Information for Members from Strengthening IUCN: Decisions on Organizational Change

July 2007

The Director General issued her first change management document at the end of June, and shared this with all members of the decentralized IUCN Secretariat. The document is based on the DG’s own impressions, numerous useful discussions with, and feedback from, internal and external stakeholders, and information and recommendations found in various IUCN documents. Many of the changes in this document concern streamlining the way the Secretariat is organized so as to deliver better results for the Union and for its partners.

Based on extensive consultation, the document includes a statement of IUCN’s niche as follows:

IUCN’s niche as a Union of governments, NGOs, scientific expert networks and a decentralized Secretariat, is derived from the unique nature of its membership and the framework it offers for coherent international action dedicated to produce and use knowledge about the environment to benefit people and nature.  IUCN provides the knowledge-based platform to connect practice to policy at global and local levels and to influence decisions and actions about the sustainability of the Earth and its people.

Other matters of interest to IUCN Members are briefly described below:

A new unit has been set up at IUCN headquarters in the Global Constituency and Partnership Group to ensure the Union has the best possible involvement with its members and its volunteer network of Commissions. The Constituency Support Unit will come into full force in October 2007, and is intended to help IUCN become much more strategic and proactive about the way it engages with its members as well as to help attract new members.

The new Unit will:

• Facilitate members’ engagement, both with each other and with the Programme
• Ensure members receive relevant information on a regular basis
• Identify ways to maximize the use of members’ talents and capacities
• Ensure dynamic exchanges and learning opportunities among members and partners
• Proactively search for new members

The new Unit will also have a Commission Support Section that will work to provide optimal network assistance and facilitate integration between IUCN’s large volunteer network – the Commissions – and the other components of the Union.

Additionally, as part of the ongoing effort to enhance IUCN’s regional presence and improve integration, cohesion and efficiency, regional offices are being reconfigured in Africa and West Asia. This is based on our desire to add value to our members and ensure that our work is linked in the most efficient way to the global level. These changes are guided by numerous consultations and on a vision to shift our investment from administrative support to programme implementation.    

For the African region, the four regional offices will gently merge into two: a Regional Office for Central and West Africa (located in Ouagadougou) and a Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (located in Nairobi) with services and facilities shared between these and other existing sub regional and national operations. Integrated strategic programmatic and operational plans for the entire African region are in development in preparation for the 2009-2012 programme.

Under the new configuration, North Africa members and programmatic activities will be addressed by the Mediterranean Centre in Malaga as part of a broader strategy to integrate our work in the Mediterranean.

The WESCANA regional office, renamed to reflect a more realistic geographic approach, will be known as the West Asia/Middle East Regional Office and will cover membership and programmatic activities in Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, and Yemen. Iran may wish draw upon the IUCN Asian Regional Office in developing its programme.   

As membership in Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, is relatively small, IUCN will organize meetings with current members, potential new members and Commission members to discuss how to achieve a higher level presence in the area. 

Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre said: “I believe firmly that IUCN must improve its strategic involvement in its regional programmes and build stronger links between members, the Secretariat, Commissions and partners. It is with this in mind that I have introduced these changes and I look forward to continuing to work with the entire Union to accomplish our important mission.”