Foreword

IIn the lead up to the G8 meeting and the MDGs + 5 World Summit in September 2005, SDC and IUCN organized a Seminar on Policy Approaches, Practical Interventions and Lessons on Poverty-Environment Links in IUCN and Swiss Institutions. Conservation and development organisations and Swiss research centres gathered at the headquarters of IUCN – the World Conservation Union in Gland, Switzerland on 23rd – 24th June 2005, to review experiences and challenges regarding poverty and conservation links. Central questions were how can we reinforce the fight against poverty while ensuring biodiversity conservation, and how can we enhance the contributions from ecosystems to poverty reduction.

This CD-Rom contains the proceedings of the meeting and the papers and presentations submitted to the event, plus selected background documentation.

IUCN and SDC are thankful to all institutions and individuals who participated, to the presenters who made a great contribution to a better understanding of the issues, to the senior consultants who collaborated in the preparation of the event, to the session rapporteurs and to the staff members of IUCN and SDC who helped make the Seminar a success.