Overview

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was established on 5 October 1948 in Fontainebleau, France as the International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUPN). It was renamed IUCN in 1956. IUCN brings together governments, non-governmental and civil society organisations around the world to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable, equitable use of natural resources.

Mission and focus areas

IUCN’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies globally to safeguard the integrity and diversity of nature and ensure that resource use is equitable and ecologically sustainable. Core focus areas include biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and species protection, sustainable use of natural resources, and nature-based solutions to environmental challenges such as climate change, food security, and water scarcity. In recent years, IUCN has increasingly engaged with sustainable finance and business sectors to mobilise investments and channel funding towards biodiversity conservation and climate-resilient, sustainable development.

Structure and governance

IUCN is a membership union comprising more than 1,400 Member organisations — including governments, civil society groups, indigenous peoples’ organisations and NGOs — operating across more than 160 countries.
Its governance includes a Secretariat based in Gland, Switzerland, supported by a global network of about 16,000 volunteer experts and specialists. The Union’s work is organised through thematic programmes and expert commissions, such as the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), which guide science-based conservation efforts and protected-area governance.

Programs and offerings

IUCN produces authoritative global standards, data and resources — among them the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the reference inventory for assessing extinction risk and conservation status of species. It supports thousands of field-level conservation and restoration projects worldwide, combining scientific expertise with local and indigenous knowledge to restore ecosystems, protect habitats and conserve biodiversity. Through its “business and biodiversity” workstream, IUCN mobilises and channels finance — including innovative models such as blended finance, conservation finance and private-public investment — for nature-positive outcomes. Under its current programme cycle (2021–2024), IUCN also manages a financial plan and a digital platform for tracking contributions to conservation and restoration commitments by its members. This structure and resource base makes IUCN relevant for sustainability practitioners, investors and policymakers seeking evidence-based conservation science, standard frameworks, and opportunities to channel finance towards biodiversity and nature-based solutions.

Our mission

Influence, encourage and assist societies to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.