History and Background

The IUCN Regional Office for Southern Africa was established in Zimbabwe in 1987 to serve the Southern African Region in the development of modern skills in conservation and natural resource management. IUCN ROSA coordinates such regional services to over 72 members (9 government agencies, 8 State agencies, 3 Affiliates and 52 NGOs) in 11 countries through its regional support programmes, regional networks, and its country offices in Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa.

Key support to fulfilling IUCN-ROSA's mission are the country offices in Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa. These offices are part of the Secretariat, and they play an important role in programmatic synergy and add value to IUCN's work in the region. In addition, there are also project offices in Malawi and Namibia.

IUCN ROSA seeks to support and complement its membership and their own priorities. The underlying objective in all IUCN ROSA's activities and programmes is capacity building and catalysing action. Developing, coordinating and supporting programmatic partnerships is the preferred operational mechanism supporting this objective. Additional services include the provision of objective and scientifically based advisory services and technical assistance, training inputs and programmes, and fora for national and inter-regional dialogue, networking, debate and conflict resolution.