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International Union for Conservation of Nature

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.[3] Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable".

Founded

5 October 1948 (1948-10-05)
Fontainebleau, France

Gland, Switzerland

Worldwide

1,400

CHF 140.7 million / US$148 million (2019)[2]

Over 900 (worldwide)

International Union for the Protection of Nature

Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice and through building partnerships. The organization is best known to the wider public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.[4]


IUCN has a membership of over 1,400 governmental and non-governmental organizations from over 170 countries. Some 16,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs over 900 full-time staff in more than 50 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.[4] Every four years, IUCN convenes for the IUCN World Conservation Congress where IUCN Members set the global conservation agenda by voting on recommendations and guide the Secretariat's work by passing resolutions and the IUCN Programme.


IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity. It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. In the past, IUCN has been criticized for placing the interests of nature over those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, its closer relations with the business sector have caused controversy.[5][6]


IUCN was established in 1948. It was initially called the International Union for the Protection of Nature (1948–1956) and has also been formerly known as the World Conservation Union (1990–2008).

(1972). IUCN co-drafted the World Heritage Convention with UNESCO and has been involved as the official Advisory Body on nature from the onset.[8]

Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage

– the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1974). IUCN is a signatory party and the CITES secretariat was originally lodged with IUCN.

CITES

– Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (1975). The secretariat is still administered from IUCN's headquarters.

Ramsar Convention

Current work[edit]

IUCN Programme 2017–2020[edit]

According to its website, IUCN works on the following themes: business, climate change, economics, ecosystems, environmental law, forest conservation, gender, global policy, marine and polar, protected areas, science and knowledge, social policy, species, water, and world heritage.[18]


IUCN works on the basis of four-year programs, determined by the membership. In the IUCN Programme for 2017–2020 conserving nature and biodiversity is linked to sustainable development and poverty reduction. IUCN states that it aims to have a solid factual base for its work and takes into account the knowledge held by indigenous groups and other traditional users of natural resources.


The IUCN Programme 2017–2020 identifies three priority areas:[19]

Commission on Education and Communication (CEC): communication, learning and knowledge management in IUCN and the wider conservation community.

Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP): economic and social factors for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL): developing new legal concepts and instruments and building the capacity of societies to employ environmental law for conservation and sustainable development.

Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM): integrated ecosystem approaches to the management of natural and modified ecosystems.

Species Survival Commission (SSC): technical aspects of species conservation and action for species that are threatened with . Specialist groups of the SSC prepare endangered species recovery plans known as Species Action Plans, which are used to outline the conservation strategies of species.[27]

extinction

(WCPA): establishment and effective management of a network of terrestrial and marine protected areas.

World Commission on Protected Areas

Climate Crisis Commission: established 2021.

[28]

Governance and funding[edit]

Governance[edit]

The World Conservation Congress (Members' Assembly) is IUCN's highest decision-making body. The Congress convenes every four years. It elects the council, including the President, and approves IUCN's work program for the next four years and budget.


The IUCN Council is the principal governing body of IUCN. The council provides strategic direction for the activities of the Union, discusses specific policy issues and provides guidance on finance and the membership development of the Union. The council is composed of the President, four Vice Presidents (elected by the council from among its members), the Treasurer, the Chairs of IUCN's six Commissions, three Regional Councillors from each of IUCN's eight Statutory Regions and a Councillor from the State in which IUCN has its seat (Switzerland). IUCN's current President is Razan Al Mubarak.[30]


The Council appoints a Director General, who is responsible for the overall management of IUCN and the running of the Secretariat. The current IUCN Director General is Bruno Oberle.[31] He succeeded Inger Andersen.

Influence and criticism[edit]

Influence[edit]

IUCN is considered one of the most influential conservation organisations and, together with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), is seen as a driving force behind the rise of the influence of environmental organisations at the UN and around the world.[8][34]


It has established a worldwide network of governmental and non-governmental organisations, involves experts in the IUCN Commissions, has formal ties to international agreements and intergovernmental organisations and increasingly also partnerships with international business. The World Conservation Congress and the World Parks Congress events organised by IUCN are the largest gatherings of organisations and individuals involved in conservation worldwide.


According to some, IUCN has considerable influence in defining what nature conservation actually is.[35] The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems determine which species and natural areas merit protection. Through the Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas and the system of IUCN protected area categories IUCN influences how protected areas are managed.

Criticism[edit]

It has been claimed that the IUCN puts the needs of nature above those of humans, disregarding economic considerations and the interests of indigenous peoples and other traditional users of the land. Until the 1980s IUCN favored the "Yellowstone Model" of conservation which called for the removal of humans from protected areas. The expulsion of the Maasai people from Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is perhaps the best known example of this approach.[5][7]

This is linked to another criticism that has been directed at IUCN, namely that throughout its history it has mainly been 'Northern focused', i.e. had a West-European or North-American perspective on global conservation. Some critics point to the fact that many individuals involved in the establishment of IUCN had been leading figures in the British Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of Empire, which wanted to protect species against the impact of 'native' hunting pressure in order to safeguard hunting by Europeans.[35] The fact that, at least until the 1990s, most of IUCN staff, the chairs of the Commissions and the IUCN President came from western countries has also led to criticism.[7]


More recently, activist environmental groups have argued that IUCN is too closely associated with governmental organisations and with the commercial sector.[34] IUCN's cooperation with Shell came in for criticism, also from its own membership.[12] IUCN's close partnership with Coca-Cola in Vietnam – where they have together been launching Coca-Cola-focused community centers – has also drawn some criticism and allegations of greenwashing.[36][37][38] Its decision to hold the 2012 World Conservation Congress on Jeju Island, South Korea, where the local community and international environmental activists were protesting against the construction of a navy base also led to controversy.[39]

Publications[edit]

IUCN has a wide range of publications, reports, guidelines, and databases (including the Global Invasive Species Database) related to conservation and sustainable development. It publishes or co-authors more than 100 books and major assessments every year, along with hundreds of reports, documents, and guidelines.[40] In 2015, 76 IUCN articles were published in peer reviewed scientific journals.[41]


A report, released at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney on 12 November 2014 showed that the 209,000 conservation reserves around the world now cover 15.4 per cent of the total land area. This is a step towards protecting 17 percent of land and 10 percent of ocean environments on Earth by 2020 since an agreement between the world's nations at the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Japan in 2010.[42]

List of environmental organizations

List of conservation organisations

Official website

IUCN and UNEP World Database on Protected Areas

Red List of Threatened Species

Red List of Ecosystems

IUCN publications

held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services

International Union for the Conservation of Nature oral history interview (Pimlott's remarks)