Story | 05 Aug, 2020
The IUCN SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (“the Task Force”) today announces the approval of thirteen new Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) in the Extended Southern Ocean Region.
IUCN Statement | 30 Apr, 2020
IUCN deplores the brutal killing of 17 people in Virunga National Park
IUCN is deeply shocked by the tragic loss of 12 park rangers, a staff driver and four civilians close to Virunga National Park, following an attack by armed militia on 24 April. One of the world’s most biodiversity-rich areas and home to the last remaining mountain gorillas, Virunga is Africa’s…
Story | 12 Mar, 2020
Report: Blue Infrastructure Finance, where all win
All coastal and marine ecosystems are critical to human well-being and global biodiversity. Mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds are examples of these. But urban and rural infrastructure investments are having a heavy negative impact on these systems, and it is…
Story | 29 Aug, 2019
The Future of Dams - Viable Options or Stranded Assets?
Since the 1997 IUCN-World Bank study 'Large Dams: Learning from the Past, Looking at the Future' and the subsequent establishment of the World Commission on Dams, IUCN recognises dams are, for better or worse, an integral part of a post fossil-fuel future in which energy needs are met for all.…
Press release | 03 Jul, 2019
The looming extinction of the vaquita puts Gulf of California on World Heritage danger list
The World Heritage Committee today followed IUCN’s advice to list Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California as a World Heritage site in danger. The site’s population of vaquitas – the world’s smallest and most endangered species of porpoise – has been decimated due to the…
Story | 07 Jun, 2019
IUCN advises “in danger” status for three World Heritage sites
IUCN, the official advisor on natural World Heritage, recommends for three natural sites to be listed as “World Heritage in danger”: the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California and the Ohrid region in North Macedonia.
Story | 10 Jan, 2019
#NatureForAll movement inspires the people of Socotra
Local people in Yemen’s Socotra Archipelago, a natural World Heritage with unique species and stunning landscapes, welcomed the idea of reconnecting with nature as relevant to their traditional ways of life, during a discussion with IUCN’s Commission on Education and…
Story | 18 Nov, 2018
New study looks at increasing the success and effectiveness of mangrove conservation investments
Research offers guidance on making mangrove conservation investments more sustainable and impactful
Story | 07 Aug, 2018
New IUCN report helps choose the right tools to assess how key natural areas benefit people
IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA) today has issued new guidance to help practitioners assess ecosystem services within important sites for biodiversity and nature conservation. The report reviews nine assessment tools, focussing on their…
Story | 03 Jul, 2018
The 12-year-old Belizean girl who spoke up at the World Heritage Committee meeting – interview
“I respectfully encourage the representatives of each country present to think of my generation in decision-making regarding World Heritage sites – our barrier reef and our planet depend on it.” Thus did Madison Pearl Edwards address the delegates gathered at UNESCO’s 42nd World Heritage…