With great sadness we received the news that Dr Ljupco Melovski, a full-time professor at the Institute of Biology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje and one of the leading conservationists in South-Eastern Europe, has passed away at the age of 60. Read more

The two regions are gathering in Rotterdam, 1-3 July and inviting wider conservation community and renown experts to take part in the first day of the programme, converting it into a great place to learn, share, network and influence. Register now!

IUCN Members and Commission members from the two regions are invited to attend also the following days of the Forum, to prepare for the IUCN Congress 2020. More information 

IUCN Director General Inger Andersen has been appointed to the post of Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by the United Nations General Assembly. Read more

Kosovo has officially joined IUCN, thereby entering a neutral forum in which governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, and others jointly shape and implement solutions to environmental challenges. Read more

Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Read more

Constructive discussions of protected area managers and national experts from Central Asia at a workshop convened by IUCN in Almaty, Kazakhstan in April 2019 resulted in the assessment of threats and management effectiveness of three natural World Heritage sites in the region. Read more

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia hosted the meeting in April, with the support of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and UNDP Office in Serbia, engaging the Parties and stakeholders in the global consultation process on experiences and lessons learned from the implementation of the Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and its Aichi targets, as well as to identify potential elements of the global biodiversity framework for the post-2020 period. Read more SR Meeting documents on CBD

Despite being on a steady rise, the Albanian system of protected areas is facing numerous challenges, stemming from the country’s fast development in recent years. To help address them and support the country's work on Natura 2000, partners and experts of NaturAL, including IUCN, have invested a great effort in the past four years. Read more

A set of concrete conservation priorities has been agreed to guide the work under the Memorandum of Understanding concerning the restoration, conservation and sustainable use of Saiga Antelopes up to 2025. Read more

Over 30 electric pylons were insulated in Kurvelesh, Albania, in an attempt to mitigate electrocution - the single most important cause of mortality for most of bird species, including the globally endangered Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) that frecuents this area. Read more

IUCN’s Director General has appointed a team of distinguished scientists to examine the impacts of oil and gas development and other threats on endangered whales found off the coast of Russia’s Sakhalin Island. Read more Meeting reports of the Panel are available here. 

Involvement of local communities and Environmental Civil Society Organisations (ECSOs) in decision making and management of natural resources in Albania is inadequate. This hampers the effective implementation of nature conservation. ECSOs are seen as a driving force for transforming the society in the context of sustainable, environmentally friendly development. INCA is working to improve ECSOs capacities for effective advocacy and lobbing, in cooperation with IUCN. Read more

To ensure the uptake of Nature-based Solutions to societal challenges, the IUCN Ecosystem Management Programme and Commission are leading the collaborative process to elaborate a Global Standard for the Design and Verification of Nature-based Solutions. Read more

Use this excellent opportunity to inform debate and drive conservation action on the issues that matter most to you or your organisation. Apply by 17 July. Learn more

PAPACO has been running Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) for professionals dedicated to protected areas and conservation since 2015. All courses are open to all, for free and successful participants will receive a certificate. Read more

Learn more about Valorization of Protected Area Resources and enroll to the course

The Central Asian Desert Initiative (CADI) welcomes photos attract attention to the aesthetic values of the cold winter desert, its use, threats, and protection. Submit your photos by 14 October 2019 in two nominations: (1) Nature of desert and (2) Desert and humans. More information

The main goal of the exhibition was to inform citizens of the huge potential island wetlands have and the need to preserve them. Once crucial to the survival of the population, nowadays they are rich oases of biodiversity, endangered and often times undiscovered. The exhibition was organized by the MedIsWet project partners, Hyla Association and WWF Adria, in Croatian islands Pag, Rab and Krk in April. Read more

Glaciers are set to disappear completely from almost half of World Heritage sites if business-as-usual emissions continue, according to the first-ever global study of World Heritage glaciers, co-authored by scientists from IUCN. The sites are home to some of the world’s most iconic glaciers, such as Fedchenko Glacier in Tajik National Park. Read more

Learn about new and newly upgraded platforms for protected and conserved areas information sharing about: the Digital Observatory for Protected Areas (DOPA), the BIOPAMA Reference Information System (BIOPAMA RIS) and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT). Read more

Supported by the EU funded project NaturAL and led by Philippe Théou, rangers and experts from the Regional Administration of Protected Areas were monitoring the bat species occurrence in protected areas of Albania for several years, to understand them better and to assure more effective management of their habitats.

The newly published Atlas Bats of Albania summarizes the results of their work that confirm the importance of this country for bat conservation in general. Read more

43rd session of the World Heritage Committee

#IUCNRCFRotterdam

IUCN Regional Conservation Forum for Europe, North and Central Asia

Ninth Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity

The six Commissions unite 13,000 volunteer experts that assess the state of the world’s natural resources and provide the Union with sound know-how and policy advice on conservation issues. Joining one of them you are entering a committed team of experts dealing with issues related to conservation and environmental protection. Learn more

Being a Member of IUCN enables you to both advance your own cause and to strengthen common action in overcoming barriers to a sustainable future. Through IUCN, members become part of a collective and global voice on important issues of our age. Learn more