the different actors: local people, conservation officials and social researchers. It will deal with both practical and abstract conceptual dimensions of this dynamic. The Indaba will produce a document entitled Equitable and Empowering: Guidelines for Best Social Research Practice in and around the Kruger National Park. These guidelines will be developed and debated in the course of the Indaba and will be distributed by means of a post-conference process which will include teleseminars and publication. Those who wish to participate must send an Application Form and CV as soon as possible to Daniel Marnewick at marnewickm@geosciences.wits.ac.za.
Read the full notice // IUCN South Africa // Transboundary Protected Areas Research Initiative

UNVEILING DIFFERENCES, FINDING A BALANCE

Equitable distribution of the costs and benefits associated with conservation is a key issue within natural resources management. Trends show increasing environmental degradation and social and economic inequalities within and among households, communities and nations. Poverty and environmental degradation are linked to decision-making processes that are socially exclusive and based on an uneven access to, and control over, natural resources. Addressing the underlying social, economic and cultural factors shaping social differentiation within and among communities – in terms of people’s diverse needs, interests, knowledge and power—is the first step to reverse inequalities associated with natural resources management. This booklet (authored by Mrs. Cristina Espinosa, former Head of IUCN Social Policy Global Programme), presents practical tools to enable project teams to understand how gender, poverty, ethnicity, age, and other key social variables are linked, and what implications they have on environmental management.
Download the Booklet // IUCN's website on Gender and Environment // Towards Equity Series

FAITH, POVERTY AND CONSERVATION: TOWARDS PRACTICAL PARTNERSHIPS

All the major faiths recognise the importance of the care of nature and afford a major importance to its intrinsic and other values; they also have embedded in their philosophy a commitment to addressing the needs of the poor. Faith is rarely discussed within conservation debates, although it is a major driver of people’s behaviour, ethics and values, and their passion for conservation. Recognizing this gap and seeking to explore how different faith-based organizations are addressing poverty- conservation links in their work, the Health, Poverty and Conservation theme of the World Conservation Forum in Bangkok (18 – 20 November 2004) held a workshop on ‘Faith, Poverty and Conservation – The Spiritual Perspective’. The workshop was organized jointly by A Rocha International, IUCN, and the World Bank, and included participants from different faiths and countries. Participants agreed on a joint statement to maintain their commitment to conservation, and to practice the care of the earth and its inhabitants as they live out their faiths. It was pointed out that joint action for conservation projects can bring those of different religions and faiths together to work positively, whilst recognizing the differences in beliefs between them.
Workshop Minutes // A Rocha International // Joint Statement // Health, Poverty and Conservation Theme

DISEASE AND POOR HEALTH: ECOSYSTEM-BASED SOLUTIONS OFFER AN ANSWER

Many global health problems are caused by ecosystem imbalances. Re-asserting the role of conservation tools to prevent and mitigate impact is a golden opportunity for the global community to improve the health of the poor and show the relevance of conservation. Biodiversity offers significant potential of undiscovered medicine, and a clean environment promotes the availability of adequate food and potable water. The Health, Poverty and Conservation theme of the World Conservation Forum in Bangkok (18 – 20 November 2004) discussed issues related to health, diseases and ecosystems in several workshops, including one on 'Health and Environment' that was sponsored by the WHO, and one on 'Emerging Diseases and Ecosystems' sponsored by WCS Field Veterinary Program and IUCN Veterinary Specialist Group. It was pointed out that conservation and sustainable use of natural resources is a key entry point to shift the health balance back in the right direction, and that agencies from the health and conservation community must work together so that health issues are incorporated into environmental policies and vice versa.
Full feature // Health, Poverty and Conservation Theme // World Health Organization // IUCN Veterinary Specialist Group // WCS Field Veterinary Program

TAKING COMMUNITIES ON BOARD IN FIGHT AGAINST DESERTIFICATION

In West Africa, desertification threatens the livelihoods of more than 250 million people, while 73% of the continent’s land surface is exposed to this phenomenon. IUCN became involved in the fight against desertification almost 20 years ago, primarily through its Sahel Programme. The 1990s saw the coming into force of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), which triggered several processes at national and regional levels. Yet, a decade after the adoption of the CCD, it is increasingly apparent that the social dimension of desertification and its consequences, especially droughts, have been overlooked in the development of various environmental programmes. Responding to this challenge, the IUCN Regional Office for Western Africa started a project called “Enhancing the Social Sustainability in Desertification Control” (REDUSO), supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Today, after four years of intensive research and field tests in seven West African countries, the project releases its ‘Manual for Reflection’. The Manual is targeted at the broader community – from field officers to decision makers – involved in actions to combat desertification, and seeks to bridge the gap between technical and participatory approaches to benefit both people and nature.
Manual for Reflection in French // Manual for Reflection in English // IUCN's Regional Office for West Africa

PLANTS AND PEOPLE

Is environmental protection a luxury for poor countries? Conventional wisdom has argued “get rich first, clean up later”. Forests and other ecosystems, according to this argument, will only get the protection they need when poverty has been alleviated and higher levels of economic development attained. Increasingly, this notion is being seen as untrue. Thinking in development and conservation circles has shifted significantly in recent years. Instead of setting environmentalists and development agencies against one another, there is now widespread recognition that social, economic and environmental issues are inter-related. If used sustainably, forests, wetlands and other natural systems can act as a safety net against destitution and even raise people permanently above the poverty line.
Full Feature // IUCN Forest Conservation Programme

PEOPLE, POVERTY AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: A REGIONAL TRAIN THE TRAINERS COURSE

IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Regional Office for Southern Africa (IUCN ROSA) and the Centre for Applied Social Sciences (CASS) at the University of Zimbabwe, have been involved in a training partnership that delivered a regional six-weeks course entitled “Human and Social Science Perspectives in Natural Resources management.” The partnership was broadened to include the Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) and now delivers an even richer training course on People, Poverty and Natural Resources Management. The course, to be held from 23 to 27 August in Johannesburg, aims to raise awareness and develop skills focusing on the inter-disciplinary integration of socio-economic perspectives in natural resource management for networking in the areas as forestry, fisheries, and water, etc. Emphasising the Southern African context, the course will cover social issues relevant in sustainable resource management focusing on the skills needed to build bridges between professionals and rural communities. Please contact carmelm@iucnrosa.org.zw for further information.
Course Brochure // Download Application Form // IUCN's Regional Office for Southern Africa

WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS IN BANGKOK, THAILAND

At the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress to be held in November in Bangkok, Thailand, the conservation community will present more comprehensive, accurate and up to date evidence on the state of biodiversity on our planet than ever before. The Congress will encompass three key elements: IUCN Commission meetings, the World Conservation Forum and the Members’ Business Assembly. At the Forum, IUCN aims to explore and demonstrate how conservation knowledge relates to many of the world’s most pressing development and sustainability challenges through four broad themes, a) Ecosystem management – Bridging sustainability and productivity, b) Health, Poverty and Conservation - Responding to the challenge of human well-being, c) Biodiversity loss and Species Extinction - Managing risk in a changing world, and d) Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening corporate social responsibility, law and policy. IUCN members, representatives from IUCN Commissions and secretariat staff, as well as key partners, are invited to contribute to the World Conservation Forum. To submit your proposed contribution, please fill out the Word form (link below), save it, and email it to congressforum@iucn.org. The deadlines for submissions are 31 March 2004 for the Global Synthesis Workshops and 15 April 2004 for all other events. Social Policy Advisor Gonzalo Oviedo is leading the Health, Poverty and Conservation theme at the Forum.
Download Contributions Form // Download Call for Contributions Document and Form // Health, Poverty and Conservation Theme

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM IN MUMBAI, INDIA

The World Social Forum (WSF) 2004 was held in Mumbai, India between 16 - 21 January. Under the slogan "Another world is possible", the WSF played host to seventy five thousand delegates, and provided a platform for hundreds of social issues ranging from the rights of tribals to the negative effects of globalization. The WSF is held every year as a civil society counterpart to the World Economic Forum. This is the first time that the WSF has been held in Asia. The first three forums from 2001 to 2003 were held in Brazil at Porto Alegre. Called the "festival of the marginalized", the WSF brought together activists and NGOs from all over the world and included speakers like Iran's Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel peace prize, and Joseph Stiglitz, former World Bank director. IUCN's Social Policy team participated in the WSF 2004.
World Social Forum 2003 // World Social Forum 2004

CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM

Civil society organizations have started to play an increasingly active role in the international scene. However, NGOs from developing countries are still under-represented in relation to NGOs from industrialised countries. Several factors contribute to this, including lack of access to information, lack of resources, and the difficult procedures for accreditation and obtaining a visa. On December 8, 2003, Mandat International together with the South Centre and World Civil Society Forum organized a meeting of people from developing country NGOs at the United Nations in Geneva. The aim was to make concrete proposals to improve participation and cooperation between civil society organisations from developing countries and the United Nations system. The UN "Panel of Eminent Persons on Civil Society and UN Relationships" pointed out that the problems identified by the participants were similar to those identified by workshops in various countries, showing that the problems are both system-wide and local. It was suggested that there needs to be more information sharing., not just between the UN and civil society, but also among civil society organizations. IUCN's Social Policy team participated in the meeting, and fully supports measures to increase representation of developing country NGOs and communities in inetrnational fora and decision-making.
Programme // World Cvil Society Forum // South Centre // Mandat International

SOCIAL CONCERNS A CRITICAL ELEMENT OF THE CBD PROGRAMME OF WORK ON PROTECTED AREAS

Although the meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) ended in Montreal with no consensus on all elements of the programme of work on protected areas, it nevertheless achieved important results with regard to a cluster of concerns comprising “governance, participation, equity and benefit sharing”. This cluster became a new element of the work programme, with goals directed at promoting equity and benefit sharing, and at enhancing and securing involvement of all stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities. IUCN actively supported this new element, which also received the backing of many government delegations, representatives of indigenous peoples’ organizations, and NGOs attending the meeting.
Full feature // News on IUCN side event // CBD // IISD Linkages Report

CONSERVATION THE SAN WAY

The Durban World Protected Areas Congress has shed light on the importance of community conserved areas, yet also pointed to the inadequacy of existing support for community conservation efforts. In August 2002, the Khomani Sanin of South Africa received 25,000 ha land within the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and 36,891 ha outside the park, from the Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights. “The recognition of our indigenous rights was an important step for us. The government giving back our land made our dream become reality”, says Anna Festus, executive secretary of the CPA. But still, as happens with many areas conserved and managed by indigenous and local communities, there is a need for change in mindsets and approaches of the conservation community.
Full feature // WPC website

PAYING TRIBUTE TO INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT AT THE WPC

On September 15, 2003 at the World Parks Congress in Durban, IUCN presented an award to Yvonne Stewart and Lorna Kelly on behalf of all those involved in the historic 2001 Arakwal Indigenous Land Use Agreement, Australia, paying tribute to indigenous land management and its contribution to conservation. This agreement between the Arakwal People of northern NSW and the State Government is the first Indigenous Land Use agreement of its kind in Australia. The Arakwal National Park is the first park created through an Indigenous Land Use Agreement negotiated under the Native Title Act 1993.
Full feature // WPC website

SOCIAL POLICY TEAM AT THE WPC

The Social Policy Global Team met at the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban on 10 September 2003. The aim was for the team to meet as a group, share experiences, identify emerging issues and plan ahead. Topics discussed included capacity on social issues, key social issues at the upcoming 2004 World Conservation Congress, and networking. The team identified the following key social policy issues of relevance: social equity, gender, Indigenous Peoples, poverty, security, and collaborative management. The team concluded that a social capacity needs assessment was required, which could be done in tandem with the Human Resources function.
Sacred Natural Places // Gender and Protected Areas // WPC website

POVERTY AND PARKS AT THE WPC

While protected areas make very important contributions at local, national and global levels, a disproportionate amount of the costs are borne by people living in and around protected areas, especially when they are displaced and resettled, and ownership and access rights are taken away from them. Following a strong call made by President Nelson Mandela to make protected areas useful for poverty alleviation, participants at the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress recommended that the protected area community address the issue. The topic of the linkages between poverty and protected areas received special attention at the Congress. There was a special session on poverty and protected areas on 11 September, where expert Bob Fisher from Australia pointed out that incorporating poverty reduction in conservation is an ethical and human rights imperative, and that approaches such as resettlement and resource substitution are inadequate to address socioeconomic concerns.
Poverty and Parks Recommendation // WPC website

MAINSTREAMING POVERTY REDUCTION AT IUCN

“It is not an option to pursue the conservation of forest biological diversity in those parts of the world that suffer from widespread endemic poverty without tackling the spectre of poverty head on and ensuring benefits go to the people who need it most” says IUCN Director General, Achim Steiner. Recognising this, IUCN conducted a workshop in Kenya between 4-7 August under its 3-IC Poverty and Conservation project to explore ways by which IUCN can make a meaningful contribution to the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty in the world by 2015. The aim of this workshop was to help IUCN develop a strategy to integrate poverty reduction into its work, and focus on poverty-related results for its 2005-08 Intersessional Programme, Vth IUCN World Parks Congress, and 3rd World Conservation Congress.
Workshop Concept Note // Beyond Rhetoric // IUCN 3-IC Projects

PEOPLE, POVERTY AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COURSE

IUCN's Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) and the Centre for Applied Social Sciences and Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of Zimbabwe are offering a five-week course on "People, Poverty and Natural Resource Management" for middle level managers in government and non-governmental agencies. The course will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, between 18 August and 18 September 2003. The programme will combine inputs from experienced practitioners with case studies and a wide range of learning activities and discussions. A limited number of bursaries are available. For more information on the course content please contact Rick de Stage at landtill@iafrica.com.
Download Brochure // IUCN ROSA website

MOUNTAIN AREA CONSERVANCY PROJECT

The goal of the Mountain Areas Conservancy Project (MACP) of IUCN Pakistan is to protect biodiversity and ensure its sustainable use in Pakistan’s Karakorum, Hindu Kush, and Western Himalayan mountain ranges through a community-based conservation approach. MACP is based on the premise that conservation activities are unlikely to be sustainable over the long term unless local communities are actively involved.
Full feature // MACP website

ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATION IN NWFP AND PUNJAB (ERNP)

The goal of the ERNP project in Pakistan is to halt and reverse the ongoing process of environmental degradation. In line with the National Conservation Strategy (NCS) of Pakistan, the project methodology is based on the use of integrated measures of rehabilitation of natural resources and sustainable socio-economic development. Thus the fundamental approach is the full involvement of the local population in the management of the resources on which they depend.
Full feature // IUCN Pakistan website