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IUCN-SA
Welcomes ROSA Staff
19 September
2006
Since the beginning
of 2006, a few staff members from IUCN's
Regional Office for Southern Africa
have relocated to IUCN-SA offices in Pretoria.
Those who have most recently moved, and
who join Tabeth
Chiuta (Regional Programme Coordinator),
include: James
Murombedzi (Regional Director), Lazarus
Mapfundematsva (Regional Accounts),
and James
Makunike (Programme Officer/IT). Additionally
Dumisani
Shoyise (Monitoring and Evaluations
Officer for ROSA) has joined the ROSA team
in South Africa. Each individual brings
a wealth of knowledge, expertise and energy.
We welcome them whole-heartedly to the South
African office.
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Does Sustainability
Make Economic Sense?
An evening with Prof Manfred Max-Neef
7 April 2006
On the 3rd
of April IUCN attended an evening seminar with
Professor Manfred Max-Neef at the Gordon Institute
of Business Science in Johannesburg. The topic
of discussion for the evening was “Does
Sustainability Make Economic Sense?” where
Prof Max-Neef explored the inherent tensions between
sustainable development and economic progress.
In his presentation, Max-Neef outlined the principles
and requirements of the Human Scale Development
model and its application using real world examples
of development. Max-Neef developed the model with
colleagues after years of work in developing countries
where he witnessed the failure of conventional
economic systems to adequately measure development
“success”. The model details the taxonomy
of human needs and a process by which communities
can identify their “wealth” and “poverties”
according to how these needs are satisfied. Several
examples were given to illustrate the difference
between “needs” and “satisfiers”,
including that of modern-day advertising in perceived
or superficial satisfaction of human needs. Max-Neef
identifies fundamental needs as few, finite, classifiable
and constant across all cultures and historical
periods. But what changes over time and through
cultures, is the way or means by which the needs
are satisfied (satisfiers). Each society has different
ways for the satisfaction of the same fundamental
needs.
Max-Neef’s model re-interprets the definition
of poverty and the role of the natural environment
in development. Rather than measuring poverty
simply by income, he argues that any fundamental
human need not adequately satisfied reveals a
human poverty. Following this he describes societies
living well above the earth’s carrying capacity
as “overpopulated” rather than those
with citizens consuming significantly less of
the Earth’s available resources.
The role of economics in conservation is an issue
that IUCN grapples with on a regular basis. Most
believe that conservation activities are at odds
with economic development and Max-Neef’s
model is a valuable contribution to the interpretation
of sustainable development in our work and that
of our partners.
The evening was extremely interesting and gave
good food for thought on alternative ways of addressing
and approaching the concept economic progress.
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Achim Steiner Appointed
as Executive Director of the United Nations
Environment Programme
 16
March 2006
The World Conservation
Union (IUCN) welcomes the appointment by the
UN General Assembly of its Director General,
Achim Steiner, to the position of Executive
Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP).
Full
story -
Mr Achim Steiner's Bio - Secretary
General's Note
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The Healing
Power of Nature - My Friends the Baboons
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 17
March 2006
Baboons have roamed the rugged cliffs and sandy
flats of the Cape Peninsula since ancient times,
long before the first human settlers arrived.
Today, however, the two primate species are
struggling to live at peace with one another.
Competing for limited resources on this narrow
finger of land, baboons have been damaging crops
and threatening the personal safety of tourists
and homeowners. In retaliation, many animals
have been shot, trapped and poisoned.
Filming is now underway for 'My Friends the
Baboons', the eleventh of the thirteen-part
'Healing Power of Nature' series. The film will
illustrate how various initiatives are helping
to alleviate these problems and to challenge
the stigmas that have perpetuated a largely
negative relationship with these creatures.
Viewers will witness how baboons have helped
certain individuals to heal from difficult experiences
in their lives, following the work of Vuyani
Fete as a baboon monitor and the experiences
of Dale Fox at 'The Manger' rehabilitation centre
for injured and orphaned baboons.
'My Friends the Baboons' will be directed by
Nick Chevallier.
For more information:
www.iucnsa.org.za/our_work/initiatives/film.htm
titles and
dates of broadcasting
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World Conservation
Union President Valli Moosa highlights the role
of cities in biodiversity conservation
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28 February 2006
The battle to save the earth will be won or
lost in cities – that is the resounding
message from conservation leaders at the World
Congress of the International Council for Local
Environment Initiatives (ICLEI).
Full
story - Countdown
2010 - ICLEI
World Congress
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| South
African prepares for the 8th Conference of Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP8)
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16 February
2006
The South African National Committee preparing
for the 8th Conference of Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity held its final preparatory
meeting last week ahead of COP8 in Curitiba,
Brazil which runs from 20 - 31 March 2006. This
meeting was the last in a series of meetings
between governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.
The committee met to review strategic issues
for South Africa on the COP8 agenda, to review
the status of implementation of the CBD provisions
in South Africa and to consolidate position
papers on the strategic issues up for negotiation
at the COP. The key issues open for in-depth
discussion at CBD COP8 are island biodiversity,
biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands, the
Global Taxonomy Initiative, access and benefit-sharing,
Article 8(j) and related provisions, as well
as communication, education and public awareness.
The South African delegation consists of representatives
from governmental departments as well as non-governmental
agencies.
For more information:
Eighth Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of
the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity
www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=COP-08
IUCN's Policy, Biodiversity and International
Agreements Unit
www.iucn.org/themes/pbia
South African Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism
www.environment.gov.za
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| Zero
Carbon City Campaign |
 15
February 2006
The City of Johannesburg last week launched a
Zero Carbon Cities awareness Campaign, along with
the University of the Witwatersrand and the British
Council. The aim of the campaign is to stimulate
debate on international climate change, widely
acknowledged to be the biggest threat to sustainable
development. Several speakers from a range of
sectors representing organisations working to
address climate change were invited to contribute
to the debates. Anthea Stephens, acting Country
Programme Coordinator for the World Conservation
Union in South Africa (IUCN-SA) gave a presentation
on IUCN's role at both an international and national
level in raising awareness around climate change.
Anthea highlighted the work of the Union in better
understanding the impacts of climate change on
biodiversity and society, initiatives to mitigate
the effects impacts and the need for the implementation
of adaptation strategies. She highlighted several
initiatives of the Union, including IUCN's call
to the the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change to keep global warming
below 2° Celsius, as well as IUCN's in-house
work to monitor and reduce it's own carbon emissions
from day-today business operations. The Zero Carbon
Cities Campaign in Johannesburg was launched during
a week of exhibitions and debates on climate change
in Johannesburg. Councillors, officials, academics,
environmentalists, tertiary students, school children
and members of the public attended the debates.
For more information:
IUCN's Climate Change Initiative
www.iucn.org/themes/climate/index.htm
City of Johannesburg Zero Carbon City Campaign
www.joburg.org.za/2006/feb/feb14_carbon.stm
British Council ZeroCarbonCity
www.britishcouncil.org/zerocarboncity.htm
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| ICLEI
World Congress 2006: Local governments and sustainable
development (27 February - 3 March 2006
Cape Town, South Africa) |
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 3
February 2006
ICLEI was founded in 1990 as an international
association of local governments and national
and regional local government organizations committed
to sustainable development. The Congress will
provide a platform for discussion around strategies
for sustainability, and will have a special focus
on poverty alleviation and local government cooperation
in the Africa region. Cape Town, which is one
of only three cities in the world that ranks as
an "urban biodiversity hotspot," is
the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to host
the World Congress. ICLEI
2006 | Invitation
& Programme (PDF) | World
Congress Cape Town Day
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| 2006 World
Wetlands Day: In the face of poverty |
 2
February 2006
The wetlands community is celebrating today the
value of wetlands around the world, particularly
for their contributions to livelihoods. Wetlands
are important sources of water, wild foods and land
for cultivation and grazing, and can provide other
economic benefits such as tourism. In an effort
to secure the future of wetlands and the many lives
depending on them in Africa, Endangered Wildlife
Trust has partnered with US-based International
Crane Foundation (ICF) to implement projects throughout
southern and east Africa. Press
release | EWT
headlines | WWF
News and Wetlands links |
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