Story | 24 Jul, 2017
Places of extraordinary natural value inscribed as World Heritage
UNESCO's 41st session of the World Heritage Committee took place in Kraków, Poland from 2 to 12 July 2017. Four natural wonders that have been inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2017 followed the advice of the IUCN’s advisory body on nature to the World Heritage Committee. Two new…
Press release | 05 Jul, 2017
Kraków, Poland, 05 July 2017 (IUCN) – The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has adopted a decision today urging Poland to immediately halt all logging and wood extraction in the old-growth forests of Białowieża. The decision follows the advice of the International Union for Conservation of Nature…
Press release | 30 Jun, 2017
Gland, Switzerland, 30 June 2017 (IUCN) – Illegal fishing, logging and poaching are impacting two-thirds of the 57 natural World Heritage sites monitored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this year, putting some of the world’s most precious and unique ecosystems and…
Story | 31 Mar, 2017
Envisioning a world that considers nature’s rights: an introductory discussion in Europe
Enhancing the value of nature can play an important role in addressing some of the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges. Acknowledging nature’s rights may be a useful tool to help leverage nature and aid in reaching Europe’s biodiversity targets. On 29 March 2017, Nature’s Rights – a…
Story | 08 Mar, 2017
Empowering women in water management - International Women's Day 2017
IUCN is committed to gender equality. To support International Women's Day, the Water Programme compiled some of their most recent efforts to empower women in decisions and actions for sustainable water management.
Story | 26 Jan, 2017
World Wetlands Day: Strengthening resilience and collaboration to reduce disaster risk
On February 2nd the world celebrates its wetlands – complex ecosystems that provide a wide variety of services and benefits for people and nature. Wetlands such as estuaries, mangroves, marshes, and swamps play, beyond their biological role, a key part in helping people cope with disasters. Yet…
Story | 07 Dec, 2016
A positive decision by the European Commission to make EU nature laws work rather than change them
IUCN welcomes today’s decision by the European Commission not to ‘open’ the EU Nature legislation, but to focus on improving their implementation.
Story | 02 Nov, 2016
Until recently, the significance of forest dependence had not been well understood. It was generally assumed that the livelihood value of forests was primarily derived from cash commodities like charcoal – and particularly for poorer households, as a safety net to help them through hard times.…
Story | 04 Sep, 2016
Meet the Heritage Hero voted by the public – Bibhuti Lahkar
The public has spoken, choosing Bibhuti Lahkar as the people’s choice Heritage Hero, for his dedication to the conservation of India’s Manas Wildlife Sanctuary. The result of last week’s online voting was announced at the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawai‘i, USA.
Story | 15 Jul, 2016
Poland to report on impacts of felling in Bialowieza Forest in 2017, as advised by IUCN
The World Heritage Committee has requested Poland to submit, by February 2017, an evaluation of impacts of forest management within Bialowieza Forest, known for its undisturbed ecological processes. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) noted yesterday at UNESCO’s annual…