Achievements and Highlights

Since its inception, IISD has worked on resource management issues of particular importance to Canada and the prairie region where IISD's head office is located. However, due to staff changes, few projects have been active recently. The program is now being revitalized under the name Sustainable Natural Resources Management, again with an initial local focus, particularly on water, agriculture and sustainable development. On the Canadian prairies, as in many other places in the world, water demand is rising. At the same time, the amount, quality and safety of water are under pressure from climate change, and from increasing pollution from industrial, municipal and agricultural sources. This raises economic, environmental and social issues that must be dealt with through appropriate policies and action. IISD's revitalized program will look at the issues from a sustainable development viewpoint, with the goal of recommending policy approaches that will be integrated and comprehensive, and that will link to other related sustainable development issues, including that of ensuring that we leave enough water in the ecosystem to provide a full range of ecological services.

While this local and regional work is just beginning, established international project areas under the Natural Resources Management banner had a busy and productive year. Alleviating poverty and moving societies onto a path that will foster sustainable development can only succeed in a climate of peace. And if resource scarcity, mismanagement and competition for valuable resources are sources of conflict and vulnerability, then investing in conservation is a cost-effective way to conserve the peace. IISD's Environment and Security Initiative was established in 2000 in collaboration with IUCN – The World Conservation Union. The initiative seeks to derive practical tools and insights for peacebuilding and human security through better natural resource management.

Some highlights from 2003-2004:

• IISD led a workshop at the World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, on Managing Protected Areas in Times of Conflict, forging a consensus among leading conservation professionals from Angola to Nepal on good practices and identifying gaps in knowledge Click here for more information.

• IISD made two presentations to the OECD Development Assistance Committee on topics where further work is needed to integrate environment in conflict prevention and development cooperation, particularly on the need for operational guidelines and tools for project design Click here for more information.

• With IUCN's Asia office, IISD launched a new research program on Rights of Access to Natural Resources and Conflict in South Asia. A workshop in July in Kathmandu brought international experts together with national teams from the region to define an analytical approach. Case studies are currently in preparation, and results will help tackle a fundamental development problem—incomplete or conflicting property rights—through the environment and security link Click here for more information.

• In collaboration with UNEP's Finance Initiative, IISD co-hosted a consultation at HSBC headquarters in London with leading banking and insurance professionals and interested academics, on the Financial Sector and Conflict. A final report will be released in late Summer 2004 Click here for more information.

• IISD continued to participate, with the support of Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, in the elaboration of Guidelines for Conflict-sensitive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment with conflict experts, International Alert, and leading experts from the private sector. These guidelines were highlighted by the World Economic Forum and by the U.K.-based International Business Leaders Forum and Royal Institute for International Affairs, in their advice to companies taking part in Iraqi reconstruction Click here for more information.

• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) featured IISD in an hour-long documentary shown around the globe, describing the complex range of environment and security links in the transition countries of Central Asia and South Eastern Europe, and our participation in environment and security assessments as part of a multi-agency effort led by OSCE, UNEP and UNDP, the first collaboration of its type Click here for more information.

"The program is now being revitalized... with an initial local focus, particularly on water, agriculture and sustainable development."

Through four years of work, IISD has established itself as an innovative and respected voice on peace and human security. Our climate change task force is the world authority on harnessing natural resource management strategies for climate change adaptation and vulnerability reduction. And as a pioneering voice on the role of the private sector in conflict prevention and recovery, we remain at the forefront of efforts to integrate conflict and corporate citizenship.

"...if resource scarcity, mismanagement and competition for valuable resources are sources of conflict and vulnerability, then investing in conservation would be a cost-effective way to conserve the peace."

In this past year, IISD's mining work focused on testing the Seven Questions to Sustainability (7QS) Assessment Framework. The 7QS approach has garnered much interest in North and South America and applications have now extended beyond mining to forestry, fisheries and nuclear waste management. The original report, Seven Questions to Sustainability, has been translated into Spanish with support from Compañia Minera Antamina of Peru. A second printing of the original English version has been completed with support from The Grosso Group (IMA Exploration Inc. and Amera Resources Corp.). The first test case involved Tan Range Exploration Company, a Vancouver-based gold exploration with field operations in Tanzania. In this case, the 7QS approach has been used to refine their overall corporate strategy for sustainable development and help guide a system of performance measurement and progress assessment. The second test case was undertaken with the Tahltan First Nation whose traditional territory covers some 100,000 km² in northwestern British Columbia. In April 2003, and using the 7QS framework as a guide, the Tahltan First Nation set out to review their relationship with the mining industry and build a strategy to guide that relationship in the future. The resulting report, Out of Respect, has received much attention. In addition to offering a pragmatic way of applying sustainability concepts, the 7QS framework has helped encourage a significant shift in thinking from the identification and mitigation of impacts, to the identification and encouragement of contribution. Doing so provides a fairer assessment of implications, stronger support for decision-making and a greater sense of fairness among the parties involved.