IUCN

IUCN's 50th anniversary celebrations in Fontainebleau, France, on 3 November 1998, included a symposium organized around three main areas: conservation, communities and consumption. A wide range of prominent scientific figures led the workshops to encourage new thinking on diverse aspects of these topics. These Proceedings contain keynote addresses and summaries of the responses elicited by these papers.

This report is based on a 3-month project assessing business and environment in Botswana. The project concentrated on an assessment of the interests, needs, concerns and constraints of the business community in environmental and resouce management. Top managers and environmental officers in key production and service companies, government departments, NGOs and local authorities were approached for their opinions. A reference group was also established to provide guidance.

This workshop brought together representatives of all stakeholder groups from Namibia and Botswana to discuss key natural resource utilisation issues. IUCN sought to begin a crucial cross-border dialogue to address incompatible land and resource uses in the area. This is the first stage in addressing transboundary natural resource management in the area, and clearly focuses on both the ecosystem and the participation of all stakeholders.

Conifers are one of the world's most important resources of timber. If managed wisely and used sustainably, these resources will provide wood for a multitude of purposes, virtually indefinitely. Additional products include resins and their derivatives, and even medicinal extracts, for example taxol now used in the treatment of cancer. Conifers occur on all continents except Antarctica.