Press release | 02 Dec, 2020
Climate change now top threat to natural World Heritage – IUCN report
Gland, Switzerland, 2 December 2020 (IUCN) – Climate change is now the biggest threat to natural World Heritage, according to a report published today by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). A third (33%) of natural World Heritage sites are threatened by…
Story | 05 Dec, 2019
IUCN-outsourced paper finds no proof Rufiji dam project can meet Tanzania’s development needs
A strategic environmental assessment meant to guide decisions on the Rufiji hydropower project in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve World Heritage site is completely inadequate, according to an independent technical review commissioned and issued today by IUCN. The document does not assess 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 | 27 Jun, 2018
Tanzania urged to halt logging plans and dam project in Selous Game Reserve, as advised by IUCN
Manama, Bahrain – Tanzania has been urged to not proceed with plans to log 143,638 ha in the Selous Game Reserve today at UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meeting, as recommended by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The area would be in the same location…
Story | 28 May, 2018
World Heritage in-danger: Belize reef recovers while Lake Turkana faces dam threat – IUCN
In-danger status can be lifted from the world’s second largest coral reef, Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in charge of advising the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on natural sites. IUCN recommends danger-listing Kenya’s…
Story | 15 Nov, 2015
Report calls on aluminium industry to respect indigenous peoples' rights
Geneva, Switzerland, 16 November 2015 – While global demand for the world’s most popular metal – aluminium – continues to rise, it is critical that the aluminium industry address its environmental and social impacts, particularly in indigenous peoples’ territories, according to new report…
Story | 11 Nov, 2015
IUCN and UNESCO welcome no-go pledge for World Heritage sites by Tullow Oil
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, the official advisory body on natural World Heritage, and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre have welcomed a new commitment by British company Tullow Oil plc to stay out of World Heritage sites. The firm had received a licence to explore for…
Story | 30 Jun, 2015
Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Reserve and Brazil’s Cerrado face increasing threats – IUCN
IUCN raises concerns over the state of Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and Brazil’s Cerrado Protected Areas today at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting taking place in Bonn, Germany.
Story | 08 Jun, 2015
To have healthy oceans we need healthy marine wildlife
According to the United Nations, World Oceans Day is about a healthy planet being based on healthy oceans – so true and in so many ways! The ecological pressures on Earth’s oceans are as diverse and daunting as the storms that can roll across its blue horizons. But there is hope rolling in the…
Story | 28 May, 2015
IUCN issues second round of recommendations on natural World Heritage
IUCN’s recommendations to the World Heritage Committee are now all available online, following a second release of reports on 29 May. IUCN recommends ‘in danger’ status for Brazil’s Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks. IUCN also recommends changes to Russia…