IUCN

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Interim Report, a first assessment stemming from a G8+5 initiative sponsored by Germany and the European Commission, points to the growing pressures on biodiversity and ecosystem services across the world and the need for improved valuation metrics for pricing natural resources. The main pressures come from population growth, changing diets, urbanization, climate change and invasive alien species.

The Ecosystem Approach puts people and their natural resource use practices squarely at the centre of decision-making. Because of this, the Ecosystem Approach can be used to seek a balance between the conservation and use of biological diversity. This publication provides practical guidance on how to use the Ecosystem Approach in planning field activities.

An environmental flow is the water regime provided within a river, wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems and their benefits where there are competing water uses and where flows are regulated. Pioneering efforts in South Africa, Australia and the United States have shown that the process to establish them poses great challenges.

This guide aims to provide practical tools to non specialists – essentially water resources planners, river basin managers, non-governmental organizations and private sector operators. It links the most recent practice on payments for hydrological services to current discourse on integrated water resources management and looks into the different aspects to consider when exploring the potential feasibility of establishing reward or payments for ecosystem services related to water security.

The main objective of this work is to provide an introduction and sense of direction (i.e. a “Gateway”) into the complicated world of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). It by no means intends to serve as a comprehensive overview of this vast field. It provides one entry point for engaging in PES, and was designed to fit into the broader Livelihoods and Landscapes (LLS) strategy, as developed by IUCN’s Forest Conservation Programme.

Afin d’expliquer et de comprendre cet état de fait, la présente étude a pour but d’analyser la situation actuelle de l’écotourisme dans les aires protégées d’Afrique de l’Ouest, et de proposer une stratégie qui servirait de modèle de gestion conforme avec les objectifs des conventions internationales et du développement durable.

Conservation for a New Era outlines the critical issues facing us in the 21st century, developed from the results of the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008. The landmark publication takes on the pressing issues of today and highlights the solutions to be found through investing in nature. The book is essential reading for governments, businesses and decision makers.

This paper outlines how the design of REDD could influence its poverty implications and the key requirements for ensuring that REDD works for the poor. It summarises the findings of a much longer analysis recently prepared on behalf of the PEP, entitled Making REDD Work for the Poor.