The sustainable-use debate: observations from IUCN

Abstract

Few issues in the conservation community rival the intensity of the debate over sustainable use of wild species. At one extreme, people advocate that sustainable use ensures conservation of the resource. Others view it as a guise to exploit wild species. Somewhere between these positions, scientists point out that it impossible to guarantee sustainability given the complexity of human and biological factors that must be balanced. All these points of view are represented among the membership of the IUCN.