Concerns over the EU’s wolf downlisting proposal

The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. The objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC provides regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. IPCC reports are also a key input into international climate change negotiations.

An open and transparent review by experts and governments around the world is an essential part of the IPCC process to ensure an objective and complete assessment and to reflect a diverse range of views and expertise. Through its assessments, the IPCC identifies the strength of scientific agreement in different areas and indicates where further research is needed. The IPCC does not conduct its own research.

The IPCC has completed its Sixth Assessment cycle, during which it produced Assessment reports from its three Working Groups, three Special Reports, a Methodology Report, and the Synthesis report (SYR 6) which was finalized in March 2023.

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund The Fund was established in 2008 with an initial endowment of €25,000,000 to: Provide targeted grants to individual species conservation initiatives; Recognize leaders in the field of species conservation; and Elevate the importance of species in the broader conservation debate. The Fund provides small grants to boots-on-the-ground, in-the-field species conservation projects for the world’s most threatened species.

The Fund is open to applications for funding support from all parts of the world for direct conservation projects focused on threatened plant, animal, and fungus species. Grants are awarded according to criteria set by the Species Fund, and are for a maximum of $25,000.

The Living Planet Index measures the state of the world’s biodiversity based on population trends of vertebrate species from terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats. The LPI has been adopted by the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) as an indicator of progress towards its targets. The LPI is compiled by WWF and ZSL based on trends in thousands of population time-series data collected from monitored sites around the world. The Living Planet Database contains population time-series data on the abundance of tens of thousands of vertebrate species between 1970 and 2021. It is publicly available, except for some confidential records that cannot be shared.

How to use  

• The annual Living Planet Report can be downloaded at: https://www.wwf.org.uk/our-reports/living-planet-report
• The latest results and the technical supplement are available at: https://www.livingplanetindex.org/
• Data in the Living Planet Database can be searched or downloaded at:

https://github.com/Zoological-Society-of-London/rlpi

Several methods have been developed for climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA) of species. There is no single ‘correct’ or established way to carry out CCVA of species and these guidelines aim to assist conservation practitioners to interpret and use the complex and often inconsistent CCVA literature. The guidelines indicate sensible and defensible approaches, in the context of the current state of knowledge and available resources.

The guidelines outline some of the terms commonly used in climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA) and describe three dominant CCVA approaches, namely correlative (niche-based), mechanistic, and trait-based approaches. Advice is provided on setting clear, measurable objectives and selecting CCVA approaches and appropriate methods. Guidance on using and interpreting CCVA results includes suggestions on data sources and their use, working with knowledge gaps and uncertainty, approaches for use in challenging contexts, and incorporating indirect climate change impacts such as habitat transformation.

It is hoped that the guidelines will promote standardization of CCVA terminology and provide a useful resource for those wishing to carry out CCVA at species, site, or site-network scales.

The guidelines are structured to provide (i) background information on definitions and metrics associated with CCVA; (ii) a discussion on identifying CCVA objectives; (iii) core guidance on selecting and applying appropriate methods; (iv) sections on interpreting and communicating results; (v) using results in IUCN Red List assessments; (vi) ways to address the many sources of uncertainty in CCVAs. A final section explores future directions for CCVAs and research needs. The guidelines also highlight 10 case studies that provide worked examples of CCVAs covering the range of methods described.

This Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy reaffirms and further strengthens IUCN’s commitment to realising gender equality and women’s rights and empowerment and puts into place requirements for embedding a gender-responsive approach into its Programme and project portfolio. Another publication Gender equality for greener and bluer futures: why women’s leadership matters for realising environmental goals includes new IUCN data on the number of women leading environmental ministries, compared with previous data. It also highlights data on why gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential for global goals on achieving an inclusive and sustainable future.

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a supplementary international agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003.

The Protocol establishes an advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions before agreeing to the import of such organisms into their territory. The Protocol also establishes a Biosafety Clearing-House to facilitate the exchange of information on living modified organisms and to assist countries in the implementation of the Protocol. The Biosafety Clearing-House is an online platform for exchanging information on living modified organisms and is a key tool for facilitating the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol. It includes national information published by countries (primarily Parties to the Protocol) as well as virtual library of biosafety resources, information on different living modified organisms as well as laboratories for their detection.

How to use

Further information on the Cartagena Protocol is available at: https://bch.cbd.int/protocol

The Biosafety Clearing House can be accessed at: https://bch.cbd.int/en/

This checklist provides the official list of species listed on the CITES appendices and associated information, including scientific names and synonyms; common names in English, French and Spanish (where available), the CITES Appendix in which they are currently listed, distribution, and history of listings. Over 4000 Identification resources sourced from the CITES Identification Manual and the CITES Virtual College are also available. Users can search and filter by name (including higher taxa), CITES Appendix and country/territory/region of occurrence (“All locations”).

How to use

• The checklist, CITES listing information, and Identification materials can be viewed or downloaded in different formats at: https://checklist.cites.org
• A full guide to all the materials can be found on the “About” page of the CITES Checklist at: https://checklist.cites.org/#/en/about

SCTI is a partnership initiative between  several NGOs and ex situ organizations to ensure that new innovations and tools needed for species risk assessment, conservation planning, and population management are developed, globally available, and used effectively. SCTI combines expertise in population biology, computer programming, and planning to build modelling tools essential to guide conservation actions for threatened species in the wild, to facilitate the intensive management of species in ex situ programmes, and to integrate conservation efforts across all types of management approaches.

The CITES Virtual College was launched in 2011 and was developed to strengthen the understanding of CITES by Parties and others involved in its implementation and to increase awareness. During 2024, the Virtual College will be revamped with a new interface and a new set of online training courses. The online platform provides details of Training courses, Training materials, Identification guides, Non-detriment findings, References and tools.

Approximately one-third of all terrestrial high-biodiversity sites straddle national land borders, yet few man-made boundaries are fixed, and international boundaries often alter over time or disappear altogether. This publication makes the compelling case for transboundary conservation approaches and promotes an array of innovative methods based on contemporary principles. It has been developed primarily to provide transboundary conservation managers with advice on how to work more effectively and how to address the challenges that are specific to transboundary conservation. 

These guidelines offer an approach for developing a corporate-level biodiversity strategic plan, including measurable goals and objectives and a set of core linked  indicators, that will allow companies to measure their biodiversity performance across their operations. The Guidelines can be used by any company in any sector that has impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, whether large or small, national or multinational. They are aimed at sustainability teams, managers and other company staff whose roles include strategic planning and reporting related to biodiversity. The focus is on a full-cycle, results-based management approach (not just risk analyses, goal setting or indicator development), since assessing pressures on biodiversity, and planning and developing measurable goals, are key prerequisites for monitoring. They also explain how, by choosing and using appropriate core indicators and building internal capacity and partnerships, companies can aggregate and use biodiversity data at the corporate level in a meaningful way.

This IUCN policy affirms that sustainable use of wildlife can be consistent with, and contribute to, biodiversity conservation This fundamental principle applies to all species, whatever their level of extinction risk. However, stringent safeguards and a high level of precaution are required when considering whether or not the harvest of a threatened species can be justified.

How to use

• The policy can be downloaded at: Rep-2000-054.pdf (iucn.org)
• Detailed guidance on the harvest of species assessed as threatened on the IUCN Red List can be downloaded at: https://nc.iucnredlist.org/redlist/content/attachment_files/Guidelines_for_Appropriate_Use_of_IUCN_Red_List_Data_in_Harvesting_of_Threatened_Species_ver_1.pdf