UNESCO’s 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee concluded on 10 July in Baku, Azerbaijan. IUCN made recommendations on some 60 natural World Heritage sites facing threats, and on 10 sites nominated as potential new sites. The Committee followed IUCN’s advice to list Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California as a World Heritage site in danger, due to the decimation of the site’s population of vaquitas. New natural sites in Brazil, France, Iceland and Iran, and one extension in Albania were added following IUCN’s advice, with an additional site in China.

Paul Banga is a Tanzanian dedicated to nature conservation and wildlife management. He has a career of over 22 years with the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), from park cadet to currently responsible for managing all the development investment programmes. He has a clear vision for further skills development and dreams about changing the vision his country has on the role of protected areas.

Agricultural activities are resulting in river pollution and affecting fish production in the Alvarado Lagoon System area in Mexico. This solution focuses on improving the quality of the mangrove ecosystem through private conservation areas & communal environmental management areas, strengthening its resilience to climate change and anthropogenic impacts.

The initiative "National Parks: Peru's natural legacy" started with a promise made in Sydney in 2014. At the IUCN World Parks Congress, Peru has committed to ensure long term financial sustainability as well as effective and inclusive management of 20 million hectares of the Protected Area System by 2021 in collaboration with international cooperation, civil society and the private sector through the creation of innovative financial models and appropriate participatory management tools.

How to enable and measure improved performance in protected and conserved areas worldwide? This was the key issue addressed by a global workshop organised in the Grand Paradiso National Park, one of the first sites to acquire the IUCN Green List status. The workshop was convened by the BIOPAMA programme, in line with its mission to contribute to improved protected and conserved areas management and governance. The recommendations and conclusions of this workshop are presented in "The View from Gran Paradiso".

The BIOPAMA Action Component provides funding opportunities to address protected and conserved areas, sustainable use of biodiversity, natural resources priorities for actions on the ground in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) countries. The first call for proposals for medium grants is open until 21 September 2019 at 23:59 (CET/Brussels date and time).

The IUCN World Conservation Congress is where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action. IUCN’s 1300+ government, civil society and indigenous peoples’ Member organisations vote on major issues, action which guides humanity’s relationship with our planet for the decades ahead.

Open Opportunities to participate

Regional Fora
27-31 May – ORMACC, Antigua, Guatemala 
24-26 June - MED Office, Monastir, Tunisia 
24-25 June – WAS Office, Washington, USA  
1-3 July - EUROPE & ECARO, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
9-11 July – PACO, Bissau, Guinea Bissau
23-25 July - ESARO, Johannesburg, South Africa
30 July – 2 August – OCEANIA, Suva, Fiji
12-14 August – SUR. Cuidad del Este, Paraguay
9-11 Sept - ROWA, Kuwait
6-8 Nov – ARO, Islamabad, Pakistan
TBD - WAS, Ottawa

Subscribe here to receive IUCN Congress Updates

After four year of research led by three expert authors, IUCN has launched a new, updated thematic study on World Heritage volcanoes. It makes recommendations on priorities for future nominations of volcanoes, highlighting 18 sites as having potential for World Heritage status. It considers how volcanic regions are currently represented on the World Heritage List and proposes a classification system based on plate tectonics.

This award recognises and promotes innovative approaches to conservation and ecosystem protection. Named for the late Dr.Kenton R. Miller, an outstanding global leader in protected area conservation and management, theaward honours innovation in communications, planning and management, finance and economics, assessment, monitoring, and evaluation, learning, capacity development and governance.

Since its establishment in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. IUCN’s new legacy gift options will help ensure IUCN keeps playing this essential role for years to come.