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The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is an international
alliance for action on behalf of nature and the relation between
people and nature. Founded in 1948, this union brings together
sovereign states, government agencies and a wide range of nongovernmental
organizations in some 133 countries. IUCN's work focuses on two
main areas: conservation of biological diversity and sustainable
use of its components. The union's actions strengthen the work
of its members in order to enhance their capacities and support
the establishment of global alliances to safeguard natural resources
at the local, regional and global levels.
The IUCN structure consists of three fundamental
pillars: members, commissions and secretariat. Currently the Union
has some 900 members throughout the world. The commissions are
networks linking more than 8,000 experts in six different fields:
Protected Areas, Species Survival, Environmental Legislation,
Education and Communication, Ecosystem Management and Environmental
Policy, Economic and Social Dimensions. The secretariat is the
Union's technical and administrative body, comprised of approximately
800 persons all over the world, with central headquarters in Switzerland.
IUCN has regional offices in South Asia, East Africa, West
Africa, Central Africa, South Africa, Mesoamerica and South America.
The members, commissions and secretariat work in coordination
to carry out a triennial program, which is analyzed and approved
by the World Conservation Council before each triennial period
begins.
Here in Mesoamerica, a regional office was
opened in 1988 when work began in Central America. Mexico was
incorporated three years later, joining Guatemala, Belize, Honduras,
El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The mission IUCN/Mesoamerica
is to "Contribute to the solidification of a regional
alliance to Take Care of the Earth in Mesoamerica."
IUCN/Mesoamerica’s task is to
identify and implement strategies that support actions by members,
allies and natural resource users. IUCN/Mesoamerica coordinates
a series of activities with government institutions and nongovernmental
members as a means of putting the concept of sustainable development
into practice, as the best response to long-term needs in the
Mesoamerican region. IUCN/Mesoamerica works in four major
fields of actions to achieve its objectives:
- Community wildlife management
- Conservation of forests and protected area
- Social area, with solid gender focus
- Wetlands and coastal zones management
IUCN/Mesoamerica is comprised of members
(57 at this time), the Mesoamerican Committee (formed by presidents
of national member committees and regional commission vice-presidents),
the secretariat (Regional Director and technical programs), the
commissions and the networks.
Many of the members and commissions with representatives
in the Mesoamerican region are carrying out actions in conservation
and sustainable use of wetlands and coastal zones. Examples include
the following:
Belize
The Belize Audubon Society is co-manager of a wetlands with international
importance, the Crooked Tree National Sanctuary Programme for
Belize administers the Río Bravo Conservation Area, which
has great archeological importance.
Costa Rica
The Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía (MINAE), working
with IUCN to spearhead an important process for a National Wetlands
Strategy; the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación
y Enseñanza (CATIE), an intenational member, working in
important actions on behalf of mangroves in Nicaragua and Costa
Rica through the "DANIDA-Mangroves" and "OLAFO"
projects; Centro de Derecho Ambiental y Recursos Naturales (CEDARENA);
Asociación ANAI, working intensively in a wetlands and
marine coastal program for the Gandoca-Manzanillo zone on the
Caribbean coast; and Asociación Preservacionista de Flora
and Fauna Silvestre (APREFLOFAS.)
El Salvador
Asociación Amigos del Arbol (AMAR), working in a mangrove
zone in Barra de Santiago; El Centro de Protección para
Desastres (CEPRODE) and Asociación Iniciativa para el Desarrollo
Alternativo (IDEA), heading a comprehensive process of training,
extension and sustainable development in Laguna El Jocotal, a
wetland of international importance
Guatemala
The National Environmental Commission (CONAMA); Fundación
Solar, which is co-administrator with the National Forests Institute
for the Laguna Lachuá National Park; Defensores de la Naturaleza,
with several wetlands initiatives; Fundación para la Conservación
del Medio Ambiente y los Recursos Naturales (FUNDARY), now working
with IUCN to have Punta Manabique declared a wetland of international
importance.
Honduras
Fundación para la Protección de Lancetilla, Punta
Sal y Texiguat (PROLANSATE), carrying out interesting processes
on behalf of wetlands such as Punta Izopo, a Ramsar site; and
Fundación Vida
Nicaragua
The Ministerio del Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARENA) and
Asociación para el Desarrollo Sostenible para el Archipélago
de Solentiname (APDS), whose field of action is centered within
the great wetlands area of Lake Nicaragua.
Panama
The Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM), which is currently
promoting the establishment of a Ramsar training center; Asociación
Nacional para la Conservación del Medio Ambiente (ANCON),
which works in several wetlands of international importance in
Panama, such as Punta Patiño and the zone of influence
of San San-Pond Sak, and Fundación PROMAR, working for
community participation in the sustainable development of Bocas
del Toro.
At least 35% of IUCN member organizations
in Mesoamerica work with wetlands and this issue of the Wetlands
and Coastal Zones Bulletin is dedicated to them.
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