Ecosystems and the goods and services they provide have a critical role to play in meeting social and economic development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Good development policy aims to reduce poverty and generate economic development that is sustainable.
IUCN is working to ensure that development policies and strategies support vulnerable and poor stakeholders to sustainably manage ecosystems for improved livelihoods. Around the world, IUCN advises national policy makers on the importance of ecosystems goods and services for sustainable and resilient development. IUCN promotes dialogue and participation by multiple stakeholders, including marginalized groups of civil society, in decision making that affects their natural resources and livelihoods.
At the international level, IUCN is involved in the development of an Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
This is being proposed as a way of ensuring that decisions about the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services are made on the basis of the best available scientific information. IPBES would be similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
