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IUCN welcomes Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework as an important step towards addressing the nature crisis
IUCN welcomes the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP15) in Montreal, Canada on 19 December 2022 after four long years of negotiations. We congratulate the Chinese Presidency, Canadian hosts and the CBD secretariat for their efforts. The agreement marks an important step in the right direction, even if it does not go as far as we would have liked. IUCN particularly applauds the commitment made to conserve at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water and coastal and marine areas, and especially areas of importance for biodiversity, through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation…
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Human activity devastating marine species from mammals to corals – IUCN Red List
Today’s update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ highlights a barrage of threats affecting marine species, including illegal and unsustainable fishing, pollution, climate change and disease. Populations of dugongs – large herbivorous marine mammals – and 44% of all abalone shellfish species enter the IUCN Red List as threatened with extinction; the pillar coral has deteriorated to Critically Endangered due to accumulated pressures. The IUCN Red List now includes 150,388 species, of which 42,108 are threatened with extinction. Over 1,550 of the 17,903 marine animals and plants assessed are at risk of extinction, with climate change impacting at least 41% of threatened marine species. “Today’s IUCN Red List…
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IUCN Leaders Forum to define the path to a nature-positive future
The IUCN Leaders Forum, taking place 13-15 October 2022, will tackle the challenge of measuring progress towards global biodiversity goals. A key working paper due to be debated at the Forum sets out a quantitative methodology IUCN is developing to help companies, governments and civil society to measure and track contributions towards protecting and restoring nature. The working paper will discussed in a session at the Leaders Forum (13 October, 13:30 – 15:00 KST). “There is growing support for nature-positive approaches across society, but we still need to define exactly how the world will measure progress in a science-based, transparent way,” said IUCN Director General Dr Bruno Oberle. “This inaugural…
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Dragonflies threatened as wetlands around the world disappear – IUCN Red List
The destruction of wetlands is driving the decline of dragonflies worldwide, according to the first global assessment of these species in today’s update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Their decline is symptomatic of the widespread loss of the marshes, swamps and free-flowing rivers they breed in, mostly driven by the expansion of unsustainable agriculture and urbanisation around the world. With today’s update, the number of species at risk of extinction on the Red List has exceeded 40,000 for the first time. The IUCN Red List now includes 142,577 species of which 40,084 are threatened with extinction. “By revealing the global loss of dragonflies, today’s Red List update…
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IUCN Congress closes with call for a post-pandemic recovery based on nature
The IUCN World Conservation Congress closed today in Marseille and online, setting the nature conservation agenda for the next decade and beyond. The IUCN Congress urged governments to implement a nature-based recovery from the pandemic, investing at least 10% of global recovery funds in nature, and adopted a series of resolutions and commitments to urgently address the interlinked climate and biodiversity crises. “The IUCN Congress acts as a unique, inclusive global environmental parliament, where governments, NGOs and Indigenous Peoples all have a voice. The decisions taken here in Marseille will drive action to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises in the crucial decade to come. Collectively, IUCN’s Members are sending…
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IUCN World Conservation Congress opens in Marseille and online
The IUCN World Conservation Congress – the world’s largest and most inclusive environmental decision-making forum – begins today in Marseille, France, with an address by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. The IUCN Congress will drive action on biodiversity, nature-based recovery and climate change. Bringing together civil society, indigenous peoples and states, the IUCN Congress will set the global nature conservation agenda at a time when the link between biodiversity and human wellbeing is made increasingly evident by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the first hybrid in-person and virtual environmental event since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the IUCN Congress aims to enable broad participation from around the world while safeguarding the…
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IUCN’s New „Green Status of Species“ Measures Impact of Conservation Action
The first 181 IUCN Green Status preliminary assessments are outlined in a Conservation Biology paper published today. From California condors to East Asian mangroves, Green Status shows specific conservation metrics for focal species. A paper published today in the journal Conservation Biology for the first time applies the IUCN Green Status of Species, a new Global Standard to measure how close a species is to being fully ecologically functional across its range, and how much it has recovered thanks to conservation action. In the paper, preliminary IUCN Green Status assessments for 181 species are presented. They range from the pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri), which was saved from extinction by conservation…
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IUCN’s call for action on fast-deteriorating Great Barrier Reef backed, despite no danger listing
IUCN’s call for urgent action to address impacts from climate change and poor water quality affecting the Great Barrier Reef has been adopted by the World Heritage Committee in its decision today, despite the reef not being included on the List of World Heritage in Danger. “The extent to which climate change has damaged the World Heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef is unprecedented, and there is a significant risk that areas of the reef repeatedly affected by bleaching may not be able to recover,” says Tim Badman, Director of IUCN’s World Heritage Programme. “We must redouble efforts both at global, national and local levels to address the significant threats the reef…
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Sustainable management of natural resources can reduce risk of armed conflict – IUCN report
Countries where natural resources such as agricultural land and water become scarce or degraded tend to be more conflict-prone, a new IUCN report finds. The report concludes that conserving and sustainably managing natural resources could help increase the chances of building and preserving peace, and recommends policy options to address links between nature and conflict. The report, “Nature in a Globalised World: Conflict and Conservation”, examines how the environment impacts armed conflict, and how conflicts in turn affect the natural world and those working to conserve it. It is the first in IUCN’s Nature in a globalised world report series, and draws from novel analyses and synthesis of existing literature.…
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Ten protected areas in Switzerland, France and Italy enter IUCN Green List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has admitted ten new sites in Switzerland, France, Italy to the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas, the global standard recognising the best-managed sites on the planet. Three existing Green List sites in the Republic of Korea and one in Italy saw their status renewed. The IUCN Green List now counts 59 sites in 16 countries around the world. “The sites admitted to the IUCN Green List have distinguished themselves through exemplary management, fair governance and a long-term commitment to successful conservation,” said IUCN Director General Dr Bruno Oberle. “Effective protected and conserved areas are critical if we are to halt the dramatic loss of life…
