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…
Page | 04 Feb, 2022
Animals, fungi and plants are essential to a healthy planet, but growing pressures from human activities are increasingly putting them at risk of extinction. Understanding the health of the world’s biodiversity is essential to inform and guide conservation action. IUCN is at the forefront of the…
Page | 04 Feb, 2022
Freshwaters are among the most valuable ecosystems on the planet for their biodiversity and importance to livelihoods. Yet the freshwater realm is under threat, with its species declining faster than those on land and in the oceans. IUCN is working to raise the profile of freshwater…
Story | 03 Feb, 2022
Wildlife an infrequent source of human illness: IUCN report
Gland, Switzerland, 3 February 2022 (IUCN) – A new IUCN report by the Species Survival Commission finds that contact with and trade of domesticated animals and their products are by far the most frequent source of recurring human illness. While less evidence exists tracing…
Publication | 2022
Situation analysis on the roles and risks of wildlife in the emergence of human infectious diseases
This situation analysis presents a thorough, evidence-based examination of the relationship between wildlife and zoonosis, wildlife and emerging human pathogens and associated diseases, their origins, drivers, and risk factors. There is considerable divergence of opinion around the subject both…
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 | 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 | 22 Feb, 2021
One-third of freshwater fish face extinction, warns new report
A new report ‘The World’s Forgotten Fishes’ reveals the extraordinary variety of freshwater fish. This variety accounts for over half of all the world’s fish species and is essential to the health of the world’s rivers, lakes and wetlands and well-being of societies and economies across the…
Story | 25 Mar, 2020
Nature-based Solutions for Water Infrastructure at your service
'Natural water infrastructure' is not built infrastructure. Instead, it is shaped, grown, eroded or deposited by nature over time. It refers to services nature provides for free, such as mangroves protecting shorelines from storms, peatlands sequestering carbon, wetlands filtering contaminated…