Story | 14 Feb, 2018
Azerbaijan to create the first Marine Protected Area in the Caspian Sea
Azerbaijan is upgrading and expanding the Gizilaghaj State Reserve to become a National Park and will include the first Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water on the planet. The new MPA will seek to protect six significant marine species on the brink of…
Story | 16 Jan, 2018
EU Plastics Strategy positive but requires implementation
IUCN welcomes the EU Plastics Strategy launched today, encourages all public and private actors to ensure its swift and adequate implementation, and looks forward to the European Union continuing to lead global action to tackle the marine plastic litter problem.
Story | 11 Jan, 2018
SDGs and environment sidelined in EU budget debate
This week EU officials, ministers and experts debated the next EU budget in a high-level conference. Although the event was called ‘Shaping our future’, disappointingly nature and the environment received only passing mentions.
Story | 19 Dec, 2017
Plastic is everywhere, polluting our waters, choking marine wildlife, and even in our food and water. I’ve seen plastics in every ocean I’ve dived in. It is a problem of global proportions but an ambitious EU Plastics Strategy can create vital momentum.
Story | 12 Dec, 2017
EU auditors find CAP ‘greening’ measures ineffective
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has found that the ‘greening’ of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been environmentally ineffective.
Story | 29 Nov, 2017
EU ideas for agriculture hold some promise for nature but questions remain
Today, the European Commission unveiled its strategy for the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which calls for more environmentally friendly farming in the EU; however key questions remain regarding implementation and budgetary commitments.
Story | 16 Nov, 2017
MEPs ask European Commission to start planning to protect biodiversity after 2020
IUCN welcomes today’s Resolution from the European Parliament on the EU Action Plan for Nature, People and the Economy and joins the Parliament in asking the Commission to start working without delay on the next EU Biodiversity Strategy, for the period post-2020.
Press release | 09 Nov, 2017
Good initiatives exist but more action needed to tackle marine plastics
Brussels, 8 November 2017 (IUCN) - A new IUCN Europe report shows that a number of policy initiatives are already in place to protect our oceans from plastic pollution – however Europe can still do more to protect our oceans from plastics.
Story | 18 Oct, 2017
IUCN commends Russia on the centenary of its ‘zapovedniks’
IUCN President, Mr. Zhang Xinsheng commended Russia on its efforts to conserve its exceptional biodiversity at the recent protected area forum in Sochi, Russia to mark the centenary of the opening of Russia’s first strict nature reserve, Barguzinsky zapovednik.
Story | 12 Oct, 2017
Invitation: Marine Plastics Need European Action, 8 November 2017
Plastic waste is increasingly impacting the marine environment and becoming one of the most challenging issues for global and European marine and coastal species and ecosystems. The IUCN Regional European Office and Ricardo Serrão Santos, Member of the European Parliament, are hosting an event…