Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - Programme director, International delegates, Heads of State, Members of Royalty, Traditional Leadership, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, the media, ladies and gentlemen. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle stated “that all men by nature desire knowledge”. Here, at Africa Day, we focus on the interchange of constructive knowledge as to how best protected areas can be conserved for the future. Those of greater awareness understand that mankind must act as the custodian of the earth to preserve and protect the beauty of all Africa’s flora and fauna. Man is dependant on nature for survival, but nature existed for centuries without man. Modern day man tends to be unaware that he was born into an existing framework of nature. He regards it as simply there, without knowing or caring why. He remains largely uninformed about the incredible richness that the earth itself provides for man. (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - Less than 1% of the planet’s marine and coastal systems enjoys protection and even less is effectively managed. Can we achieve sustainability for over 70% of the Earth’s surface? This question formed the basis of the marine cross-cutting theme at the World Parks Congress which involved representation from over 25 countries on every continent, and endorsed two recommendations on a global system of Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks and protecting the high seas. There were several key messages that emerged from the theme including that there is an urgent need for action to protect and restore ocean health and productivity, given the growing evidence of fisheries decline and collapse. Changing technology means the last natural marine refugia are becoming accessible. (...)

Full Story // IUCN Global Marine Programme

Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - How can we capitalize on the world’s icon sites – protected areas of outstanding universal value - to build awareness and support? What are the characteristics, the needs, and the potential of these premier sites? The World Heritage Convention is growing in prominence as an effective international framework under which a broad scope of conservation strategies can be implemented. There is a need to increase the overall application of the World Heritage Convention at the national level and to better integrate it with other international, regional and national conservation instruments. This formed the basis of discussions of the World Heritage Cross/Cutting theme at the World Parks Congress. (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - On Friday September 12, 2003 at the 5th World Park Congress in Durban South Africa IUCN, the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication and Conservation International invited directors and a group of communicators from international NGOs, bi-laterals and development agencies to participate in a meeting to explore the creation of a Communication Common Agenda. Historically the conservation community has competed for attention to highlight their own conservation successes. The enormous challenges facing conservation however oblige us to work closely together. If we are to mobilize public support for biodiversity conservation and protected areas we must speak with a common voice – a voice which focuses on common themes, with specific policy objectives. If we channel the power of our joint voice in one direction then we may indeed have the opportunity to affect real change. (...)

Full Story // IUCN-CEC Commission on Education & Communication

Durban, Afrique du Sud, 16 Septembre 2003 (UICN) - Le Congrès mondial des parcs (WPC) a abordé la question des aires marines protégées situées au delà des zones sous juridiction nationale dans le cadre d'une session de l'atelier gouvernance Jeudi 11 Septembre sous la présidence de Graeme Kelleher, chargé du groupe de travail sur la haute mer de l'UICN Une dizaine d'experts d'horizons différents se sont exprimés sur les challenges que représentent l'identification, l'établissement et l'effectivité d'aires marines protégées en haute mer. Alex Rogers, British Antarctic Survey (BAS), a axé sa présentation sur les valeurs des écosystèmes en eaux profondes, a procédé a une identification des menaces potentielles y compris concernant le deep sea trawling. Tomme R. Young, UICN Centre du droit de l'environnement, s'est attardée sur les instruments juridiques hard et soft pertinents soulignant la nécessité de leur mise en oeuvre effective et a présenté les différentes options juridiques et politiques envisageables. (...)

Toute l'histoire // UICN Centre pour la Cooperation en Mediterranee

Durban, Africa del Sur, 16 de Septiembre 2003 (UICN) - Uno de los grandes logros en estos últimos 10 años ha sido el incremento de la participación de las comunidades locales y Pueblos Indígenas en el manejo de las áreas protegidas. Este incremento no solamente ha sido en número sino también en calidad. En la última década se ha creado un clima que ha favorecido una participación más activa de las poblaciones locales. Ello ha sido debido a tres factores políticos claves. Primero, el avance hacia una mayor democratización. Las áreas protegidas han sido durante mucho tiempo concebidas de forma vertical donde incluso los guardabosques han cumplido misiones cuasi-policiales. La democratización ha servido para facilitar un proceso más vertical en la toma de decisiones. Segundo, la descentralización del poder. Cada vez más es posible descubrir sistemas políticos descentralizados, donde los gobiernos locales han ido asumiendo más poder, especialmente por su cercanía a la población. Finalmente, un tercer factor ha sido la delegación de autoridad. Los propios funcionarios responsables de las áreas protegidas cada día tienen un mayor poder de decisión, lo cual les ha permitido tener más capacidad de reacción a las demandas de las poblaciones y también de ofrecer soluciones más inmediatas.(...)

Toda la historia

Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - Twelve percent of the earth’s land surface is protected but how much is enough? A concerted effort is needed to ensure that the global protected area system is comprehensive, adequate and representative. Arising from the “gaps in the system” workshop stream were a number of key messages including that the global, regional, and national protected area networks are far from complete. New analyses presented at the World Parks Congress have clearly shown that there are significant gaps in the coverage of current protected areas systems for threatened species and for globally important sites, habitats, and realms, including the marine realm. As conservation resources are scarce, there is a need to be strategic in the selection of new protected areas. Access to global-scale information on species and ecosystems now makes it possible to assess the representation and coverage of protected area systems, and point to gaps that need urgent attention. Nations should consider biodiversity-based targets, particularly threatened biodiversity, when determining future priorities for building comprehensive protected area networks (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - Governance is about power, relationships, and trust. It is about rights, responsibilities and accountability. When communities participate in decisions, they support conservation. Benefits are shared more equitably. Governments forge better links with their citizens. Conservation flourishes, and present and future generations reap the benefits. These were among the lessons and themes to arise from the Governance workshop stream. Others included: Delivering quality – working together in new ways, we can do better. Better means making decisions that better conserve natural resources and biodiversity, share more equitably the benefits from protected areas, and foster innovative approaches. Better means greater accountability and transparency in the management of protected areas. (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - There are inextricable natural and cultural linkages in landscapes and seascapes. Many protected areas exist as fragments in disturbed or degraded areas, so their management should be set in broader landscape and seascape management. The diversity of ecological landscapes must also be matched with a diversity of institutional frameworks. These were among the key themes to emerge from the World Parks Congress “Linkages in the Landscape/Seascape” workshop stream. Corridors can be useful supplements to conservation areas, but the quality of habitat and ecological functions of these corridors is important. There is a need to consider ecological and evolutionary processes (migration, river flows, upland-lowland connections, global change). It is important to recognize the value of lowland habitats and linkages for ecological flows and corridors especially as lowland is generally under-represented in protected areas. The Ecosystem Approach must encapsulate protected area management issues. (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 16 September 2003 (IUCN) - 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 has received indeed important 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. Dylis Roe, International Institute for Environment and Development, and Joanna Elliot, UK Department for International Development, presented a study on pro-poor conservation that explored the linkages between wildlife and poverty. Sam Gichere, Kenyan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, made a presentation on protected areas and poverty, where he noted the development opportunities of tourism for local communities. (...)

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