This report presents findings from an assessment of the biodiversity conservation potential of four project sites: Lobaye, Mambéré-Kadéï, Ombella-Mpoko, and Sangha-Mbaéré located in the Bangui region of the Central African Republic (CAR). This assessment was done using the Species Threat Abatement and Recovery (STAR) metric, which employs  high-resolution imagery and an approach to modelling species’ Area of Habitat (AOH) that was revised after June 2020 among other enhancements. This work was undertaken to better inform threat abatement and restoration planning and implementation at the partner project sites, and as part of a wider effort to pilot and strengthen the use of STAR as a  tool for restoration and conservation practitioners, communities, investors, and policymakers.

The Bird Migration Explorer is your guide to the heroic annual journeys made by over 450 bird species, and the challenges they face along the way.

Learn more about a species, the migratory birds at a specific location, or a conservation challenge birds face.

These are the country reports on implementation of the International Treaty received from Contracting Parties pursuant to Section V.1 of the “Procedures and operational mechanisms to promote compliance and address issues of non-compliance” (Resolution 9/2013), for which an updated Standard Reporting Format was adopted by the Governing Body in 2019 (Resolution 7/2019).

The Compliance Committee prepares a comprehensive synthesis and succinct analysis report for each session of the Governing Body. Please see the latest version here.

Some of the information received from Contracting Parties through their national reports is reused under several indicators in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reporting process. See, for example, SDG Indicator 15.6.1.

The deadline for the submission of national reports under the Second Reporting Cycle was extended by the Governing Body until 1 October 2024.

According to the IUCN Red List a species or subspecies is considered Extinct (EX) when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.  A species or subspecies is presumed Extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and expected habitat have failed to record a single individual.

Distinct populations can also become locally extinct.  A single species is often made up of several separate populations and one population may be eradicated whilst others continue to live.  For example, the North Pacific gray whale population in the eastern North Pacific is considered healthy, but the western population is critically endangered.

Extinction is a natural phenomenon, but current rates of extinction are much higher than historic ‘background rates.’  The lifespan of a species varies depending on a number of factors such as body size and geographic range.  Many cetacean species are assessed to have survived between 5 and 30 million years. Today’s increased rates of extinction are due to human activities and associated habitat disruption and climate change.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, assesses the conservation status of most plant and animal species, some subspecies, and some subpopulations.  They use a rigorous approach to assess all available data for each species against defined criteria, and classify each into one of the IUCN Red List status categories

ThreatSearch is a global database of all known conservation assessments of plants. It contains global, regional and national conservation assessments for plants from a variety of sources. The aim is for ThreatSearch to be a one-stop shop to find any conservation assessment for plants.

Together with our two main collaborators – the National Red List and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – we have assembled currently available conservation assessments into a single list of conservation assessments for plants. Additional significant contributors include NatureServe and CNCFlora. We are continuing to add new conservation assessments, as well as adding older non-digital sources.

ThreatSearch can be used to measure progress toward several targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. First and foremost, by listing all conservation assessments for plants it helps to track progress towards Target 2 (An assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species, as far as possible, to guide conservation action). ThreatSearch will further help to measure Target 7 (At least 75 per cent of known threatened plant species conserved in situ) and Target 8 (At least 75 per cent of threatened plant species in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and at least 20 per cent available for recovery and restoration programmes). ThreatSearch also aims to be directly relevant to conservationists, educators, horticulturists, researchers, policy makers and many others who are working to save and understand plant diversity.

Welcome to the GlobalTree Portal. This portal allows access to information on the world’s nearly 60,000 tree species. On the species pages you can explore tree species distribution, conservation status (global and non-global) and conservation actions. On the country pages you can download a country checklist with associated information on endemism and conservation status. The Global overview allows you to see summary statistics for all trees. The data underlying this portal is information gathered as part of the Global Tree Assessment and links our existing databases GlobalTreeSearch, ThreatSearch, PlantSearch and GardenSearch. In addition, the Conservation Action Tracker enables the monitoring of conservation actions for each tree species. The Conservation Action Tracker can be accessed through individual species pages and you can upload new information through this link.

Estimates of current population size, known as abundance estimates, are derived from a combination of fieldwork and computer modelling.  Vessel-based and aerial sighting surveys, acoustic monitoring, and analysis of individual animal markings are techniques used independently or in conjunction with each other to count whales.  The information gathered from this fieldwork is used as the basis for population modelling which produces an abundance estimate.

In 2017, the IWC Scientific Committee established a new expert group to review and agree all the Abundance Estimates submitted to the Scientific Committee.  This new process ensures quality and consistency across all the estimates used by the IWC.

Click here to read more about the establishment and work of the Scientific Committee’s Working Group on Abundance Estimates (ASI).

It is impossible for cetacean abundance estimates to be completely precise and IWC estimates are presented as a ‘best estimate’ figure, accompanied by a 95% Confidence Interval, showing a range of plausible values for the population’s actual abundance.  As an example, the table below shows that the 1991/92-2003/4 abundance estimate for Southern Hemisphere blue whales is 2,300 with a 95% confidence interval of 1,150-4,500. This means that the range 1,150-4,500 was computed using a method that has a 95% chance of including the population’s actual abundance.

Increases or decreases in population are indicated within the table, where these have been identified.

At present the IWC has agreed estimates only for some species/areas.  With the establishment of the ASI group it is planned to update this table and fill in the gaps where possible.

This solution utilizes former information and personal data to create a data base to characterize the most important environmental and anthropogenic factors that affect the fitness of California sea lion rookeries. This includes modelling how environmental factors influence historical colony trends, mapping sources of contamination around the colony, mapping the fishing areas as well as collecting available information about California sea lion diseases.

Europe’s Wadden Sea (DK, DE, NL) and Mauritania’s National Park Banc d´Arguin (PNBA) — two World Heritage properties linked through the migratory birds on the African Eurasian Flyway, for which they serve as important wintering and stop over areas — signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2014 to protect the migratory birds. Since, there have been bilateral visits of managers and scientists, a joint action plan and cooperation in bird monitoring. More, PNBA joint the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative, launched to strengthen waterbird conservation and monitoring along the East Atlantic flyway.

This project aims to prevent continued decline of the endangered Hector’s dolphins. Dolphins are getting caught as bycatch in trawl and set nets. People want to help dolphins but don’t know how. Citizen scientists are being trained, to extend the number and location of sightings around New Zealand, as well as identify when strandings occur. At the same time, these citizen scientists become protectors of the dolphins, intimately involved in their survival.

The solution allows for creating a rapid alert network in the event of sawfish captures, to harmonize and coordinate responses that aim at their protection in the West African sub-region. From village to village, along the coasts and up to the remotest ‘bolongs’ (salt-water channels) or islands, historic data on capture levels has been collected, fishers have been sensitized and representatives of the maritime sector have been trained.

Rosa arabica and Primula boveana is a perennial endemic to the high mountain area of St. Catherine Protected Area (SCPA) in Egypt and listed as one of the most 100 threatened plants in the world. Recently, they listed as Critically Endangered due to their small Extent of Occurrence and tiny population size (less than 90). The continuous decline in habitat quality for this species and the urgent need to carry out on-ground conservation actions were reported. Many attempts were made in the past to cultivate them in the wild, but they did not succeed. So, this solution aims to conserve them through in situ practices by implementing the following steps, respectively: a) IUCN Red List, b) Ecological Niche Modeling, and c) based on the previous two steps, translocation process for R. arabica in the suitable habitat will be done after carrying out simple layering process (local community traditional method) as one of the most effective traditional vegetative methods for wild cultivation for this species.

The National Red List Working Group (NRLWG) is a working group within the IUCN Red List Committee towards developing and implementing ways to improve linkages between national red listing efforts and the IUCN Red List, and on tools to help national red listing efforts, which are often based on adapting the tools available for global red listing processes to better suit national needs.

The NRLWG also serves as a Coordinating Body for the “National Red List Alliance” (NRLA), established in 2013 to promote and drive forward the national red listing process globally. This was in response to result 2 in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Strategic Plan (2013-2020): more IUCN Red List assessments are prepared at national and, where appropriate, at regional scales. The aim is to help countries monitor their progress towards achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (particularly goals 14 and 15) and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (particularly target 12).

The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria were developed for classifying species at high risk of global extinction, i.e. for assessment at the global level. Guidelines on the application of the IUCN Red List Criteria at national or regional levels were also developed and this volume presents the revised guidelines, published in 2012.

These guidelines provide a logical framework for assessing species at sub-global levels; a means of sharing status information with neighbouring countries; and a suggested format for documentation and publication of listings to improve compatibility with the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Rosa arabica and Primula boveana is a perennial endemic to the high mountain area of St. Catherine Protected Area (SCPA) in Egypt and listed as one of the most 100 threatened plants in the world. Recently, they listed as Critically Endangered due to their small Extent of Occurrence and tiny population size (less than 90). The continuous decline in habitat quality for this species and the urgent need to carry out on-ground conservation actions were reported. Many attempts were made in the past to cultivate them in the wild, but they did not succeed. So, this solution aims to conserve them through in situ practices by implementing the following steps, respectively: a) IUCN Red List, b) Ecological Niche Modeling, and c) based on the previous two steps, translocation process for R. arabica in the suitable habitat will be done after carrying out simple layering process (local community traditional method) as one of the most effective traditional vegetative methods for wild cultivation for this species.

According to the IUCN Red List a species or subspecies is considered Extinct (EX) when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.  A species or subspecies is presumed Extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and expected habitat have failed to record a single individual.

Distinct populations can also become locally extinct.  A single species is often made up of several separate populations and one population may be eradicated whilst others continue to live.  For example, the North Pacific gray whale population in the eastern North Pacific is considered healthy, but the western population is critically endangered.

Extinction is a natural phenomenon, but current rates of extinction are much higher than historic ‘background rates.’  The lifespan of a species varies depending on a number of factors such as body size and geographic range.  Many cetacean species are assessed to have survived between 5 and 30 million years. Today’s increased rates of extinction are due to human activities and associated habitat disruption and climate change.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, assesses the conservation status of most plant and animal species, some subspecies, and some subpopulations.  They use a rigorous approach to assess all available data for each species against defined criteria, and classify each into one of the IUCN Red List status categories

Estimates of current population size, known as abundance estimates, are derived from a combination of fieldwork and computer modelling.  Vessel-based and aerial sighting surveys, acoustic monitoring, and analysis of individual animal markings are techniques used independently or in conjunction with each other to count whales.  The information gathered from this fieldwork is used as the basis for population modelling which produces an abundance estimate.

In 2017, the IWC Scientific Committee established a new expert group to review and agree all the Abundance Estimates submitted to the Scientific Committee.  This new process ensures quality and consistency across all the estimates used by the IWC.

Click here to read more about the establishment and work of the Scientific Committee’s Working Group on Abundance Estimates (ASI).

It is impossible for cetacean abundance estimates to be completely precise and IWC estimates are presented as a ‘best estimate’ figure, accompanied by a 95% Confidence Interval, showing a range of plausible values for the population’s actual abundance.  As an example, the table below shows that the 1991/92-2003/4 abundance estimate for Southern Hemisphere blue whales is 2,300 with a 95% confidence interval of 1,150-4,500. This means that the range 1,150-4,500 was computed using a method that has a 95% chance of including the population’s actual abundance.

Increases or decreases in population are indicated within the table, where these have been identified.

At present the IWC has agreed estimates only for some species/areas.  With the establishment of the ASI group it is planned to update this table and fill in the gaps where possible.

This solution is set in Madagascar’s Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor (CAZ), a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot that shelters numerous endangered and vulnerable lemur species. The project site, Fierenana—a rural commune in the western CAZ—is designated as an Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) site, uniquely identified as the only place on Earth where at least one critically endangered species survives in its natural habitat.

Despite this ecological importance, conservation efforts face major challenges, including habitat degradation, weak law enforcement, and limited local capacity. The solution, implemented through the “CAZ4Lemurs” project with support from BIOPAMA, addresses these issues by empowering local community-based organizations (COBAs) to manage forest buffer zones and monitor lemur populations. The initiative has enhanced patroller skills and fostered law enforcement. Environmental education is being integrated into school curricula, while legal training strengthens enforcement, and promotes livelihoods.

The IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group and the IUCN Global Business and Biodiversity Programme have produced Guidelines for Planning and Monitoring Corporate Biodiversity Performance. The Guidelines were developed by IUCN teams in collaboration with business partners, especially Nespresso, Boskalis and Alcoa.

The Guidelines provide a four-stage, science-based approach for developing a corporate biodiversity strategic plan and measuring biodiversity performance across company operations and supply chains. The approach enables companies to be more targeted in their biodiversity focus by identifying the species and habitats important to them and understanding the benefits they provide to people.

The Conservation Standards (CS) are a widely adopted set of principles and practices that bring together common concepts, approaches, and terminology for conservation project design, management, and monitoring. Developed by the Conservation Measures Partnership and regularly updated in collaboration with the broader community, this open-source, strategic process helps conservation teams achieve lasting impact.

Rosa arabica and Primula boveana is a perennial endemic to the high mountain area of St. Catherine Protected Area (SCPA) in Egypt and listed as one of the most 100 threatened plants in the world. Recently, they listed as Critically Endangered due to their small Extent of Occurrence and tiny population size (less than 90). The continuous decline in habitat quality for this species and the urgent need to carry out on-ground conservation actions were reported. Many attempts were made in the past to cultivate them in the wild, but they did not succeed. So, this solution aims to conserve them through in situ practices by implementing the following steps, respectively: a) IUCN Red List, b) Ecological Niche Modeling, and c) based on the previous two steps, translocation process for R. arabica in the suitable habitat will be done after carrying out simple layering process (local community traditional method) as one of the most effective traditional vegetative methods for wild cultivation for this species.