IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM)

IUCN's 5th World Parks Congress (2003) concluded that parks should not exist as unique islands, but need to be planned and managed as an integral part of the broader landscape. Ecological networks provide an operational model for conserving biodiversity that is based on ecological principles and allow a degree of human use of the landscape.

The Ecosystem Approach, defined as a strategy for the management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way, was adopted at the Second Conference of the Parties of the CBD as the primary framework for action under the Convention. It puts people and their nature resource use practices squarely at the centre of the decision-making framework.