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 | 13 Oct, 2021
Plankton are the superstars of the ocean and MAPMAKER is the tool that follows them
Without marine plankton our planet would be a different place. Future projections and impact metrics of plankton diversity around the world are now able to be seen graphically through the MAPMAKER tool. MAPMAKER's new visualisation tools allow data-driven decision-making on marine biodiversity…
Press release | 19 May, 2021
World met target for protected area coverage on land, but quality must improve
Story | 23 Apr, 2021
The inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress officially relaunched
The Government of Rwanda will in March 2022 host the inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) to discuss conservation of the continent’s protected areas. This comes after the relaunch of APAC in Kigali, Rwanda on 20th April 2021.
Story | 14 Dec, 2020
5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) is on, new dates announced.
The new dates for IMPAC5, Vancouver, Canada, have been announced: 3-9 February, 2023. Co-hosts IUCN and the Canadian Government, together with the international committee for IMPAC5, invite you to prepare.
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 | 17 Jul, 2020
Blue carbon and more: mangroves as superheroes
Mangrove forests and swamps are nature's superheroes, a vital ecosystem for climate mitigation, adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and many other benefits for humans and animals alike. On this International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem 2020, we present an interactive…
Story | 06 Jul, 2020
Deep-sea mining effects may be felt from top to bottom, surface to seabed
Seabed mining effects will probably not be confined to the sea floor, argues a Proceedings of the National Academy (PNAS) journal article from the University of Hawaii, co-authored by IUCN's High Seas Adviser, Kristina Gjerde. The effects will be…