IUCN conserves biodiversity at all scales through the work of its various programmes including Water, Forests, Marine, Species and Protected Areas. Hundreds of projects are underway around the world aimed at saving species and ecosystems and providing the knowledge needed for successful conservation action.
Action
Some examples of our work
Western Gray Whale Conservation Initiative
The western Pacific population of gray whale (Esrichtiius robustus) is one of only two surviving populations of this species in the world. IUCN has been concerned by the status of western gray whales for many years. Through its Species Survival Commission (SSC), it has collaborated with a joint US-Russian research project launched in the mid-1990s to study the conservation status, behaviour and distribution of the whales as well as their associated threats. Learn more
Livelihoods and Landscapes
Livelihoods and Landscapes builds on IUCN’s Forest Conservation Programme’s expertise in securing the rights and access of forest dependent communities to forests products and markets for those products. It looks at this in the context of the entire landscape in which people and forests interact, to ensure that the landscapes can provide for the livelihoods of local communities in a way that supports the balance between people and nature. Learn more
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is a key resource for conservation decision making developed and maintained with the United Nations Environment Programme. It contains crucial information from national governments, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, international biodiversity convention secretariats and many others. It is used for environmental impact analysis and increasingly for private sector decision-making. Learn more
