National governments have fallen short on delivering conservation commitments for protected and conserved areas under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, despite expansion in protected areas over the last decade, according to a new publication in Nature.

IUCN is deeply saddened by the passing of eminent conservationist Professor Dame Georgina Mace – a leader in the fight against global biodiversity loss, who made key contributions to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the Union at large.

The snow leopard is facing extinction, with around 7,500 indivduals left in the wild according to recent estimates. Conservationists and local communities are commited to preventing the extinction of this 'ghost of the mountains' within Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

The IUCN SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (“the Task Force”) today announces the approval of thirteen new Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) in the Extended Southern Ocean Region.

A total of six million Euros in emergency relief funding to address biodiversity conservation needs brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic is being made available for distribution through two complementary programmes managed by IUCN.

The IUCN SSC African Elephant Specialist Group expresses its concern about the reported mysterious mass die-off of African elephants (Loxodonta africana). It is estimated that over 250 elephants have died in the Okavango Panhandle of Botswana since March 2020.

Almost a third (31%) of all lemur species in Madagascar are now Critically Endangered, with 98% of them threatened, according to the update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM.  The update also lists the North Atlantic Right Whale and European Hamster as Critically Endangered.

The African Black Rhino remains Critically Endangered, but its population is slowly increasing as conservation efforts counter the persistent threat of poaching, according to today’s update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM.

At the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species, IUCN, Toyota and the Government of India hosted a panel discussion highlighting the importance of the Red List and private sector engagement for catalysing urgent species conservation action.

Conservation efforts have led to improvements in the status of ten species, according to today’s update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM. This includes the recovery of the Guam Rail, a bird previously listed as Extinct in the Wild.

Over half (58%) of Europe’s endemic trees are threatened with extinction. The introduction of invasive species, unsustainable logging and urban development are key threats causing the decline of tree species, such as the horse-chestnut across Europe.

In August 2019, ConservationTraining.org will be migrating all of its online courses to a new Learning Management System. During this period, the online Red List Training course will be unavailable. We expect the course to be back online on 19th August.

Between 1910 and 2010, tiger populations plummeted dramatically. On International Tiger Day, we celebrate just some of the successes that an integrated, global approach for tiger conservation has facilitated to save this charismatic species from extinction.

A novel method incorporating remote sensing data into species mapping demonstrates how the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species continues to evolve, increasing in accuracy and impact as new technologies emerge.

Overfishing has pushed two families of rays to the brink of extinction, while hunting for bushmeat and habitat loss have led to the decline of seven primate species, according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

IUCN is deeply concerned about ongoing and new threats to the Critically Endangered Tapanuli orangutan in Sumatra, Indonesia, calling for development and adoption of a conservation management plan.

The IUCN/TRAFFIC Analyses of Proposals to amend the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are now available online.

Fifty five marine areas in the western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas identified by the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force.

Reconnecting people with nature was a hot topic during Europarc 2018, the yearly conference of Protected Areas in Europe. Involving youth in our organisations is a crucial step for this, according to Europarc’s director, Carol Richie.

The Oceans, Coasts and Coral Reefs Specialist Group has published its report in a series highlighting ongoing work under each WCEL Specialist Group.

The findings from the recent Ramsar Global Wetland Outlook report were sobering: wetlands, the world’s most valuable ecosystems, are disappearing three times faster than forests.

A new IUCN-backed scientific article published today finds that threatened western gray whales are at “very high risk” of entanglement in coastal salmon nets near Russia’s Sakhalin island, which often leads to their injury or death. 

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is moving to this new web platform. We will run both websites in parallel until later in the year, when we will switch the current website with this new one.

NB: All users need to register for a new user account for saving searches and downloading data

Birdlife international interview Chief Scientist, Stuart Butchart, about a newly published paper: State of the World’s Raptors. What threats face this iconic group of birds, and what can we do to help?

Eight bird species, including two species of macaw, look set to have their extinctions confirmed following a robust new assessment of Critically Endangered species.