Story | 04 May, 2022
Important Shark and Ray Areas news
The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group has developed the foundations for an expert-driven innovative approach to ensure that discrete portions of habitats, critical to shark species, are delineated and used in various place-based conservation and management initiatives…
Story | 18 Mar, 2022
Interview with Joao Sousa, IUCN resident plastics expert, on the global plastic pollution treaty
The IUCN Ocean Team sat down with João recently to discuss what the UN Environment Assembly is calling, "the most significant environmental deal since the Paris accord". It is a Resolution endorsed by 175 Ministers and Heads of Member States which will create an intergovernmental committee…
Page | 04 Feb, 2022
Since 1972, IUCN is the official advisor on nature under the World Heritage Convention. The Convention is known as "the most widely accepted international conservation treaty in human history”, ratified today by 195 States Parties. Natural World Heritage sites conserve the planet’s most…
Story | 03 Feb, 2022
IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) postponed
The Inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC), previously scheduled for 7-12 March 2022, has been postponed to 18-23 July 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda.
Story | 20 Jan, 2022
The Government of Rwanda through its Ministry of Environment has unveiled three former African Heads of State as patrons for the upcoming inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC).
Story | 06 Dec, 2021
Endangered Caspian Seal Habitat Awarded Important Marine Mammal Area Status
Today, the IUCN Task Force on Marine Mammal Protected Areas, a joint task force of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the World Commission on Protected Areas, announces that Caspian seals have been awarded three Important Marine Mammal Areas, or IMMAs, as part of a tranche of 14 new IMMAs…
Story | 10 Nov, 2021
Global launch of the Great Blue Wall
Movement launched to conserve and restore marine and coastal biodiversity while unlocking the development of a regenerative sustainable blue economy
At the UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow, Western Indian Ocean states and partners including International Union for Conservation of…
Story | 19 Oct, 2021
Marine Heatwaves: a serious threat to marine biodiversity and livelihoods
Back in 2011, extremely warm water temperatures persisting over thousands of kilometres along the coastline of Western Australia caused coral bleaching, mass die-out of marine life and wiped out kelp forests. Since then, this phenomenon of abnormally high-water temperatures has been recorded in…
Story | 01 Jul, 2021
A new paper, published today in Science, argues for an international legally binding agreement that addresses the entire life cycle of plastics, from extraction of raw materials to legacy plastic pollution. Three clear goals are proposed and encouraged, to address not only the well-known issue…
Story | 23 Apr, 2021
The inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress officially relaunched
The Government of Rwanda will in March 2022 host the inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) to discuss conservation of the continent’s protected areas. This comes after the relaunch of APAC in Kigali, Rwanda on 20th April 2021.