IUCN is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of more than 17,000 experts to provide public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.
IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Its experts are organised into six Commissions dedicated to species survival, environmental law, protected areas, social and economic policy, ecosystem management, and education and communication. Created in 1948, IUCN has evolved into the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network.
Through their affiliation with IUCN, Member organisations are part of a democratic process, discussing and approving Resolutions, which lay the foundations for the global conservation agenda. Members meet every four years at the IUCN World Conservation Congress to set priorities and agree on the Union’s work programme. IUCN congresses have produced several key international environmental agreements including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the World Heritage Convention, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
IUCN continues to support these conventions as they grow stronger and evolve so that they can respond to emerging challenges. IUCN’s Member organisations are represented by the IUCN Council – the governing body. Headquartered in Switzerland, the IUCN Secretariat comprises around 900 staff in more than 60 countries.
IUCN overview
- IUCN works to tackle three of the most important challenges facing the world’s ocean and polar regions: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Working with governments, business organisations and scientific experts, IUCN unravels the complexities of global threats, and develops innovative solutions for the conservation of nature and the sustainable use of natural resources.
- IUCN supports countries and communities in achieving effective and equitable protected and conserved areas that yield positive outcomes for society. IUCN works to develop best practices and approaches that enable effective conservation and help sites achieve high standards, while also informing professional capacity development and influencing national and global policy.
- IUCN is at the forefront of the global fight to save species from extinction. IUCN experts, including over 8,000 Species Survival Commission members in 130 Specialist Groups, and tools such as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ provide technical expertise and guide conservation action worldwide.
- IUCN is the official advisory body on nature under the World Heritage Convention. IUCN evaluates sites nominated for the World Heritage List and monitors the state of conservation of listed sites, aiming to improve the management of World Heritage sites and enhance the role of the Convention in nature conservation and sustainable development.
Regional Seas and IUCN
IUCN in collaboration with UNEP, GIZ and the Conventions organized Blue Solutions Regional Forums on Oceans, Coasts and Human Well-being for Africa, Latin America and Caribbean Regional, Asia‐Pacific.
IUCN has actively worked in many of the Regional Seas programmes, particularly the Wider Caribbean, ROPME Sea Area, Eastern Africa, South Asia, Pacific, and West and Central Africa. In particular:
- IUCN regional collaboration began in the MAP region, where IUCN helped to draft and implement the Protocol on Specially-Protected Areas (SPAs) and to set up the SPA Regional Activity Centre. IUCN is also cooperating with the MAP in the implementation of the SAP BIO Project (IUCN is a member of the SAP BIO Advisory Committee).
- IUCN has also worked to improve management effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in ICRAN Demonstration Sites in the Western Indian Ocean of East Africa by developing specific indicators and guidelines for MPA Managers to evaluate the effectiveness of their sites; designing pilot projects and field test the MPA management effectiveness indicators and guidelines; and increasing awareness and use of monitoring and evaluation in the management of MPAs. All these activities are covered under an MoU with the Eastern Africa region. Nairobi Convention, IUCN, CORDIO, and WIOMSA have developed a Resilient Coasts: Strengthening the resilience of coastal socio-ecological systems in the Western Indian Ocean programme
- Other Regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with IUCN include CCAMLR.
Please visit their website: https://www.iucn.org/
