Borana pastoralist, Kenya
Photo: IUCN Photo Library / © Rafal Obrzud
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
IUCN is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of more than 15,000 experts. This diversity and vast expertise makes IUCN the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.
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1,400 + Members
15,000 + Experts
Active in 160+ countries
How we operate
IUCN is a democratic Union that brings together the world’s most influential organisations and top experts
in a combined effort to conserve nature and accelerate the transition to sustainable development.
Members
IUCN Member organisations set the direction of the Union's work, and global conservation efforts more broadly, every four years at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
Membership
Commissions
Six IUCN Commissions made up of over ten thousands experts inform IUCN’s knowledge and help produce its work.
Secretariat
The IUCN Secretariat focusses its work on key themes and is organised into 11 operational regions in order to anchor its knowledge locally and better serve Members’ needs.
Themes | Regions
Photo: IUCN
Governance
IUCN's strength and mandate come from its diverse and powerful membership;
more than 1,400 Member organisations which provide the vision and oversight for the Union and its work.
IUCN Congress
Every four years, IUCN convenes the IUCN World Conservation Congress where IUCN Members set the global conservation agenda by voting on recommendations and guide the Secretariat’s work by passing resolutions and the IUCN Programme.
Photo: IUCN
IUCN Council
The IUCN Council is the principal governing body of IUCN between sessions of the World Conservation Congress. IUCN Members elect Commission chairs and representatives from Member organisations to serve four-year terms on the Council.
IUCN Secretariat
The IUCN Secretariat works with Member organisations and IUCN Commissions to move the vision of IUCN’s membership into action. The Secretariat includes around 900 staff and projects in over 160 countries.
Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Acting Director General
Photo: BLINKfotografie
Partnerships make IUCN mission’s possible
Donors and Partners | Patrons of Nature
Our global commons are under pressure from climate change, habitat destruction, and other threats. Our partnership with IUCN engages stakeholders around the world, from government ministers to local communities, to safeguard our planet’s diversity and resources. – Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility
Our vision
A just world that values
and conserves nature.
Our mission
Influence, encourage and assist societies
to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature
and ensure that any use of natural resources is
equitable and ecologically sustainable.
IUCN | How we operate | Our governance | Donors and Partners | Newsroom | Reporting
