Our Approach:
To maintain and restore ecosystems rapidly, in the face of development and climate change, requires exchange of knowledge with local communities and managers of land and species. For this purpose we build multilingual web-portals (e.g. www.naturalliance.eu, www.perdixnet.org). Our portal developments are signposted by a network for local communities. The long-term intention is to gain local knowledge, which needs to be integrated for central planning, in exchange for decision support that benefits ecosystems together with the biodiversity and livelihoods that depend on them.
Origins and Membership:
The thematic group on Sustainable Use and Management of Ecosystems (SUME) was created by IUCN's Commission on Ecosystem Management in 2014. SUME activities are planned by a Steering Group of Continental Coordinators, supported by a network of Country Coordinators.
Steering Group Members are:
Dr Adrian Lombard (Africa, Chair)
Dr Keiya Nakajima (SE Asia, Co-chair)
Prof Eduardo Arraut (S America)
Maya Basdeo (N America)
Dr Scott Brainerd (Europe)
Dr Dan Cecchini (N America)
Dr Tetiana Gardashuk (Europe)
Dr Brendan Moyle (Oceania)
Dr Marina Rosales (S America)
Julian Muhle
Janusz Sielicki
Prof Robert Kenward
Members of SUME had their first meeting in Vienna in June 2015. At the time of its second meeting, in September 2016 at the 6th World Conservation Congress of IUCN in Honolulu, SUME had 62 members across 37 countries. In May 2017 there were 380 in 90 countries, in May 2019 membership was 534 and by autumn 2021 more than 850. To complete the global remit for our work, enquiries are especially welcome from those who would like to become Country Coordinators from Africa, Oceania, the Americas and SouthEast Asia.
Partnerships:
As well as outreach to local communities through the internet, SUME seeks opportunities to inform policy on management to conserve ecosystems through sustainable use of their components. To this effect, members of SUME are working with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We also encourage attention to the European Charters (see right column here) which make appropriate recommendations for governments as well as practitioners.
We cooperate for our internet activities with the European Sustainable Use Group, which supports IUCN’s specialist group for Sustainable Use and Livelihoods too. Through IUCN, we also benefit from a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey. Development of the portals also depends on the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species, Anatrack Ltd and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust in the UK.