Project accountability

IUCN is committed to publishing comprehensive, quality and timely information about the organisation’s project portfolio. The IUCN Open Project Portal (open.iucn.org) contains detailed information on IUCN’s projects in over 150 countries worldwide. It comprises data and information for active projects in 2021 and after, making it the central point of access to detailed information about IUCN projects.

As a membership Union, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its government and civil society member organisations and the inputs of thousands of experts. Together with its partners, IUCN works around the world to conserve nature and accelerate the transition to sustainable development. IUCN is strongly committed to the protection of people and the environment and to the prevention of harm, prioritising the well-being and safety of all staff and others engaged in the delivery of its work (referred to as project workers) and of other stakeholders connected to IUCN and its projects.

IUCN’s work and projects are guided by an accountability framework that defines IUCN’s values, commitment and ethical and professional behaviours through a set of policies and procedures and by an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) establishing principles, standards and procedures for avoiding, minimizing or mitigating any unintended adverse environmental or social impacts of funded activities.

IUCN encourages a culture of openness where stakeholders and project workers experiencing a real or perceived impact in relation to their rights or wellbeing, can safely raise concerns and report misconduct, breaches of its policies and standards and adverse impacts of projects. To facilitate this, IUCN projects have a project-level grievance redress mechanism (GRM) in place that provides a clear and formal process for project workers and project stakeholders potentially affected by the project (including Indigenous Peoples, local communities, individuals) to report grievances with the assurance that a fair, timely resolution of their concern is sought.

The below figure provides a list of non-exhaustive types of grievances or concerns that the GRM addresses and the channels available. The IUCN Grievance Guidance Note provides further details on IUCN’s GRM approach including the overarching principles, scope and eligibility, as well as procedures for submitting, receiving, reporting and addressing complaints. However, it is at the level of each project that the specific channels, responsibilities, communications strategy and other project-specific details are established as part of the project-level GRM.