Story | 18 Dec, 2017
Conservationist Tony Whitten, who was the Founding Chair of the IUCN SSC Specialist Group on cave invertebrates, was tragically killed in a cycling accident on November 29 2017. Friend and colleague, and member of the IUCN Species Survival Commision (SSC) Steering Committee, Elizabeth Bennett…
Story | 12 Dec, 2017
Bryophytes, which include liverworts, mosses and hornworts, are among the oldest terrestrial plants on Earth. They react to changes in their environment, such as air or water pollution, and are important for environmental monitoring of habitat and air quality. In this interview with Nick…
Story | 11 Dec, 2017
Participatory scenario planning
By Ignacio Palomo
How can we manage a large protected area system with reduced public funding resources and new challenges arising from multiple drivers of change? This was the question that EUROPARC Spain, an institution that mobilises multiple stakeholders around protected areas in…
Press release | 28 Nov, 2017
Protected areas across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific boosted with €60 million investment
The European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States have invested €60 million in the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Programme over the next six years – making it one of the largest EU biodiversity programmes. The programme is being…
Story | 21 Nov, 2017
EU Court orders Poland to stop Białowieża logging or face €100,000 daily fine
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ordered Poland to cease logging in the ancient Białowieża forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, or face a possible fine of at least €100,000 per day. The Polish Ministry of the Environment has argued that the logging is necessary to counter a…
Story | 17 Nov, 2017
Meeting of the WCEL Specialists Group on Climate Change
On 12 November, lawyers, students, policymakers, conservationists and private sector representatives from around the world gathered in Bonn to discuss the future of the planet. Led by the IUCN Environmental Law Programme, in collaboration with UN Agencies, State Party Delegations, NGOs and…
Story | 16 Nov, 2017
MEPs ask European Commission to start planning to protect biodiversity after 2020
IUCN welcomes today’s Resolution from the European Parliament on the EU Action Plan for Nature, People and the Economy and joins the Parliament in asking the Commission to start working without delay on the next EU Biodiversity Strategy, for the period post-2020.
Press release | 09 Nov, 2017
Good initiatives exist but more action needed to tackle marine plastics
Brussels, 8 November 2017 (IUCN) - A new IUCN Europe report shows that a number of policy initiatives are already in place to protect our oceans from plastic pollution – however Europe can still do more to protect our oceans from plastics.
Story | 31 Oct, 2017
A major enhancement of protection in Iceland
After many years of lobbying by Icelandic and international experts from WCPA, the Icelandic Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Björt Ólafsdóttir has just announced the enhanced protection status of one of the most important ice caps and adjacent wetland areas in the highlands of…
Press release | 27 Oct, 2017
Ancient ferns highly threatened in Europe – IUCN Red List
Brussels, 27 October 2017 (IUCN) – A fifth of European fern and lycopod species, a group of vascular plants that underpins healthy ecosystems, are threatened with extinction and declining, as a result of urbanisation and expanding infrastructure, according to a new report published today by the…