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| Achieving Sustainability Manual |
This manual was assembled under the IUCN VALEURS Project for the purpose of providing government administrators, educators, researchers and representatives of the NGO community with an overview of the concept of sustainable use. |
| Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity |
The Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable use of Biodiversity consist of 14 interdependent practical principles, operational guidelines and a few instruments for their implementation that govern the uses of components of biodiversity to ensure the sustainability of such uses. The principles provide a framework for advising governments, resource managers, indigenous and local communities, the private sector and other stakeholders about how they can ensure that their use of the components of biodiversity will not lead to the long-term decline of biological diversity. In a series of articles we analyze the AAPG and discuss the implementation of the principles in various contexts. |
| Analytic Framework |
This tool was produced by a multidisciplinary team of experts, and provides an overview of the different issues that must be considered in assessing use practices: Economic, ecological, socio-political, institutional, etc. The framework includes various modules or domains of analysis to aid understanding of the complexities of sustainability. |
| CITES & Sustainable Use |
Although the words 'sustainable use' don't appear in the Articles of CITES, a major thrust of the convention is to ensure that wildilfe trade "will not be detrimental to the survival of that species". As a result of the significant trade review process outlined in Resolution Conf. 12.10 (Rev.CoP13 - Guidelines for a procedure to register and monitor operations that breed animal species for commercial purposes), the 'non detriment' determination is essentially the mirror image of sustainable use.
In the trade review process, Appendix II species subject to signficant trade undergo a review that usually includes an examination of total harvesting offtakes at the national level. If a species is being traded without detriment, then it is being used sustainably.
IUCN worked with the CITES Secretariat and Parties to provide a checklist to help make non-detriment findings for Appendix II Exports.
Although some years old, the checklist is still of considerable importance to sustainable use since it represents a qualititative
attempt to identify the factors that that lead to sustainability. IUCN has long realised the need for studies of sustainability for drawing broader conclusions about the factors that underpin sustainable use so that we can develop the necessary tools for policy makers and managers who are faced with daily responsibilities and challenges of resource management.
Download: the Checklist to assist in making
non-detriment findings for Appendix II exports - PDF, 333Kb |
| Governance: Equity and Sustainable Use of Living Natural Resources in Southern Africa |
In August 2001 an IUCN Sustainable Use Policy Dialogue was organized by IUCN's Sustainable Use Team (SUT) in conjunction with the IUCN Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) and the IUCN Botswana Office. The aim of the dialogue Governance: Equity and Sustainable Use of Living Natural Resources in Southern Africa, held in Gaborone, Botswana, was not to generate a monolithic vision of sustainable use, but instead to highlight some factors that are important in the Southern African region and foster a sharper sense of regional priorities and agendas.
Download: Workshop report - PDF, 80Kb. Coming soon.
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| Information Paper: Comparing the Ecosystem Approach & Sustainable Use. February 2004 |
The Ecosystem Approach and sustainable use represent two approaches, at two different scales, to the management of living natural resources and biodiversity conservation. Both approaches have been endorsed by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which has provided an important institutional context for their development and elaboration. Each approach establishes a certain goal and offers direction and recommendations on how that goal is to be realised. Both approaches are characterised at a high level of generality. This is appropriate in that both are intended to be applied in a wide variety of circumstances, but it has raised questions about their exact meaning and manner of implementation. One pressing issue, which is the subject of this paper, concerns the relationship between the two approaches. It is suggested that the Ecosystem Approach provides an over-arching framework for biodiversity management, with sustainable use as one element within that framework. The paper, authored by Barney Dickson of Fauna & Flora International and Steve Edwards of IUCN, begins by briefly outlining the main stages in the evolution of the Ecosystem Approach and sustainable use in the context of the CBD. It then compares the two approaches and, finally, considers the appropriate relationship between them.
Download: PDF, 80Kb |
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| Indicators |
In 2006 the SUSG held a workshop to plan further work on indicators for sustainable use. The workshop, hosted by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the SUSG, brought together experts from diverse countries, technical backgrounds, and institutions.
Biodiversity contributes directly and indirectly to human well-being. It is essential for the functioning of ecosystems and the sustained flow of benefits from ecosystems to individuals and societies. The loss of biodiversity contributes to worsening health, lower food security, increasing vulnerability, lower material wealth and worsening social relations. But how will we know if we have reduced the rate of decline in biodiversity loss if we have no baselines of biodiversity, its use and disappearance? Indicators help us monitor the situation.
Global indicators for biodiversity identified by the Conference of Parties of the Convention of Biological Diversity are at different stages of development and implementation. Those for sustainable use remain undefined. In some cases the indicators that could be used for sustainable use need little further work, in other cases there is significant work to do in developing the indicator and/or the underlying datasets. The workshop participants consolidated knowledge of what has been done so for planned further work in this important area.
Download: the Sustainable Use Indicators Workshop report: PDF, 708Kb |
| Lessons Learned in Sustainable Use |
Lessons Learned: Case Studies in Sustainable Use, produced by IUCN and NORAGRIC - the Agricultural University of Norway - and with funding from NORAD comprises six technical papers that highlight specific use practices and analyse the social and biological factors that enhance their sustainability. The papers use the Analytic Framework - an overview of the different issues that must be considered in assessing use practices: Economic, ecological, socio-political, institutional, etc. - as a starting point from which to analyse marine resource use, forestry regimes, Multiple Use Marine Protected Areas, trophy hunting and community wildlife management. |
| Literature Reviews |
A growing list of books and papers relating to sustainable use, many of which have been reviewed by SUSG members. |
| 2nd Pan-African Symposium |
The 2nd Pan African Symposium on Sustainable Use was held on 24-27 July, 2000 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The purpose of the symposium was to explore the impact of development on the sustainable use and the conservation of natural resources in Africa. |
| Sustainable Use Policy Brochure |
The IUCN Policy Statement on Sustainable Use was adopted at the 2nd World Conservation Congress in Amman, Jordan, via resolution 2.29. The process that produced the policy statement involved extensive consultation and a high degree of consensus among our membership. A Sustainable Use Policy brochure provides background information and serves to re-emphasize the fundamental importance of sustainable use to the IUCN, its vision, and its activities. sustainable development hinges on the successful integration of efforts to conserve nature and eradicate poverty. Promoting sustainable use of natural resources represents one important avenue that leads in this direction. The SUSG would like to thank the author of text, Mr. Robin Sharp CB, Chair of the European SUSG for his role in the production of this brochure.
Download: English (PDF, 432Kb), Spanish (PDF, 429Kb), French (PDF, 427Kb)
You can also view the IUCN Policy Statement on Sustainable Use online in English, en Français, en Espanol, in Deutsche |
| Precautionary Principle |
The precautionary principle is an important concept in conservation but was first developed to deal with the unknown risks of technological innovations. Many unresolved issues surround its application in a conservation context. What, for example, should be done if the proponents of a potentially damaging activity are not governments or corporations but ordinary hunters or farmers, unable to fund research to prove that their actions are not harmful? And sometimes preventing an activity can also carry risks: banning use of forest products might seem like a good precaution but a forest with no direct economic value might perhaps be cleared for agriculture. These guidelines for applying the precautionary principle were produced by the Precautionary Principle Project for decision-makers, researchers, and practitioners in conservation and natural resources management.
Download: Guidelines for Applying the Precautionary Principle to Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management. English (PDF, 42Kb), Spanish (PDF, 44Kb), French (PDF, 45Kb).
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| IUCN White Oak Principles |
In 2001, a workshop was organized to identify and design practical 'tools' to implement an Analytical Framework developed by the SUSG (see above), and recommend procedures to test the tools. Participants felt that a clear definition and guiding principles were necessary to provide a common context within which the Analytical Framework might be used.
Download: White Oak Principles - PDF, 15Kb |
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Improving the understanding of the factors that influence the sustainability of uses of wild natural resources: