International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

IUCN Director General's statement on the entry into force of the High Seas Agreement

On Saturday 17 January, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity Beyond National ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group

The four extant species of horseshoe crabs are imperilled, because of overfishing for use as food, bait, production of biomedical products derived from their blood, and because of habitat loss or ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

First 1,000 fungi on IUCN Red List reveal growing threats - IUCN Red List

Gland, Switzerland, 27 March 2025 (IUCN) – The number of fungi species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ has surpassed 1,000, confirming that deforestation, agricultural expansion and urban ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

African elephant species now Endangered and Critically Endangered - IUCN Red List

The African forest elephant (loxodonta cyclotis) is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The species occurs in the tropical forests of Central Africa, and a range of habitats in West ...
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

World’s reptiles comprehensively assessed – IUCN Red List

Gland, Switzerland, 27 April 2022 (IUCN) – More than one in five of the world’s reptiles are threatened with extinction, according to the Global Reptile Assessment published on the IUCN Red List of ...
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

On World Rhino Day 2024, a mixed story for the world’s five species of rhinos

Africa’s total rhino count has continued to increase despite poaching, while certain species in Asia face an existential threat. In Africa, poachers killed a total of 586 rhinos (mostly the more ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

A grain of hope in the desert

The regal Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx), which was hunted to near extinction, is now facing a more secure future according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Its wild ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Computer Conservation

AI and machine learning is helping to advance conservation efforts in many amazing ways. Sam Perrin and Tom Ireland explore the possibilities and limitations of this fast-moving technology As anyone ...
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 ...