World Conservation Union
Encyclopedia
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization
dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges." The organization publishes the IUCN Red List
, compiling information from a network of conservation organizations to rate which species are most endangered.
The IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world and brings governments, non-government organizations, United Nations agencies, companies and local communities together to develop and implement policy, laws and best practice.
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network - a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.
IUCN’s work is supported by more than 1,000 professional staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. The Union’s headquarters are located in Gland
, near Geneva
, Switzerland.
IUCN's stated vision is "a just world that values and conserves nature." Its mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and biodiversity
of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable."
, (Sir Julian Huxley
), wishing to give UNESCO a more scientific base, sponsored a congress to establish a new environmental institution to help serve this purpose.
At that first congress (held at Fontainebleau
, France
), on 5 October 1948, 18 governments, 7 international organizations, and 107 national nature conservation organizations all agreed to form the institution and signed a "constitutive act" creating an International Union for the Protection of Nature.
From this beginning, the overriding strategy and policy of the institution has been to explore and promote mutually beneficial conservation arrangements that suit those promoting development as well as assisting people and nations to better preserve their flora
and fauna
. When approached in 1978 by primatologist Richard Wrangham
to contribute funds to the new Digit Fund
to prevent further poaching of mountain gorilla
s near Dian Fossey
's Karisoke Research Station in Rwanda
, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declined to provide funds to the cause. Instead, the IUCN supported opening the Virunga Volcanoes to tourism
as a way to encourage the Rwandan government to preserve the gorillas.
At all times, the institution (in all its forms) has heavily emphasized as a key operating principle the strong need to cater to and address the needs of local nations, communities and peoples, so that those nations, communities and peoples can take ownership of future, long term conservation goals and objectivess in their local areas:
The IUCN's World Conservation Strategy (1980) was founded upon this kind of principle, and clearly announced the IUCN's ambitions to more effectively enter into dialogue with the promoters of human development. The strategy was internationally applauded by many and served to secure the IUCN funds from several donors who did not themselves feel they could open up effective dialogue in the world's developing countries
, nor that United Nations organizations and international banks would effectively engage in such dialogue.
Since the World Conservation Strategy and the dawn of the sustainable development
era, however, these goals have come to sit uneasily with attempts by institutions such as The World Bank to "mainstream the environment." This has led to pressure from more powerful institutions, such as The Bank itself as well as the UNDP and UNEP, to help promote the expansion of the free-market onto the environment, re-named "natural resources," thus giving wealthy investors and multinationals the right to purchase rights to things previously considered intangible and common property, such as water, genetic resources, and the right to pollute the atmosphere.
With the pre-eminence of the concept of sustainable development, the IUCN has expanded into many of the nations around the world, making available the services of a large pool of mainly voluntary specialists, providing local level advice and conservation services, and expanding its networks of Committees and regional advisory bodies into increasing numbers of countries. It remains to be seen how well the IUCN will be able to reconcile its founding ideals with the pressures of incorporation into the development institutions.
Commission on Education and Communication
IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC): CEC champions the strategic use of communication and education to empower and educate stakeholders for the sustainable use of natural resources. , the commission claims 700 members led by Chairman Keith Wheeler.
Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy
IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP): CEESP provides expertise and policy advice on economic and social factors for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. , CEESP has 1000 members and is led by Chairwoman Aroha Te Pareake Mead.
Commission on Environmental Law
IUCN Commission on Environmental Law (CEL): CEL advances environmental law by developing new legal concepts and instruments, as well as by building the capacity of societies to employ environmental law for conservation and sustainable development. , there are 800 members on this commission led by Chairwoman Sheila Abed de Zavala.
Commission on Ecosystem Management
IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM): CEM provides expert guidance on integrated ecosystem approaches to the management of natural and modified ecosystems. , it has 400 members and is led by Chairman Piet Wit.
Species Survival Commission
IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC): SSC advises the Union on the technical aspects of species conservation and mobilizes action for those species that are threatened with extinction
. It produces the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. , SSC's members include 7500 species and biodiversity specialists worldwide, organized under Chairman Simon Stuart.
World Commission on Protected Areas
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA): WCPA's mission is to promote the establishment and effective management of a world-wide representative network of terrestrial and marine protected areas. Membership consists of 1400, spanning 140 countries and is led by Chairman Nikita Lopoukhine.
The IUCN is also the governing body responsible for the development the Management Categories
into which each Protected Area is divided, depending on its conservation requirements and management aims.
The members and commissions work together with a professional secretariat consisting of over 1,000 people in more than 60 different countries. Julia Marton-Lefèvre
, a global expert and leader in development and conservation, has been its Director General since 2 January 2007.
She succeeded Achim Steiner, who was appointed Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) in June 2006. William Jackson serves as Deputy Director General.
and ensuring that any use of biological resources is sustainable are central to the mission of IUCN. The IUCN demonstrate how biodiversity is fundamental to addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges: tackling global warming
, achieving sustainable energy
, improving human well-being and building a green economy
.
solutions. Conserving nature can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions (climate change mitigation) and help us adapt to the impacts of climate change (climate change adaptation).
International organization
An intergovernmental organization, sometimes rendered as an international governmental organization and both abbreviated as IGO, is an organization composed primarily of sovereign states , or of other intergovernmental organizations...
dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges." The organization publishes the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
, compiling information from a network of conservation organizations to rate which species are most endangered.
The IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world and brings governments, non-government organizations, United Nations agencies, companies and local communities together to develop and implement policy, laws and best practice.
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network - a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.
IUCN’s work is supported by more than 1,000 professional staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. The Union’s headquarters are located in Gland
Gland, Switzerland
Gland is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Gland is known to have been a prehistoric settlement. During the Roman period a farm called Villa Glanis was there...
, near Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland.
IUCN's stated vision is "a just world that values and conserves nature." Its mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable."
History
The first Director General of UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, (Sir Julian Huxley
Julian Huxley
Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
), wishing to give UNESCO a more scientific base, sponsored a congress to establish a new environmental institution to help serve this purpose.
At that first congress (held at Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), on 5 October 1948, 18 governments, 7 international organizations, and 107 national nature conservation organizations all agreed to form the institution and signed a "constitutive act" creating an International Union for the Protection of Nature.
From this beginning, the overriding strategy and policy of the institution has been to explore and promote mutually beneficial conservation arrangements that suit those promoting development as well as assisting people and nations to better preserve their flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
. When approached in 1978 by primatologist Richard Wrangham
Richard Wrangham
Richard W. Wrangham is a British primatologist. He is the Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University and his research group is now part of the newly established Department of Human Evolutionary Biology....
to contribute funds to the new Digit Fund
Digit Fund
The Digit Fund was created by Dr. Dian Fossey in 1978 for the sole purpose of financing her anti-poaching patrols and preventing further poaching of the endangered mountain gorillas Fossey studied at her Karisoke Research Center in the Virunga Volcanoes of Rwanda...
to prevent further poaching of mountain gorilla
Mountain Gorilla
The Mountain Gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic...
s near Dian Fossey
Dian Fossey
Dian Fossey was an American zoologist who undertook an extensive study of gorilla groups over a period of 18 years. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by famous anthropologist Louis Leakey...
's Karisoke Research Station in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declined to provide funds to the cause. Instead, the IUCN supported opening the Virunga Volcanoes to tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
as a way to encourage the Rwandan government to preserve the gorillas.
At all times, the institution (in all its forms) has heavily emphasized as a key operating principle the strong need to cater to and address the needs of local nations, communities and peoples, so that those nations, communities and peoples can take ownership of future, long term conservation goals and objectivess in their local areas:
The IUCN's World Conservation Strategy (1980) was founded upon this kind of principle, and clearly announced the IUCN's ambitions to more effectively enter into dialogue with the promoters of human development. The strategy was internationally applauded by many and served to secure the IUCN funds from several donors who did not themselves feel they could open up effective dialogue in the world's developing countries
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
, nor that United Nations organizations and international banks would effectively engage in such dialogue.
Since the World Conservation Strategy and the dawn of the sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
era, however, these goals have come to sit uneasily with attempts by institutions such as The World Bank to "mainstream the environment." This has led to pressure from more powerful institutions, such as The Bank itself as well as the UNDP and UNEP, to help promote the expansion of the free-market onto the environment, re-named "natural resources," thus giving wealthy investors and multinationals the right to purchase rights to things previously considered intangible and common property, such as water, genetic resources, and the right to pollute the atmosphere.
With the pre-eminence of the concept of sustainable development, the IUCN has expanded into many of the nations around the world, making available the services of a large pool of mainly voluntary specialists, providing local level advice and conservation services, and expanding its networks of Committees and regional advisory bodies into increasing numbers of countries. It remains to be seen how well the IUCN will be able to reconcile its founding ideals with the pressures of incorporation into the development institutions.
Timeline
Some key dates in the growth and development of this organization include:- 1956: Name changed from International Union for the Preservation of Nature (IUPN) to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
- 1959: UNESCO decides to create an international list of Nature Parks and equivalent reserves, and the United Nations Secretary General asks the IUCN to prepare this list
- 1961: After more than a decade of funding difficulties, eminent science and business personalities (including Sir Julian HuxleyJulian HuxleySir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
) decide to set up a complementary fund (the World Wildlife FundWorld Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
) to focus on fund raising, public relations, and increasing public support for nature conservation - 1969: The IUCN obtains a grant from the Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
which enables it to boost, substantially, its international secretariat. - 1972: UNESCO adopts the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural HeritageWorld Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and the IUCN is invited to provide technical evaluations and monitoring - 1974: The IUCN is involved in obtaining the agreement of its members to sign a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), whose secretariat was originally lodged with the IUCN
- 1975: The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar ConventionRamsar ConventionThe Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
) comes into force, and its secretariat is administered from the IUCN's headquarters - 1980: The IUCN (together with the United Nations Environment ProgrammeUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeThe United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
and the World Wide Fund for NatureWorld Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
) collaborate with UNESCO to publish a World Conservation Strategy - 1982: Following IUCN preparation and efforts, the United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
adopts the World Charter for NatureWorld Charter for NatureWorld Charter for Nature was adopted by United Nations member nation-states on October 28, 1982. It proclaims five "principles of conservation by which all human conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged." The vote was 111 for, one against , 18 abstentions.- See also :* Declaration of... - 1990: Began using the name World Conservation Union as the official name, while continuing using IUCN as its abbreviation. This name change proved to be short-lived.
- 1993: the IUCN (together with United Nations Environment ProgrammeUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeThe United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
and the World Wide Fund for NatureWorld Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
) publishes Caring for the Earth - 2001: Establishment of the IUCN Business and Biodiversity Programme
- 2008: Stopped using World Conservation Union as its official name and reverted its name back to International Union for Conservation of Nature
- 2008: More than 6,600 leaders from government, the public sector, non-governmental organizations, business, UN agencies and social organizations attended IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Presidents
- 1948–1954: Charles Jean Bernard, Switzerland
- 1954–1958: Roger HeimRoger HeimRoger Heim was a French botanist specialising in mycology and tropical phytopathology. He was known for his studies describing the anatomy of the mushroom hymenium, the systematics and phylogeny of higher fungi , the mycology of tropical fungi such as...
, France - 1958–1963: Jean Georges BaerJean Georges BaerJean-Georges Baer was a Swiss parasiotologist and environmentalist.Born in England, he studied in Neuchâtel, Geneva, and in Paris, where he worked with Charles Joyeux. His book "Ecology of animal parasites" is considered a classic in the field...
, Switzerland - 1963–1966: François Bourlière, France
- 1966–1972: Harold J. CoolidgeHarold Jefferson Coolidge, Jr.Harold Jefferson Coolidge, Jr. was an American zoologist and a founding director of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as well as of the World Wildlife Fund ....
, USA - 1972–1978: Donald Kuenen, Netherlands
- 1978–1984: Mohamed KassasMohamed KassasMohamed Kassas is an Egyptian botanist and conservationist. He is professor emeritus for Botany at the University of Cairo.He studied at the University of Cairo, where he received a B.Sc. in 1944 and a M.Sc. in 1947, and at the University of Cambridge...
, Egypt - 1984–1990: Monkombu Swaminathan, India
- 1990–1994: Sridath Ramphal, Guyana
- 1996–2004: Yolanda KakabadseYolanda KakabadseYolanda Kakabadse Navarro is a conservationist from Ecuador.After studies in Educational psychology at the Catholic University of Quito, she became involved in environmental issues. She was a founder of the Fundación Natura in Quito and was its executive director from 1979 to 1990. At the Rio...
, Ecuador - 2004–2008: Valli Moosa, South Africa
- 2008–: Ashok Khosla, India
Directors General
- 1948–1955: Jean Paul Harroy
- 1959–1960: M.C. Bloemers
- 1962: Gerald Watterson
- 1963–1966: Hugh ElliottHugh ElliottSir Hugh Francis Ivo Elliott, 3rd Baronet was an eminent British ornithologist and administrator of Tristan da Cunha . He attended University College, Oxford, was editor of the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club and was president of the British Ornithologists' Union from 1975 to 1979...
- 1966–1970: Joe Berwick
- 1970–1976: Gerardo Budowski
- 1977–1980: David Munro
- 1980–1982: Lee M. Talbot
- 1983–1988: Kenton Miller
- 1988–1994: Martin HoldgateMartin HoldgateSir Martin Wyatt Holdgate CB is an English biologist and environmental scientist.-Early life:Holdgate was born in Horsham, England on 14 January 1931, and was educated at Arnold School...
- 1994–1999: David McDowell
- 1999–2001: Marita Koch-Weser
- 2001–2006: Achim SteinerAchim SteinerAchim Steiner is a German expert in environmental politics. From 2001 to 2006 he was Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources...
- 2006–: Julia Marton-LefèvreJulia Marton-LefèvreJulia Marton-Lefèvre is Director General of IUCN the world’s largest conservation/environment membership organization which brings together states, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, scientists and experts in a unique worldwide partnership...
Organizational structure
The Union has three components: its member organizations, its 6 scientific commissions, and its professional secretariat.Members
The Union unites both States and non-governmental organizations. They set the policies of the Union, define its global programme of work and elect its Council (comparable to a company board) at the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Member organizations organize themselves into National and Regional Committees.Commissions
There are six commissions that "assess the state of the world’s natural resources and provide the Union with sound know-how and policy advice on conservation issues":Commission on Education and Communication
IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC): CEC champions the strategic use of communication and education to empower and educate stakeholders for the sustainable use of natural resources. , the commission claims 700 members led by Chairman Keith Wheeler.
Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy
IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP): CEESP provides expertise and policy advice on economic and social factors for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. , CEESP has 1000 members and is led by Chairwoman Aroha Te Pareake Mead.
Commission on Environmental Law
IUCN Commission on Environmental Law (CEL): CEL advances environmental law by developing new legal concepts and instruments, as well as by building the capacity of societies to employ environmental law for conservation and sustainable development. , there are 800 members on this commission led by Chairwoman Sheila Abed de Zavala.
Commission on Ecosystem Management
IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM): CEM provides expert guidance on integrated ecosystem approaches to the management of natural and modified ecosystems. , it has 400 members and is led by Chairman Piet Wit.
Species Survival Commission
IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC): SSC advises the Union on the technical aspects of species conservation and mobilizes action for those species that are threatened with extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
. It produces the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. , SSC's members include 7500 species and biodiversity specialists worldwide, organized under Chairman Simon Stuart.
World Commission on Protected Areas
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA): WCPA's mission is to promote the establishment and effective management of a world-wide representative network of terrestrial and marine protected areas. Membership consists of 1400, spanning 140 countries and is led by Chairman Nikita Lopoukhine.
The IUCN is also the governing body responsible for the development the Management Categories
IUCN Protected Area Management Categories
The enlisting of protected areas is the fundamental strategy being used towards the conservation of the world's natural environment and biodiversity...
into which each Protected Area is divided, depending on its conservation requirements and management aims.
Secretariat
Julia Marton-Lefèvre
Julia Marton-Lefèvre is Director General of IUCN the world’s largest conservation/environment membership organization which brings together states, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, scientists and experts in a unique worldwide partnership...
, a global expert and leader in development and conservation, has been its Director General since 2 January 2007.
She succeeded Achim Steiner, who was appointed Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
(UNEP) in June 2006. William Jackson serves as Deputy Director General.
Priority Areas
Conserving biodiversityBiodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and ensuring that any use of biological resources is sustainable are central to the mission of IUCN. The IUCN demonstrate how biodiversity is fundamental to addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges: tackling global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, achieving sustainable energy
Sustainable energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
, improving human well-being and building a green economy
Green economy
A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities - United Nations Environment Programme...
.
Biodiversity
IUCN gathers the latest knowledge about biodiversity and ecosystems and their contribution to human well-being; runs field projects around the world to better manage our natural environment and helps to develop environmental policy, laws and best practice.Climate change
IUCN works to put nature at the centre of climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
solutions. Conserving nature can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions (climate change mitigation) and help us adapt to the impacts of climate change (climate change adaptation).
Sustainable energy
IUCN helps to accelerate society’s transition to energy systems that are ecologically sustainable, socially equitable and economically viable.Human well-being
IUCN helps governments understand that nature conservation and the well-being of their people are inextricably linked.Green economy
IUCN works with governments to ensure that economic, trade, and investment policies better integrate biodiversity considerations. It works with companies, industry associations and consumer groups to turn environmental concerns into action.Key products and contributions
Among the IUCN key products and services, it has produced and continues to maintain and monitor:- the IUCN categories for Protected Area Management
- the IUCN Red ListIUCN Red ListThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species - IUCN World Conservation Congress
- World Database on Protected AreasWorld Database on Protected AreasThe World Database on Protected Areas is the largest assembly of data on the world's terrestrial and marine protected areas, containing more than 161,000 protected areas as of October 2010, with records covering 236 countries and territories throughout the world...
Publications
IUCN has one of the world’s most comprehensive ranges of authoritative publications, reports, guidelines and databases for conservation and sustainable development. They publish or co-author more than 150 books and major assessments every year, along with hundreds of other reports, documents and guidelines.See also
- Centres of Plant DiversityCentres of Plant DiversityCentres of Plant Diversity was established in 1998 as a joint classification initiative between the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature intended to identify the areas in the world that are of the highest conservation value in terms of protecting the...
- Holocene extinction, the current one
- Index of conservation articles
- List of conservation issues
- Red List IndexRed List IndexThe Red List Index , based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is an indicator of the changing state of global biodiversity. It defines the conservation status of major species groups, and measures trends in extinction risk over time...
- Regional Red ListRegional Red ListA Regional Red List is a report of the threatened status of species within a certain country or region. It is based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, an inventory of the conservation status of species on a global scale...