To contribute to the IUCN Mission by providing insights and expertise and promoting policies and action to harmonize the conservation of nature with the crucial socioeconomic and cultural concerns of human communities—such as livelihoods, human rights and responsibilities, human development, security, equity, and the fair and effective governance of natural resources.
CEESP Objectives and Approaches
(a) To identify, analyse and learn from policies and practices at the interface between conservation of nature and the crucial socioeconomic and cultural concerns of human communities, with particular attention to indigenous peoples, including mobile indigenous peoples.
(b) To advance innovative applied research and provide timely responses to environmental and social crises identified by IUCN members, staff, Commissions and partners in the field—such as crises in energy supply, access to clean water and other natural resources, loss of biocultural diversity, and climate change.
(c) To foster a holistic approach to nature conservation within IUCN, embracing complexities and promoting dialogue and cross-learning among perspectives and disciplines based on diverse values, knowledge and achievements and on the experiences of diverse cultures, societies,
communities and gender.
(d) To promote, demonstrate, articulate and link effective and equitable field-based and policy solutions for the conservation of nature, the promotion of biocultural diversity and the sustainable and equitable use of natural resources.
(e) To influence the values, policies and practices of public, private and civil society institutions towards the conservation of nature, the promotion of biocultural diversity and the sustainable and equitable use of natural resources.
(f) To enhance the capacity of IUCN and contribute to implementing the IUCN Programme by collaborating with the IUCN Secretariat, Commissions and members and bridging the experience and skills of experts and scientists—both modern and customary—from diverse
cultures.
Themes
(a) Governance of natural resources, equity and rights (TGER) — Objective: improved governance through a rights-based approach. Activities will focus on promoting governance policy and practices that enhance conservation in landscapes/seascapes while fostering equity and ensuring the respect of human rights. From field-based participatory action research to international policy events, CEESP will engage civil society with governmental agencies and the private sector. It will seek, produce, apply and diffuse information and tools. It will enhance capacities though learning networks. It will foster mechanisms (e.g. Citizens’ Councils) for civil society to demand and monitor social and environmental accountability. It will promote critically constructive analyses of development and conservation issues, including the reconciling of conservation and climate change mechanisms. And it will promote IUCN’s endorsement and application of a policy on conservation and human rights. Throughout the above, CEESP will collaborate with the IUCN Secretariat, Commissions and members.
(b) Joint Strategic Direction/Theme with WCPA on governance of protected areas, equity and livelihood rights (TILCEPA) — Objective: improved governance of protected areas through equitable sharing of costs and benefits and appropriate recognition of governance types. Activities will focus on improving governance of protected areas (PAs) by supporting the full implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Program of
Work on Protected Areas; by promoting the recognition and careful application of all governance types in national PA systems, with special focus on Community Conserved Areas; by enhancing capacities and promoting the empowerment of Indigenous Peoples and local communities via participatory action research, learning networks, policy analysis and advocacy; by supporting the full range of positive contributions (ecological, cultural, economic) of protected areas to human well-being and diminishing their negative impacts in full respect of human and indigenous rights.
Throughout the above, CEESP and WCPA will collaborate with the IUCN Secretariat, other Commissions and members.
(c) Sustainable livelihoods, pro-poor conservation and food sovereignty (TSL) — Objective: Improved coherence and coordination among initiatives for biodiversity conservation, poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods. Activities will focus on integrating conservation of biodiversity, poverty elimination, and the reduction of wasteful consumption, including issues of equity, justice and human rights. Specifically, CEESP will promote and support field- and policy-based sustainable livelihoods initiatives, particularly for indigenous peoples including mobile indigenous peoples and traditional communities; examine the relationships between poverty and biodiversity conservation, with emphasis on the sustainable livelihoods approach; support processes that democratize and decentralize decision making for locally-based adaptive management of biodiversity; support initiatives that promote national and local food sovereignty and corresponding shifts in policies, markets, institutions and practice; promote the inclusion of the principles and practices of the sustainable livelihoods approach in the policies, programmes and structures of IUCN and other conservation, development and donor organizations; and contribute to IUCN’s Future of Sustainability Initiative.
(d) Social and environmental accountability of the private sector (SEAPRISE) — Objective: Enhanced capacity of civil society, governments and the private sector to ensure corporate social and environmental accountability and reduce its impact on climate change and biocultural diversity. CEESP will use the skills of its members and partners to assist governments and communities, including indigenous peoples and particularly women, affected by the private sector (notably extractive industries). As part of this process, it will promote the engagement of civil society in context-specific, long-term proactive processes. The output will include case studies, methods and tools to strengthen the capacity of the private sector (e.g. extractive industries) to become environmentally and socially accountable in its fieldbased work. Support will also be given to governments and civil society so they can hold the private sector accountable, protect biodiversity, avoid human rights abuses and achieve sustainable development. The Business and Biodiversity Programme of IUCN will collaborate with CEESP on this.
(e) Culture and conservation (TCC) — Objective: Improved knowledge, policy and practice linking biological diversity and the cultural dimensions of nature conservation, reversal of the loss of biocultural diversity, and promotion of socio-environmental wellbeing.
CEESP will emphasize culture as an important concept for IUCN and for sustainability. It will focus on the conservation of biocultural diversity through improved understanding, applied research and policy advice on the relationships between culture and biodiversity conservation. Activities will focus on enhancing ‘cultures of conservation,’ promoting and protecting a world of many different cultures conserving nature and implementing sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. CEESP will develop a Cultural Conservation Index to support this work. The IUCN Senior Advisor on Social Policy, the Senior Advisor on Gender Policy, and the Focal Point on Indigenous Peoples will work in close consultation with CEESP in achieving these goals. CEESP will also work closely with other international organizations, academia, NGOs, indigenous peoples’ movements and organizations, and local communities.
(f) Environment and human security (E&S) — Objective: Concrete methods and tools to contribute to human security while preserving biodiversity; outreach to the security community to involve them in the IUCN programme. CEESP will identify zones where environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity lead to human insecurity and possibly to
violent conflicts, and zones where conflict leads to environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity. CEESP will identify opportunities where environmental cooperation may lead to peace and sustainability such as transboundary peace parks, co-management of protected areas, shared watersheds, and promotion of effective regimes for the global and regional commons. CEESP will collaborate with the Senior Advisor on Social Policy on the development and adoption of conflict impact assessment tools for conservation activities and the integration of conservation in post-conflict reconstruction. It will seek an improved understanding of the contributions of conservation activities to peace and the reduction of human vulnerability to natural disasters, with a focus on climate change, security and the role of the security sector.
(g) Environment, macroeconomics, trade and investment (TEMTI) — Objective: Improved coherence and coordination among economic policies, trade, market dynamics and biodiversity conservation. Activities will focus on knowledge and capacity building through research and facilitation of dialogue within the IUCN community and with UN environmental and development agencies and the international economic policy-making community. CEESP will promote an enhanced understanding of the links among the world economic system, global macro and sector level economic policy-making, trade-aid-security systems, and conservation and sustainability. It will conduct action-oriented research on the impact of economic policies on
the environment, particularly in Latin America, Asia and Africa. CEESP will strive to incorporate analyses of the role of global macroeconomic imbalances and policies into the analyses of climate change to facilitate the transition to post-carbon energy systems. It will continue to develop knowledge and capacity-building in the area of valuation of environmental services and will work in close collaboration with the IUCN Senior Advisor on Economics and the Environment.
Cross-cutting topics
(a) Task Force on climate change and the energy revolution. SEAPRISE, TCC, E&S, and TSL will collaborate on the three-pronged crisis of energy, climate change and biocultural diversity loss. Building on the Barcelona forum on this topic, the task force will identify projects such as the following: (1) Create a cross-Commission and Secretariat initiative to provide detailed analysis and advice on mitigation, adaptation, and governance response for the conservation of nature and biocultural diversity, including linkages between conservation and strategic responses to global warming, energy, food, and water problems, and global economic and security policies; (2) Make use of IUCN’s advocacy and convening power to develop specific constituent-based commitments towards effective mitigation and adaptation policies and practices that fully incorporate conservation values; (3) Promote National Climate Change Commissions that fully incorporate conservation considerations and values.
(b) Deliberative processes, citizens’ engagement and good governance. TGER, TILCEPA, TSL and SEAPRISE will continue to strengthen their collaboration about deliberative processes, political democracy, economic democracy and information democracy. They will diffuse existing documents and promote the use of proven mechanisms and tools, while supporting civil society engagement in developing new mechanisms and taking action to face impending situations and crises. Within IUCN, they will keep promoting a positive evolution of the Union’s organizational culture towards improved inclusiveness, transparency, accountability and coherence with its own mission and vision.
Structure and Organization
(a) Members. The Commission has a very diversified membership, balanced in terms of gender, geographical region, discipline and culture. It includes some of the world’s foremost conservation and sustainable development practitioners, relevant social scientists, economists, experts from major conservation and development organizations, and traditional community leaders and young professionals with proven concern and capacities in sustainable development at the community, national and international levels. Membership includes mostly individual professionals, but can include relevant organizations and networks. The broad scope of the Commission requires the extension and strengthening of its capacity, which will be pursued through increased membership and active fundraising.
(b) Governance. The Commission’s Executive Committee will be composed of the Chair, Deputy Chair and the Thematic Vice-Chairs, with other members invited for specific expertise as appropriate. The Steering Committee will include the CEESP Chair and Deputy Chair, the Thematic Vice-Chairs, the Regional Vice-Chairs and the Chairs of Task Forces. It will also include Focal Points for specific issues such as Gender or Indigenous Peoples.
(c) Organization of work. In consultation with the Steering Committee, the Chair may establish additional Themes to address specific elements of the IUCN Programme, collaborating with other relevant actors in the Union. The Chair may appoint Task Forces to deal with specific shorter-term or more novel assignments.
