A strategy for IUCN in Oceania : concept paper / prepared by the Oceania Regional Committee of IUCN

Abstract

This paper contributes to the current review of regionalisation and decentralisation that aims to improve the performance of the Secretariat and the governance of the Union. The current distribution of Secretariat presence is uneven throughout the world, and appears to be based more 011 historical accidents than a matching of resources with needs to achieve the goals of the IUCN Programme. The absence of any Secretariat presence 111 Oceania may be part of this accident of history, or does it reflect instead the absence of need? To answer that question we analyse the situation in the region, comment on regional capacities to address conservation needs, describe the current status of IUCN components in Oceania, identify where IUCN input would be most effective, and conclude that there is a strong case for establishing an IUCN Secretariat presence based in the Pacific islands subregion.