Buenos Aires, Argentina - IUCN

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implications so profound that it was not easy to
summarize them, but some key points could be
made:
the world is now changing very rapidly and so to
be effective IUCN must first and foremost understand
this world;
the Union's work on how people interact with
nature and natural resources must be based on a
clear understanding of the economic and political
agenda, including trade and business;
the Union must look for new sources of funds and
not rely on aid flows, which the workshop predicted
would not increase in future;
it must support NGOs as being an integral part of
society and the part most able to deal with natural
resource use;
it must be a bridge and facilitator between government
and NGOs, and support institutional development.
This has profound implications for the structure and
direction of the Union, and should be discussed in the
General Assembly.
The following general points were then made:
¤ the Australia State member delegation argued that
the multiplier effects of the work of the Commissions
was higher than with other parts of the Union
and requested small additional assistance to the
Commissions to improve their work;
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Antonio Machado, Regional Councillor, pointed
out that many priorities and activities identified by
the members are not reflected in the programmes;
he proposed the development of guidelines to ensure
the participation of members in the development
of an IUCN Programme, especially through
National Committees.
The Part of the Programme entitled "The Direction
and Management of the Union"
Policy Development. The Programme document
should acknowledge that the General Assembly is the
fundamental policy development organ of the Union
(Australian Littoral Society). This point was also
covered in Workshop 10 ("IUCN on the World
Stage"), which called for the General Assembly to play
a greater role in giving policy direction to the Union
(see pages 78-80).
Technical Programmes
The UK State member delegation asked why the Commission
on Environmental Strategy and Planning
(CESP) had its own thematic programme separate
from the theme programme on strategies, while other
Commissions did not. The delegation suggested that
all programmes should be given clear targets and
titles. It would be better to give them programmatic
(as opposed to institutional) titles. In reply, the Programme
Director explained that the work of CESP
relates to more than one IUCN Programme, whereas
other Commissions have a one-to-one link. For this
reason CESP had been given its own Programme as
well. He agreed that this could be looked at again.
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute
(Pakistan) thought the Programmes on Strategies,
Social Policy and CESP were all too diffuse. They
missed the essential processes of motivating stakeholders
and building capacity, subjects that were not
amenable to solution by provision of guidelines or
text-books. It is hard to see how these matters can be
addressed at all at international level. Nor did he feel
that the benefits of local experience were being fully
utilized.
The Conservation of Nature Trust, India, called for
an item in the Programme on depleted riverine fauna.
The Director General proposed that the new Commission
on Ecosystem Management could address
cross-cutting issues such as this one.
Marine and Coastal Areas Programme. Workshop 6,
on carrying capacity, had suggested that that the
Marine and Coastal Areas Programme focus on
exchange of information between agencies responsible
for large marine ecosystems (Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Authority, Australia). The U.S. State
member delegation pointed out that NOAA had been
doing this for the last ten years and so the United States
would be interested in collaborating.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority also
proposed an additional objective for this Programme:
"To ensure coordination between the activities of
IUCN, including the Marine and Coastal Areas
Progamme, its policy initiatives and demonstration
projects, the marine components of IUCN's various
sectoral programmes and Commission activities, and
the coastal and marine activities of other relevant
national, regional and international programmes."
Protected Areas Programme. The aim of the Programme
should be to promote the establishment and
effective management of a worldwide network of not
just terrestrial and marine protected areas (as the
document says), but of terrestrial, coastal and marine
52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY