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…
DG Statement | 21 May, 2021
IUCN Director General’s Statement for International Day for Biological Diversity
We mark this year's International Day for Biological Diversity at a time of upheaval, in the midst of a continuing pandemic, a fast-changing climate, with biodiversity in steep decline. At the same time, we know that halting biodiversity loss is possible, and that it can open the way to a more…
Press release | 28 Apr, 2021
Sustainable management of natural resources can reduce risk of armed conflict – IUCN report
Gland, Switzerland, 28 April 2021 (IUCN) – Countries where natural resources such as agricultural land and water become scarce or degraded tend to be more conflict-prone, a new IUCN report finds. The report concludes that conserving and sustainably managing natural resources…
Story | 22 Feb, 2021
One-third of freshwater fish face extinction, warns new report
A new report ‘The World’s Forgotten Fishes’ reveals the extraordinary variety of freshwater fish. This variety accounts for over half of all the world’s fish species and is essential to the health of the world’s rivers, lakes and wetlands and well-being of societies and economies across the…
Story | 15 Sep, 2020
IUCN Standard to support global action on invasive alien species
IUCN today launched a global standard for classifying the severity and type of impacts caused by alien species, known as the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT). This tool will alert scientists, conservation practitioners and policy makers to the potential consequences of…
Publication | 2020
IUCN EICAT categories and criteria : first edition
A unified classification of alien taxa based on the magnitude of their environmental impacts has been developed in response to these issues. EICAT (Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa) is a simple, objective and transparent method for classifying alien taxa in terms of the …
Story | 05 Aug, 2020
The IUCN SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (“the Task Force”) today announces the approval of thirteen new Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) in the Extended Southern Ocean Region.
Story | 25 Mar, 2020
Nature-based Solutions for Water Infrastructure at your service
'Natural water infrastructure' is not built infrastructure. Instead, it is shaped, grown, eroded or deposited by nature over time. It refers to services nature provides for free, such as mangroves protecting shorelines from storms, peatlands sequestering carbon, wetlands filtering contaminated…
Story | 12 Mar, 2020
Report: Blue Infrastructure Finance, where all win
All coastal and marine ecosystems are critical to human well-being and global biodiversity. Mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds are examples of these. But urban and rural infrastructure investments are having a heavy negative impact on these systems, and it is…
Story | 19 Feb, 2020
Emergency Recovery Plan could halt catastrophic collapse in world’s freshwater biodiversity
With biodiversity vanishing from rivers, lakes and wetlands at alarming speed, a new scientific paper outlines an Emergency Recovery Plan to reverse the rapid decline in the world’s freshwater species and habitats – and safeguard our life support systems.