Story | 10 Jun, 2016
Wildlife trade and dams putting natural World Heritage at risk – IUCN
Natural World Heritage sites face major threats, such as commercial logging, poaching, gillnet fishing and dams, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In its recommendations to the World Heritage Committee, which meets in July, IUCN has advised that three…
DG Statement | 09 Jun, 2016
Today defines tomorrow: World Heritage as litmus test for action on agreements
This piece by IUCN Director General Inger Andersen originally appeared on World Heritage, the official UNESCO publication from the World Heritage Centre, as part of a special edition on the IUCN World Conservation Congress. It reflects some of the main messages brought by IUCN to the 40th World…
Story | 09 Jun, 2016
Gulf of Mottama: Navigating muddy waters
The Gulf of Mottama is one of the world's largest areas of permanently muddy water. Sediment delivery from four major rivers – the Ayeyarwady, Yangon, Sittaung, and Thanlwin – and a 7-meter tidal range that drives currents of up to 3 meters/second, produce constantly changing patterns of…
Story | 09 Jun, 2016
Building confidence and capacity in community fisheries
On May 25, 2016, IUCN and FACT organised a workshop in Siem Reap to discuss the results and implications of 3.5 years of participatory monitoring that includes the collection of quantitative data on fish catch, debt, health, education, and other indicators, and quarterly focus group discussions…
Story | 08 Jun, 2016
EU Green Week Event: Making money through landscape restoration
In this year’s edition of European Green Week, which took place from 30 May to 3 June 2016, the focus was on ‘Investing for a greener future.’ Green Week is one of the most prominent annual events to debate and discuss European environment policy. IUCN participated in this debate by organising a…
Story | 06 Jun, 2016
Building bridges for better cooperation
In light of the growing severity of natural disasters and increasing vulnerability to climate change in South Asia, the European Union Delegation to Nepal hosted a regional conference on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Kathmandu. The conference was organised in…
Story | 30 May, 2016
IUCN recommends five World Heritage listings
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, recommends World Heritage status for five sites nominated for their outstanding natural values. The advisory body on natural World Heritage, IUCN also recommends action against major threats in listed natural sites and danger-listing for two…
Story | 24 May, 2016
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), an innovative grant-making mechanism that aims to protect Earth’s most biologically rich yet threatened areas, has awarded its 100th Indo-Burma grant ahead of International Day for Biological Diversity. IUCN is leading the second phase (…
Story | 17 May, 2016
A vision for protected areas in Europe
By Andrej Sovinc, WCPA Regional Vice Chair for Europe. With more than 120,000 protected area sites, Europe accounts for more protected areas than any other region. Many of these areas reflect Europe's rich cultural heritage and long lasting co-existence of man and nature which shaped different…
Story | 06 Apr, 2016
Concerns over scale of threats to natural World Heritage confirmed by new report
Nearly half of all natural World Heritage sites are threatened by industrial activities, according to a new report drawing heavily on data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s World Heritage Outlook.