Using renewable natural resources sustainably means doing so in such a way that does not threaten a species by over-use, yet it will optimise benefits to both the environment and human needs. Sustainably using natural resources, including plants, forests, fish, and other wildlife, is an important conservation tool when addressing the increasing pressures on nature by people.

Why is sustainable use important?

People have used, and will continue to use, living natural resources. As the global population increases and production decreases, some wild species may risk local extinction through excessive harvesting, fishing and hunting. There is an urgent need for better advice regarding management and use of natural resources globally and locally. The Convention on Biological Diversity, with over 150 signatories, recognise the importance of this issue and made sustainable use of natural resources a central plank of the convention. In order to conserve resources, many experts believe we must have incentives in place to motivate people to use their available resources sustainably, thus benefiting nature and people.

How is IUCN involved?

IUCN recognises that the economies, cultures, and well-being of all human societies depend on the use of biodiversity. Conservation must address the way that we use biodiversity, rather than construct artificial distinctions between people and nature.

The concept of sustainability is central to conservation but it embodies social dimensions - including distribution, values, and equity - as well as an understanding of the intrinsic limitations on the supply of biological products and ecological services.

The goal is to adopt uses of biodiversity that are sustainable. This may sound simple, but in designing such activities a broad range of issues must be addressed. For example:

• Who are the user groups? What are their patterns of consumption and demand?
• If a species or stock is being used, what is the condition of its habitat? Does it depend on other species? Is its size changing?
• Is the availability of the resource affected by natural disturbances? By human alteration of ecosystem processes? By declines in diversity?
• How are the benefits of resource use distributed? How is this determined?

Providing answers to these kinds of questions is the goal of IUCN SSC's Sustainable Use Specialist Group. Because there is such diversity in resources, uses, and users, there is no universal formula for sustainability.

How does IUCN carry out its work?

The ability to assess biodiversity use in context is essential. Without this capacity conservation approaches will remain superficial and ineffective. IUCN draws on an international network of volunteers - over 450 - working together to understand the contextual factors that influence sustainable use. Several regional networks have been established within the IUCN SSC Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SUSG) which generate case studies of sustainable projects, compile inventories of relevant actors, policies, projects, and approaches, and provide valuable overviews of the activities and challenges in their regions.