November 2019

10 April 2020 is the next deadline to submit a proposal for the Recovery of Species on the Brink of Extinction funding opportunity.

In a partnership between National Geographic, Fondation Segré and IUCN SSC, the goal of this request for funding is to halt further biodiversity decline by implementing species conservation plans for species and groups of species.

For further information, please visit this webpage or write to speciesrecovery@ssc.iucn.org.

IUCN has issued an urgent call to massively scale up species conservation action in response to the escalating biodiversity crisis. Share the call widely by re-posting on Twitter / Facebook with the hashtag: #SpeciesActionNow.

To be associated with the Call, please contact species@iucn.org.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress is where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action. IUCN’s 1,300+ government, civil society and indigenous peoples’ Member organisations vote on major issues, action that guides humanity’s relationship with our planet for the decades ahead. 

Registration and booking an exhibit now available

Sign up to the Congress newsletter to receive Congress updates

The global extinction risk of 187 endemic or near endemic tree species was evaluated by the Central African and East African Plant Red List Authorities in a Red List workshop in June at Meise Botanic Garden, Belgium. Work continues to assess all c. 365 tree species endemic or near endemic to Central Africa. Supported by Fondation Franklinia.

Following the 2019 Lacoste x IUCN Save Our Species campaign, SOS will launch a Call for Proposals for all ten species:

The Call will open in mid-November and close mid-January 2020.

The Conservation Planning Specialist Group Webinar introduces key concepts, uses, and lessons learned from Healthy Country Planning, an adaptation of the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation developed with and for working with indigenous communities. Watch the webinar.

Over the last two years, the Shark Specialist Group has been partnering with the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA to deliver Red List and conservation planning outcomes. The aquarium currently provides staff time to produce species maps accompanying Red List Assessments for the Global Shark Trends Project.

In September, the SMSG Programme Officer attended the 13th African Small Mammal Symposium in Mekelle, Ethiopia. As well as giving a plenary talk about the SMSG, this was also a great opportunity to meet many of the small mammal experts working across Africa. As a result of discussions during the meeting, the SMSG will be setting up a new team to advise on taxonomic issues, coordinate future Red Listing, and assist with conservation planning.

The SMSG Co-chairs and Programme Officer were delighted to take part in the SSC Leaders’ Meeting in October. Over the coming months, they look forward to developing new collaborations with other specialist groups in order to pool resources and share ideas for future assessment and planning activities.

In the first months of the project, patrols covered almost 520km and managed to observe and/or remove 93 snares, two cages, seven drift fences, and nine traps. 16 poachers were arrested through joint enforcement patrols.

This article covers an interview with Jon Paul Rodríguez, the current Chair of IUCN SSC, and Simon Stuart, who formerly held the position and is now Director of Strategic Conservation at Synchronicity Earth.

The Anteater, Sloth and Armadillo Specialist Group has launched a new website. All content is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The IUCN SSC Anteater, Sloth and Armadillo Specialist Group was one of the beneficiaries of the second round of SSC Internal Grant.

The Conservation Leadership Programme is now accepting applications for its 2020 Conservation Awards. 

The deadline for Future Conservationists Awards applications is 24 November 2019. 

The Deer Specialist Group is organising a course that will focus on training field and veterinary biologists in the newest tools in molecular ecology and ecological niche modelling.

Registrations are open until 15 November 2019.

The EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) Conservation Forum will take place between 19 - 23 May 2020, hosted by Zagreb Zoo, Croatia.

The EAZA Conservation Forum is a biennial event bringing together over 150 representatives of zoos and aquariums, conservation organisations and in situ conservation projects for three days of workshops, presentations and other activities.

Registration opens in November and abstracts are welcome before 1 February 2020.

The 14th edition of the International University of Andalucía Master's course on Management and Conservation of Species in Trade: the International Framework is open to graduate students. The enrolment period is open up to 16 December 2019, subject to availability.

Find application information under No. 2019/031 here.

The PBNF supports small, preferably local initiatives worldwide towards the conservation of endangered species (flora and fauna), or initiatives that in other ways promote the conservation and wise use of nature and our natural resources base.

The next application deadline is 1 February 2020.

Plumploris, which is dedicated to the conservation of lorises and their close relatives, has initiated a journal: Plumploris. Journal of Loris Biology.

The journal will be peer-reviewed and will publish manuscripts in English and German. The first issue is due to come out in early 2020.

You are invited to send your manuscripts as short contributions or research articles.

The deadline for submissions is 30 November 2019.

Please submit your manuscripts to journal@plumploris.de.

Applications for the 2020 Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program are now open. The program will run from 18 July - 7 August 2020.

Applications are now open for the Masters in Conservation Leadership 2020-21. 

The deadline for applications is the 3 December 2019.

The next Interventions in Wild Animal Health Field Course, run collaboratively between ZSL, Wildlife Institute of India, University of Edinburgh and Royal Veterinary College will take place in India between 27 January - 13 February 2020.

For questions or more information, please contact Sarina van der Ploeg, IUCN Publications Officer.

This guide provides an overview of the unique roles and contributions women make in the wild-caught fisheries sector. The guide also explains how persistent gender inequalities limit women’s economic empowerment, and increased risks of gender-based violence negatively impact the potential of women to thrive and contribute towards strong economies.

Article in the Nature Research Journal.

Adam Smith, Erik Beever, Leah Yandow

Despite herpetofauna conservation efforts, there has been no systematic study to evaluate funding allocations, relative publication rates, and the relationship of these measures to a degree of threat among herpetological groups. This study addresses this gap and identifies strengths and weaknesses of herpetological research and conservation over the last 10 years.

With input from the Conservation Planning Specialist Group, published in BioScience.

The latest edition of the IUCN SSC Crane Conservation Strategy is now available. This landmark volume provides a wealth of information to guide the conservation of the world’s fifteen species of cranes.

These guidelines are designed to be applicable to the full spectrum of conservation translocations. They are based on principle rather than example and are designed to provide guidance on the justification, design and implementation of any conservation translocation.

Also available in Czech, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Arabic and Chinese.

Ce document est un recueil sur cette problématique, ses causes et ses conséquences, et sur les diverses approches pour traiter le problème, en se concentrant sur cette zone géographique, dans le but d’en promouvoir la connaissance et la prévention et, dans la mesure du possible, de rechercher des solutions..

A working paper from IIED on the spawning seasonality of the hilsa, a critically important species for small-scale fishing communities in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta.

A DENR initiative, in collaboration with the IUCN SSC Asian Wild Cattle and Conservation Planning Specialist
Groups. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines.

A collaboration between Taipei Zoo, Forestry Bureau of Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Endemic
Species Research Institute, and the IUCN SSC Pangolin and Conservation Planning Specialist Groups.

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