News
Traditional knowledge key to conserving biodiversity
Climate change, unsustainable development and biodiversity loss are mounting threats to life on earth and human societies. Throughout the ages, local communities have developed knowledge and tools for survival and adaptation to their environment. But as indigenous cultures, local languages and practices are eroded, so is our civilization’s resilience to new environmental challenges. …
12 Apr 2010 | News story
Mangrove forests in worldwide decline
More than one in six mangrove species worldwide are in danger of extinction due to coastal development and other factors, including climate change, logging and agriculture, according to the first-ever global assessment on the conservation status of mangroves for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. …
09 Apr 2010 | International news release
Scientists call for biodiversity barometer
For the first time scientists have put a figure on how much it would cost to learn about the conservation status of millions of species, some of which have yet to be identified. The price tag is US$60 million, according to a team of scientists, including those from IUCN and Conservation International, who presented their case in this week’s Science magazine in an article called “The Barometer of Life.” … | Spanish
08 Apr 2010 | International news release
Access and Benefit Sharing - negotiations to be continued
In its intervention during the plenary session of the negotiations on the international regime to regulate access to genetic resources and the distribution of the benefits derived from their use, IUCN urged delegates to include the link between Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in the Protocol. …
31 Mar 2010 | News story
Time for closer collaboration on wildlife trade
Doha, Qatar, Thursday 25 March 2010 (IUCN) – It’s time for joint action and for regulatory bodies to work together to ensure the continued survival of species threatened by wildlife trade, says IUCN at the end of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in Doha, Qatar. …
25 Mar 2010 | International news release
Final Meeting of the Access and Benefit Sharing Working Group kicks off in Colombia
Around 600 delegates representing Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), non-governmental and international organizations, and partners, are currently gathered in the sunny city of Cali in Colombia to give the final push to the negotiations on the international regime to regulate access to genetic resources and the distribution of the benefits derived from their use. …
24 Mar 2010 | News story
Healthy biodiversity is no luxury - it's the foundation of all life on earth
IUCN calls for a clear post-2010 Strategic Plan on Biodiversity. We have failed to meet the target adopted through the Convention on Biological Diversity to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 and we are currently witnessing the greatest extinction crisis since dinosaurs disappeared from our planet 65 million years ago. Urgent action is needed to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences, both for nature and for people around the world. … | Chinese
23 Mar 2010 | International news release
IUCN supports World Water Day around the Globe
Celebrating this year’s World Water Day, Dr. Milika Sobey from the IUCN Oceania office in Fiji highlights the importance of ‘protecting forests, mangroves, and the restoration of river ecosystems to maintain and improve water quality which is vital to preserve ecosystem health, and ultimately provide clean water for people’. …
22 Mar 2010 | News story
Sturgeon more critically endangered than any other group of species
Eighty five percent of sturgeon, one of the oldest families of fishes in existence, valued around the world for their precious roe, are at risk of extinction, making them the most threatened group of animals on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The latest update of the Red List assessed the status of 18 species of sturgeon from all over Europe and Asia and found that all were threatened. …
18 Mar 2010 | International news release
Trees used in cosmetics industry protected by CITES
Delegates at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference decided yesterday to add two trees from South America, which produce aromatic oils that are used in the cosmetics industry, to the list of species whose trade will be regulated by delegates. Palo Santo (Bulnesia sarmiento) and the Brazilian rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) will be included in Appendix II of the Convention, which allows for regulated trade. These measures will come into force in 90 days. …
18 Mar 2010 | News story
