From collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museums

The Position Statement on the vital role of biological collections - such as those in natural history museums, herbaria, fungaria and other repositories - in biodiversity conservation aims (i) to outline SSC’s position on the indispensable roles played by NHMCs in species conservation and scientific discovery, (ii) to urge governments, universities, and agencies to prioritize and fund these collections as critical scientific infrastructures, and (iii) to encourage the global conservation community to fully integrate the resources and expertise of NHMCs into a collaborative strategy to reverse biodiversity decline.

Natural history collections are the foundational scientific infrastructure for species discovery, systematic research and long-term environmental monitoring. Far from being passive repositories, they are dynamic, evidence-based platforms – yet their full potential remains critically underutilised, even as biodiversity loss accelerates. Every preserved specimen – a pinned insect, a fluid-preserved amphibian, a dried plant – is a primary data point: georeferenced, time-stamped, morphologically documented; they are evidence.

The IUCN Species Survival Commission believes that biological collections are irreplaceable evidence bases that allow us to close the taxonomic gap, which in turn is the precursor to assessment and conservation action. Their scientific value is thus not merely academic but crucial for conservation” said Vivek Menon, Chair of IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Closing the taxonomic gap: a prerequisite for conservation

A fundamental challenge facing biodiversity science today is the taxonomic impediment: it is necessary to document, name and describe the full spectrum of life on Earth. To the date, approximately two million species have received formal scientific names. Conservative estimates place the true total somewhere between six and seven million – thought the number may be as high as 100 million. That gap is a structural barrier to effective conservation. 

The IUCN SSC Species Conservation Cycle is unambiguous on this point: a species cannot be assessed for the IUCN Red List, cannot be listed under CITES, cannot be meaningfully protected by any legislative framework – until it has been formally described and named. Taxonomy is a prerequisite and a significant proportion of those undescribed species are already sitting in museum drawers and collection cabinets, collected decades ago, never formally processed. Sustained investment in specimen-based taxonomic research is key to moving towards effective conservation.

Natural history museum collections are the primary evidence for discovering and protecting the Earth's biological heritage, providing the foundations for identifying and naming species” said Franco Andreone, former Focal Point of IUCN Species Survival Commission for Italy, and Curator of Zoology at Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali in Turin, Italy. 

A critical infrastructure under structural pressure

The scientific case for natural history collections is robust, but the operational reality of these institutions is considerably more precarious. Chronic underfunding, inadequate storage infrastructure, biased geographic coverage – and, most critically, a shrinking pool of trained taxonomists – together constitute a systemic threat to the long-term viability of these collections. Specimens that are physically preserved but not digitised remain functionally invisible to the global research community.

Museums are much more than repositories of preserved animals, algae, fungi and plants; they are innovative, cutting-edge research and education infrastructures that help us discover and understand our past, while guiding our future actions for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use", said Jon Paul Rodríguez, former Chair of IUCN Species Survival Commission.

The path forward requires the deliberate integration of museum-held data with field-based conservation programmes, genomic research, and international policy frameworks. Collections do not exist in isolation. Their value is multiplied exponentially when linked to active monitoring networks, remote sensing data, and citizen science platforms.

It is time that international bodies recognise that biodiversity conservation needs to be fully embedded in a wider vision that is fully aware of the crucial role of botanical and zoological collections and of the people that care for and study them,” said Spartaco Gippoliti, IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group.