Story | 07 Jun, 2024
IUCN, the official advisory body on nature to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, recommends the addition of four new sites to the prestigious World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value in Brazil, China, France and the UK. IUCN also recommends the extension of an existing serial site…
Story | 27 Dec, 2021
China launches new guidelines for coastal ecosystems to enhance disaster risk reduction
In 2018, the highest decision-making body on financial and economic issues in China mandated competent authorities to implement coastal conservation and restoration projects through the use of Nature-based Solutions to keep resilient…
Story | 22 Dec, 2021
Nature-based Solutions for ecological conservation and restoration explored at CBD COP15 in China
Kunming, China (IUCN) – China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, together with IUCN, organised an event, “Nature-based Solutions for Ecological Conservation and Restoration,” as part of the Ecological Civilisation Forum during the Convention on…
Press release | 08 Dec, 2021
Dragonflies threatened as wetlands around the world disappear - IUCN Red List
Gland, Switzerland, 9 December 2021 (IUCN) – The destruction of wetlands is driving the decline of dragonflies worldwide, according to the first global assessment of these species in today’s update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Their decline is symptomatic of the…
Press release | 06 Dec, 2021
All coral reefs in the Western Indian Ocean at high risk of collapse within 50 years
Gland, Switzerland, 6 December 2021 (IUCN) - A new assessment of the coral reefs of the Western Indian Ocean shows that they are all at high risk of collapse within the next five decades. Ocean warming and overfishing were identified as the main threats.
Story | 06 Dec, 2021
Endangered Caspian Seal Habitat Awarded Important Marine Mammal Area Status
Today, the IUCN Task Force on Marine Mammal Protected Areas, a joint task force of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the World Commission on Protected Areas, announces that Caspian seals have been awarded three Important Marine Mammal Areas, or IMMAs, as part of a tranche of 14 new IMMAs…
Story | 29 Oct, 2021
This International Black Sea Action Day, 31st October, 11 habitats of Red-List Endangered Black Sea harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphins as well as Vulnerable Black Sea common dolphins have been formally awarded Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) status by the…
Story | 19 Oct, 2021
Marine Heatwaves: a serious threat to marine biodiversity and livelihoods
Back in 2011, extremely warm water temperatures persisting over thousands of kilometres along the coastline of Western Australia caused coral bleaching, mass die-out of marine life and wiped out kelp forests. Since then, this phenomenon of abnormally high-water temperatures has been recorded in…
Story | 01 Jul, 2021
A new paper, published today in Science, argues for an international legally binding agreement that addresses the entire life cycle of plastics, from extraction of raw materials to legacy plastic pollution. Three clear goals are proposed and encouraged, to address not only the well-known issue…
Story | 04 Jun, 2021
IUCN recommends two biodiversity sites in Georgia and Japan for the World Heritage List
IUCN, the official advisor on nature to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, recommends two new inscriptions on the prestigious World Heritage List for sites in Georgia and Japan. Both places harbour a rich diversity of plant and animal species, many of which cannot be found anywhere else on Earth…