Our work

Our approach

IUCN's Ecosystem Management Programme promotes the ecosystem approach-  a strategy that integrate the  management of land, water and biodiversity and that places human needs at its centre. Through four key programmatic areas, the programme is 1) assessing the state of the world’s ecosystems to inform where and how we can act to secure our future, 2) promoting natural resource management strategies that help people to cope with disasters and climate change and 3) Reinforcing local knowledge that enables people to sustainably manage dryland resources.

Find out more below:

• Documenting status of ecosystems: How are we compiling information on the state of the world’s ecosystems?
• Adapting to climate change: How to make Ecosystem-based Adaptation effective?
• Building resilience to disasters: How to transform disaster risk reduction with ecosystem management?
• Adressing challenges in Drylands: How to conserve and sustainably manage drylands for the well-being of society?

In addition, the Programme also provide support for the Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA). And it also serves as a focal point in the Secretariat for IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM), a network of more than 1000 volunteer ecosystem management experts from around the world. The Ecosystem Management Programme works in close collaboration with CEM to realize the Commission’s objectives in enhancing the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach. CEM members also contribute technical information to the Ecosystem Management Series: a compilation of best practices and lessons learnt in implementing the Ecosystem Approach.