Story | 19 Aug, 2014
To rangers with love & admiration
What do you want to be when you grow up? This question is often asked of children. But how many kids answer: “I want to be a ranger"?
Press release | 28 Jul, 2014
Eating pangolins to extinction
The enigmatic pangolin, or scaly anteater, is literally being eaten out of existence according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, which shows that all eight species are now threatened with extinction.
Story | 28 Jul, 2014
World Tiger Day - New hope despite the numbers?
It is a curious thing that there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild right now as we mark World Tiger Day. According to estimates as few as 3000 roam the wilds of the 13 tiger range countries of Asia. That’s a big area and a very low number. In fact we have lost 97% of all wild tigers…
Story | 28 Jul, 2014
Rising murder toll of park rangers calls for tougher laws
With poachers responsible for more than half of ranger deaths over the past two years, IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the International Ranger Federation (IRF) call for a toughened stance against wildlife crime globally, marking World Ranger Day celebrated across…
Story | 09 Jul, 2014
SOS Marine: Collaboration key to saving Bangladesh’s cetaceans from gillnets
The lives of Bangladesh's fishermen and its coastal cetaceans are intertwined. Regarded as their brethren at sea, fishermen often lament the death of these top predators through entanglement in gillnets. Finding mutually beneficial solutions, Brian Smith and colleague Rubaiyat Mowgli Mansur,…
Press release | 26 May, 2014
Bangkok, Thailand: A new portfolio of grants to protect the highly threatened biodiversity of the Indo-Burma region was announced today by IUCN and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) to mark International Biodiversity Day on May 22, 2014.
Story | 17 Apr, 2014
Virunga documentary premieres in New York
Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest and richest national park. A feature length documentary film about the beauty and the struggles of Virunga National Park had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17th.
Story | 15 Apr, 2014
Director Virunga National Park shot
Emmanuel de Mérode, director of Virunga National Park in DR Congo, was shot on Tuesday in an ambush on the road from Goma to Rumangabo. He is in serious but stable condition. No further details are available on the attack at the present time.
Story | 20 Mar, 2014
Supporting our forest guardians
Almost exactly a year ago, on the 14th of March 2013, 33-year old Thaweesak Chomyong, a ranger working in Thailand’s Pang Sida National Park was fatally shot when a group of poachers fired upon his patrol team before fleeing the scene. This was not an isolated incident. The neighbouring Thap Lan…
Story | 23 Feb, 2014
(Un)protected Areas: Rosewood Poaching in Thailand’s Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai World Heritage Site
The Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex encompasses some of the most pristine forests and wildlife habitats in Thailand and is globally important for its biodiversity; that is why it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. However, in recent years, the four national parks and…