Open Access at IUCN
As the world’s largest environmental network, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between the open access movement and the conservation community, as part and parcel of its historic efforts to facilitate access to knowledge on nature conservation.
With the assistance of the Arcadia Fund, the IUCN Library is extending access to conservation knowledge by providing guidance and outreach to the IUCN conservation community on the fundamentals of open access and supporting the development of an IUCN Open Access policy.
Open Access Policy for Publications
As of October 2024, IUCN has officially approved an open access policy for publications, aiming to increase the accessibility of conservation information. By making all its publications freely available, IUCN aims to support global efforts to address biodiversity loss and climate change. This policy aligns with IUCN's commitment to opening information widely, empowering communities, researchers and policymakers to make more informed decisions for the protection and sustainable management of nature. Check the policy here.
Open Access Week 2024
From October 21 to 24 2024, the Library team hosted a series of webinars aimed at promoting the benefits of Open Access. This year’s theme continued the discussion on “Community over Commercialization”, which gave us the chance to focus on how open access can empower collaboration and ensure that the knowledge we produce serves the global conservation community.
| Session | Link to presentation | Link to video |
| The future is open: status of Open Access at IUCN | Presentation | Video |
| Empowering global knowledge: Open Access and its contribution to opening science | ||
| Complying with confidence: IUCN donors and their Open Access policies | Presentation | Video |
| Unlocking research with OpenAlex: an open catalog to access the world's scholarly information | Presentation | Video |
Open Access Week 2023
This year IUCN participated in International Open Access Week for the second time. From 23 to 26 October, we hosted a series of online sessions, following this year’s theme ‘Community over Commercialization’, which gave us the chance to discuss about how to prioritize the best interests of the public and the research community..
| Session | Link to presentation | Link to video |
| The road towards an Open Access policy in IUCN | Presentation | Video |
| Prioritizing community over commercialization in the context of Open Access |
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Video |
| Choosing Open Access images for your work | Presentation | Video |
| The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) | Presentation | Video |
Open Access Week 2022
From October 24 to 28 2022, IUCN participated in International Open Access Week for the very first time. IUCN’s very own Library and Publishing colleagues organized 5 sessions covering different topics, including on “Open for climate justice”, this year's theme. Our goal was for attendees to come away with greater knowledge and awareness on open access and scholarly communications more generally, and to inspire IUCN to solidify its open access foundations.
| Session | Link to presentation | Link to video |
| State of open access at IUCN today | Presentation | Video |
| Revenue generation models compatible with open access | Video | |
| Tools and tips for producing your IUCN publication | Presentation | Video |
| Opening knowledge for climate justice | Video | |
| Tools and tips for publishing open-access journal articles | Presentation | Video |
Other Open Access sessions
To provide additional tools for publishing Open Access, we organized outreach sessions, which recordings can be accessed here:
| Session | Link to presentation | Link to video |
| Hands-on workshop on ORCID | Presentation | Video |
| EcoEvoRxiv repository for preprints |
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Video |
| Identifying predatory journals | Presentation | Video |
| Simplify your citations: Managing bibliographies with Zotero | Presentation | Video |