Our efforts are underpinned by expertise and pleasure in using wild resources sustainably © Adrian Lombard
This site is a product of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. IUCN was founded in 1948 and there are now 84 states as Members along with more than 1100 non-government organisations (NGOs). IUCN is the only International Observer organization in the UN General Assembly with specific expertise for biodiversity, nature conservation and sustainable natural resource use.
The text of this site was agreed in English, and then translated, by the 500 experts for Sustainable Use and Management of Ecosystems in IUCN’s Commission for Ecosystem Management, one of six Commissions. Knowledge was gathered with help of a sister group on Sustainable Use and Livelihoods, which is a joint initiative of the Species Survival Commission (well known for its Red Lists) and the Commission on Environmental Economic and Social Policy. The satellite sites in our network of knowledge are run by IUCN experts in the regions and countries concerned.
We hope that reading this site will give you an understanding of the natural world and of the special contributions from the different groups of people that engage with wild creatures globally. We also link you in your own language to other sites that provide information and background to these subjects where you live. Please open your minds to the good news of conservation progress, so that ideas and efforts that have achieved many successes are spread ever more widely. Please take this knowledge, gained across the world, and apply it to your situation.
The themes on these pages aim to encourage: