International Union for Conservation of Nature

Deep-sea mining

Deep-sea mining is the process of extracting and often excavating mineral deposits from the deep seabed. The deep seabed is the seabed at ocean depths greater than 200m, and covers about two-thirds of ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

The plastic pollution crisis

Plastics only began to be produced in large quantities following the second world war – but plastic pollution has since become one of the most serious threats humanity faces. By 2015, 60% of all ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

African elephant species now Endangered and Critically Endangered - IUCN Red List

The African forest elephant (loxodonta cyclotis) is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The species occurs in the tropical forests of Central Africa, and a range of habitats in West ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Migratory monarch butterfly now Endangered - IUCN Red List

The IUCN Red List now includes 147,517 species, of which 41,459 are threatened with extinction. “Today’s Red List update highlights the fragility of nature’s wonders, such as the unique spectacle of ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN Red List reveals world’s mammals in crisis

Barcelona, Spain, 6 October, 2008 (IUCN) – The most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever, ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

First-of-its-kind study shows conservation interventions are critical to halting and reversing biodiversity loss

A new study in the scientific journal Science provides the strongest evidence to date that not only is environmental conservation successful, but that scaling conservation interventions up would be ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

First 1,000 fungi on IUCN Red List reveal growing threats - IUCN Red List

Gland, Switzerland, 27 March 2025 (IUCN) – The number of fungi species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ has surpassed 1,000, confirming that deforestation, agricultural expansion and urban ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN calls for a moratorium on projects impacting the Critically Endangered Tapanuli orangutan

IUCN is deeply concerned about ongoing and new threats to the Critically Endangered Tapanuli orangutan in Sumatra, Indonesia. IUCN therefore calls for the development and adoption of a conservation ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Saharan addax antelope faces imminent extinction

Regional insecurity and oil industry activities in the Sahara desert have pushed the addax – a migratory species of desert-adapted antelope – to the very knife-edge of extinction according to a recent ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Eating pangolins to extinction

The enigmatic pangolin, or scaly anteater, is literally being eaten out of existence according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, which shows that all eight species are ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

A grain of hope in the desert

The regal Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx), which was hunted to near extinction, is now facing a more secure future according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Its wild ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature

Mangroves: nurseries for the world’s seafood supply

Mangroves support rich biodiversity and high levels of productivity, supplying seafood at capacities large enough to feed millions of people. Fisheries and other sectors, economies, and communities ...