International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)Opinion

IUCN Director General delivers statement at seventh session of UN Environment Assembly

IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar delivered IUCN’s statement to the seventh session of the United Nations Environment ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN ROWA and Qatar’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Sign Agreement to Strengthen Management of Khor Al-Adaid Nature Reserve

Doha, Qatar, 14 December 2025 – The IUCN Regional Office for West Asia (IUCN ROWA) and Qatar’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC) signed a two-year collaboration agreement aimed at ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

The plastic pollution crisis

Plastics only began to be produced in large quantities following the second world war – but plastic pollution has since become one of the most serious threats humanity faces. By 2015, 60% of all ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN Director General’s open letter to ISA Members on deep-sea mining

Dear Members of the International Seabed Authority, In September 2021 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, IUCN Member States, civil society and Indigenous organisations overwhelmingly voted in ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

How Rwanda became a restoration leader

Rwanda is the Land of a Thousand Hills, but are these hills still healthy and productive? This is the story of how a small east African country took the unprecedented initiative to restore lands that ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

A third of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, as new report narrows in on solutions

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released a report, Global Status of Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras, that highlights new knowledge compiled by 353 experts from 115 countries ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Comprehensive update to the world’s biodiversity hotspots project begins

An international consortium today announced a major update to the world's biodiversity hotspots, funded by the Hempel Foundation. The two-year initiative aims to generate detailed scientific data to ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Vjosa, one of our last wild rivers, becomes Europe's first Wild River National Park

Today, the Vjosa River in Albania, one of the last wild rivers of Europe is declared a National Park by the Albanian Government, becoming the first Wild River National Park in Europe. In future, the ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Freshwater fish highlight escalating climate impacts on species - IUCN Red List

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 11 December 2023 (IUCN) – Climate change threatens a growing number of species, from Atlantic salmon to green turtles, today’s update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Mangroves: nurseries for the world’s seafood supply

Mangroves support rich biodiversity and high levels of productivity, supplying seafood at capacities large enough to feed millions of people. Fisheries and other sectors, economies, and communities ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

In the spirit of nature, everything is connected

Earth’s ecosystems have evolved for millions of years, resulting in diverse and complex biological communities living in balance with their environment. Since the 16th century, human activity has ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Gender and the environment: What are the barriers to gender equality in sustainable ecosystem management?

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are matters of fundamental human rights and prerequisites to meeting sustainable development goals around the world. This 4-part blog series sets out the ...