Natural resources

Wetlands are vital to the livelihoods of hundred of millions of people residing in the Lower Mekong region, and particularly to the food security of many of the rural poor. This document reports on a study whose aim was to provide guidance on the use of environmental economic assessment methodologies to support wetlands management for poverty alleviation.

Poverty has become the central concern for development agencies, and because many of the areas that are most important for conserving biodiversity are occupied by poor people, or have poor people living around them, the relationship between poverty and protected areas can no longer be ignored. It is a complex one, but this book presents a balanced perspective on how protected areas relate to poverty, in both positive and negative ways.

Les Conventions locales de gestion des ressources naturelles et de l’environnement sont une grande réussite au Sénégal. Ces instruments contractuels, négociés au niveau local par une délibération de la collectivité locale et approuvés par l’Administration, peuvent porter sur une simple ressource, un groupe de ressources, ou encore sur un écosystème entier, comme c’est le cas dans le delta du Saloum.

Wetlands in Bangladesh are going through a difficult phase caused by exponential degradation and destruction of these ecosystems and dwindling of their valuable resources. Plant resources are more vulnerable due to over-harvesting and unwise exploitation.

This book primarily based on observation made during field trips to different haors and floodplains in the SEMP project areas by plant experts, IUCNB staff and partner NGOs. Experience and ideas of the local communities of these wetlands were also considered while preparing the manuscript. Some of the information has been drawn from existing published and unpublished accounts. This book will provide a guideline for future wetland plant resource conservation and management.

El Enfoque Ecosistémico coloca a la gente y el uso de los recursos naturales como el punto de partarget_ida de la toma de decisiones. Es por esto que el Enfoque Ecosistémico puede ser utilizado para buscar un balance apropiado entre la conservación y el uso de la diversidad biológica en áreas en donde hay múltiples usuarios de los recursos y valores naturales importantes.

Lake Naivasha is a rare example of a designated Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site) where the mandate to manage the site resides with the local community. Community members led the effort to seek designation for the site and develop a management plan. A voluntary association of concerned residents and commercial, agricultural, administrative and municipal interests meets regularly to discuss progress and matters arising in the implementation of the management plan.