IUCN Statement | 30 Apr, 2020
IUCN deplores the brutal killing of 17 people in Virunga National Park
IUCN is deeply shocked by the tragic loss of 12 park rangers, a staff driver and four civilians close to Virunga National Park, following an attack by armed militia on 24 April. One of the world’s most biodiversity-rich areas and home to the last remaining mountain gorillas, Virunga is Africa’s…
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 | 11 Jul, 2019
IUCN scientific panel calls for investigation of decline in prey of western gray whales
IUCN’s Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel is concerned that waters immediately outside the mouth of Piltun Lagoon in the Russian Far East may be losing their ability to support the recovery of Endangered western gray whales.
Press release | 03 Jul, 2019
The looming extinction of the vaquita puts Gulf of California on World Heritage danger list
The World Heritage Committee today followed IUCN’s advice to list Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California as a World Heritage site in danger. The site’s population of vaquitas – the world’s smallest and most endangered species of porpoise – has been decimated due to the…
Story | 07 Jun, 2019
IUCN advises “in danger” status for three World Heritage sites
IUCN, the official advisor on natural World Heritage, recommends for three natural sites to be listed as “World Heritage in danger”: the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California and the Ohrid region in North Macedonia.
Story | 24 Apr, 2019
Scientific panel to continue advising industry on endangered gray whales in Russian Far East
Gland, Switzerland, 24 April 2019 - IUCN’s Director General has appointed a team of distinguished scientists to examine the impacts of oil and gas development and other threats on endangered whales found off the coast of Russia’s Sakhalin Island…
Story | 10 Jan, 2019
Building the global momentum on marine/aquatic plastics litter
Along with over 18,000 participants from 180 countries representing government institutions, national agencies, academia and research, private sector, students, and plastic sector actors, IUCN joined the Sustainable Blue…
Story | 14 Dec, 2018
IUCN seeks whale conservation experts to advise on energy development impacts
IUCN seeks applications from qualified individuals to serve on its independent scientific and technical advisory panel to minimize impacts on western gray whales during offshore oil and gas development near Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East.…
Story | 11 Dec, 2018
Dr Randall Reeves to continue leading advisory panel on industry development impacts
Dr Randall Reeves has been re-appointed by IUCN as Chair of the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), which provides independent advice on the impacts of offshore oil and gas development on gray whales and their habitat. He plans to continue leading the…
Story | 07 Aug, 2018
New IUCN report helps choose the right tools to assess how key natural areas benefit people
IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA) today has issued new guidance to help practitioners assess ecosystem services within important sites for biodiversity and nature conservation. The report reviews nine assessment tools, focussing on their…