Net Impact talk 18 June 2009

1. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Incorporating Ecosystem and Conservation
Values into CSR Planning and Action:
The need for building
partnerships
Janaka de Silva
IUCN Thailand Programme

2. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Nature provides all of our clean air, food and water…
and shelter, energy, heating, soil and medicines…
and protection from natural disasters…
and recreation, inspiration, diversity and beauty.

3. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Social and economic development
must continue to reduce poverty
and improve people‟s lives.

4. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
So how do we make the best decisions,
based on good science,
and involving all types of people and organizations?

5. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Outline
• An Introduction to IUCN
• Ecosystem Services
• The Rationale For Building Partnerships
• The Challenges
• Moving Forward

6. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
What is IUCN?
The world‟s largest conservation organization
bringing together 82 states, 111 government
agencies and more than 800 NGOs

7. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Our Mission
Influence, encourage and assist societies
throughout the world to conserve the
integrity and diversity of nature and to
ensure that any use of natural resources is
equitable and ecologically sustainable

8. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
IUCN: the Organisation
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
IUCN
Secretariat
State
members
86
Gov‟t agency
members
120
NGO
members
935
Six Commissions: 11,000 experts
SSC
WCPA CEC

9. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
IUCN IN ASIA: A STRONG TEAM
• Offices in 10
countries (dark
green)
• 360 staff, 83%
located in Country
Programmes
• 18 nationalities,
with 93% of staff
from the Region
Bhutan
Nepal

10. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
IUCN‟s Strengths
• Knowledge for conservation and
human wellbeing
• Facilitator of dialogues between
development and conservation
interests
• Leader in environmental
governance
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

11. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
• Increasing engagement
with the private sector
• MOU‟s with ADB,
CARE, ICIMOD, etc.,
• High-level partnerships
with UN Agencies and
Governments
DIVERSE PARTNERSHIPS BEYOND
CIVIL SOCIETY…

12. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Our Approach
2. Action
4. Empowerment
1. Knowledge
3. Influence

13. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Programme

14. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
• Core programmes in IUCN‟s
“heartland”:
– forests, water/wetlands,
protected areas,
biodiversity and species,
marine and coastal,
economics, and law
• Continuous evolution and
adaptation into emerging
areas and needs such as:
– climate change, private
sector engagement, and
disaster risk reduction
A DYNAMIC TECHNICAL
PROGRAMME

15. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
An ecosystem is a complex set of relationships
of living organisms functioning as a unit and
interacting with their physical environment

16. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Ecosystem Services
• Considered as natural processes by which
ecosystems, and the species that make them
up, sustain and fulfill human life (Daily et al 1997).
• the benefits that people obtain from
ecosystems (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment)

17. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

18. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

19. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Natural Capital and Value
• Natural capital contributes
positively to our economies (or
well-being) and is referred to
as ecosystem services
• Resource users, extractors,
and protectors are all
beneficiaries of these services,
and all have a common stake
in ensuring their maintenance

20. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The Ecosystem Approach
A strategy for the integrated
management of land, water
and living resources that
promotes conservation and
sustainable use in a equitable
way

21. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The Rationale for Partnerships
Companies increasingly care ----
• Out of conviction –
• New Opportunities -
„Business can not succeed in a
society that fails‟ – Bjorn Stigson,
WBCSD

22. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
• Operational – increased
scarcity and cost of raw
materials such as freshwater,
disruptions to business
operations caused by natural
hazards, and higher insurance
costs for disasters such as
flooding;
• Regulatory – emergence of
new government policies such
as taxes and moratoria on
extractive activities;
The Business Case

23. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
• Reputational – damage to
corporate reputation from
media and nongovernmental
organization (NGO)
campaigns, shareholder
resolutions and changing
customer preferences;
• Access to capital –
restrictions as the financial
community adopts more
rigorous investment and
lending policies.
The Business Case

24. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The Evolving Notion of CSR
• Public Relations
• Philanthropy
• Integral to business
• Returning societal debt
• Going beyond responsibility

25. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The Challenges
• Recognizing that ecosystems have many
users and finding the right balance
• Not Being able to communicate effectively
• Individual versus societal good
• Hidden motives

26. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The Challenges
• Investments are not
coordinated to
maximize benefits
– Public, Private, NGO,
etc
– Not working in a
holistic way yet,
– Some Evidence of
Cooperation amongst
sectors
Image Source: http://usernumber1.com/images/jigsaw_team.jpg

27. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
PARTNERSHIPS
FOR IMPLEMENTATION…
Regional Steering Committee
National Coordinating Bodies
(Government, NGOs, CBOs, Private Sector)
Project Project
Project
Project Project
Project
S
E
C
R
E
T
A
R
I
A
T

28. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Moving Forward
• Relationship Building
–Dialogue –
Understanding Each
Other
–Working with the Next
Generation of Leaders
–Networking

29. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Moving Forward
• Developing A Strategy
– Multi Stakeholder Platforms
– Reducing impacts
– Using each others skills
• Coordinating Our Investments
• Looking at New Opportunities
– Payment for Environmental
Services
– Carbon and Biodiversity Markets

30. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The Advantages
• Leveraging our Resources
results in increased “bang
for the buck”
• Reduces replication
• Builds on Learning
=+

31. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The Advantages
• Contributes both to higher
level national goals and
makes change at the local
level
• Can build on existing
plans and turn them into
reality
• Improves Integration and
cross sectoral cooperation
=+

32. INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Thank You