About
The IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULi) is a global expert volunteer network focused on enhancing the role of sustainable use of wild resources in supporting biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods. It was formed in 2012 as a joint initiative of IUCN's Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy and the Species Survival Commission, and brings together a unique array of thinkers, researchers and practitioners from government, intergovernmental, NGO, academic and community backgrounds.
SULi plays an increasingly prominent and respected global role in debates and the development of policy and practice on conservation issues of pressing current concern, including how communities can be supported through integrated use of biodiversity and natural resources, engaging communities as active partners in combating illegal wildlife trade, and the role of wild resource use and trade in supporting rural livelihoods and incentivizing conservation. Sustainable and integrated use of wild species and habitats plays an important role in conservation strategies and livelihood and resource management options for many Central Asian countries. However, illegal and/or unsustainable use continues, with challenges in terms of inadequate governance frameworks and institutions. Strengthening the role of local communities in wildlife, forest and rangeland management is a key element for countering poaching and unsustainable use, building strong and effective institutions, and ensuring healthy wildlife populations. There is an increasingly important and recognized role for legal and sustainable hunting, for example, in supporting community-based conservation and wildlife management approaches, particularly in Pakistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Proceeds from sustainable and legal hunting not only benefit the wildlife but also the livelihoods of the people coexisting with wildlife. |