Case studies

La publicación "Prácticas ancestrales y derecho de aguas: de la tensión a la coexistencia", es el resultado de un proyecto de investigación dirigido por el Centro de Derecho Ambiental de UICN en colaboración con la Comisión de Derecho Ambiental. Esto proyecto tuvo tiene por objeto documentar algunas de las prácticas locales más significativas en materia de aguas en cuatro países de América Latina: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala y Paraguay.

This publication draws on lessons learned from Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea in forest management, community development, indigenous knowledge and access to resources and social networks within the broad framework of the sustainable livelihoods approach. The contents reveal how building workable partnerships among a diversity of stakeholders is fundamental to sustainable development.

It is today widely acknowledged both by the development and conservation communities that a vital relationship exists between the sound management of ecosystems, the determinants of poverty and the effectiveness of poverty alleviation efforts. Although levels of vulnerability remain high in urban areas, the relationship is closer still in rural settings where the majority of poor remain largely dependent upon the productivity and sustainability of natural ecosystems.

Protected areas have proven themselves to be an effective tool for the conservation of biodiversity in situ. However, conserving biodiversity, even in protected areas, is a challenging assignment for most countries around the world where governments and local communities are often in competition for access to and use of resources. On top of these challenges, the world is facing changes in climate and sea level, increasing numbers of invasive species, and fragmentation of forests.

Biodiversity captured worldwide attention at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro when 150 nations signed the Convention on Biological Diversity. Although most countries by now have had some experience planning and implementing biodiversity-related measures, few have approached them in the comprehensive, integrated manner required by the Convention.

With the highest percentage of threatened sharks and rays in the world, the Mediterranean region is in need of regional planning and policy development for the conservation and sustainable management of chondrichthyan fishes. This third report in the series of Mediterranean Red List Assessments presents the findings of an expert workshop at which 71 Mediterranean species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (cartilaginous fishes) were assessed using the IUCN Red List categories and criteria.

Access to justice in environmental law is a worldwide movement dedicated to assisting members of rural communities to achieve redress for environmental harms.This publication contains a review of the rural environmental justice movement in India and Nepal, illustrated with case studies.

In this groundbreaking text, forest quality is discussed as a useful new concept in forest conservation and management. Three main assessment criteria are used: authenticity, environmental benefits, and social and economic benefits. A methodology and protocol for collecting and analysing data is described, and the approach needed with each indicator is outlined in detail.

El Centro de Derecho Ambiental y la Oficina Regional de UICN para Mesoamérica presentan el libro Gobernanza de aguas compartarget_idas: aspectos jurídicos e institucionales, el cual es un esfuerzo conjunto que recoge los aportes del diálogo sobre gobernanza de cuencas compartarget_idas celebrado en Ciudad de Guatemala en septiembre de 2004 y organizado por la Unidad de gestión del agua de la UICN-Mesoamérica.

Este texto reúne las ponencias del Segundo Seminario Internacional Mujeres indígenas, territorialidad y biodiversidad. Uno de los ejes para el desarrollo de estos seminarios ha sido partir del supuesto de que en todas las culturas, las mujeres y los hombres establecen relaciones muy distintas, no sólo con el resto de la sociedad, sino también con sus territorios y recursos, o con su biodiversidad.