Experts stress on alternative approaches to natural resource conservation
Experts gathered at the 4th IUCN Asia Regional Conservation Forum (RCF) have called for alternative approaches to natural conservation in the Asian countries.
On the second day of debate, experts from across the globe highlighted the need to prioritise biodiversity conservation as the cornerstone of IUCN’s work on biodiversity, examining broadly the challenges and opportunities of reorienting IUCN’s heartland work in Asia on protected areas, wetlands, and coastal ecosystem management, forests and species towards developing integrated landscape approaches.
“Landscape conservation brings people together to identify, negotiate and put in place practices that optimize the environmental, social and economic benefits of biodiversity within a broader pattern of land uses,” said IUCN’s senior coordinator Dr. Sue Mainka, adding that there was a need to come up with new commitments and policy guidelines for conserving biodiversity, a paradigm that requires more effective learning across our traditional boundaries.
Sustainable development, ecosystem management approaches to conservation, enabling legislative frameworks were at the core of the discussions, according to the IUCN.
Stressing on the need to strengthen partnerships, Dr Krishna Chandra Paudel, joint secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, opined that Nepal has embraced an integrated, holistic and participatory strategy to sustainable biodiversity conservation through pro-people and multisectoral approaches. Similarly, Dr. Dipak Gyawali of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology spoke about challenges and opportunities in achieving greater functional integration in the context of wetlands and water resources.
While successful conservation practices were shared amongst participants, regional perspectives on the species extinction and water crisis were also discussed at length in finding synergies in IUCN’s heartland work. Other concurrent sessions saw the deliberation on IUCN membership business and strategies for addressing key regional issues such as climate change, energy and environmental security, poverty-environment nexus and greening the economy.
About 400 IUCN members, experts, representatives from IUCN’s membership, commissions, secretariat and council in Asia from as many as 30 Asian countries are participating in the RCF. nepalnews.com mk Sep 12 07
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