IUCN

The IUCN system for classifying protected areas distinguishes six management categories (I-VI). This publication aims to further clarify how they can be interpreted within Europe, in order to help protected areas managers and others concerned with protected areas to apply the IUCN system more consistently to ensure reliable categorisation and data gathering.

Climate change is here and will be with us for the long term. The challenge facing water professionals is how to make decisions in the face of this new uncertainty. This book outlines a new management approach that moves beyond technical quick fixes towards a more adaptive style that is inclusive and innovative. Only by thinking, working and learning together can we tackle the impacts on water resources and uncertainties induced by climate change.

Protected Landscapes (IUCN Protected Area Category V) are lived-in working landscapes. In the past, there has been a tendency to see them as a rather Eurocentric approach to protected areas but increasingly the category is being designated in other parts of the world, including in a number of developing countries. The Guidelines include sections on the background and on the planning of such areas, and chapters on the principles, policies, process and the means for their management.

The Loita/Purko Naimina Enkiyio forest is estimated to cover an area of 330 km2 in Kenya and serves several functions within the Loita Maasai community. When a change of the forest tenure to a reserve threatened this community, they challenged the decision and were successful in having the decision rescinded. Security of tenure can be considered the single most important factor in the sustainable management of natural resources.

Wetlands in Africa are increasingly being recognised as ecosystems of extreme importance to man and biodiversity. However, the management of these wetlands has been impacted by alien invasive species that specialize on aquatic (and semi-aquatic) systems. This booklet introduces alien wetland invaders by describing seven of the worst species already introduced to Africa and mentions several others that are potential threats.

Los países centroamericanos están en un verdadero proceso de cambio y modernización de sus Sistemas de Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental (EIA). En esta publicación se presenta un resumen de los diagnósticos de estos sistemas y los Planes de Acción elaborados por Costa Rica, Guatemala y Nicaragua.

There is growing recognition that centralized forest regimes, which exclude local knowledge and customary practices, have not achieved sustainable forest management. Most countries of Eastern and Southern Africa are reviewing and revising policies and laws and restructuring their agencies to accommodate emerging forest management imperatives.

Centroamérica ha abrazado con fuerza el tema de las evaluaciones de impacto ambiental (EIA) y el Comité Técnico de Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental de Centroamérica está liderando la armonización y modernización de los sistemas de EIA en la región. Esta publicación presenta los avances logrados hasta finales del 2002 en los distintos países y a nivel regional.