IUCN

International Union for the Conservation of Nature

IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2017

IUCN has published the 2017 World Heritage Outlook 2, examining status of the natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites since the first Outlook in 2014. Overall, there is no improvement but there has been change in status (positive or negative) for 26 of 241 sites. Threats are increasing to World Heritage Sites, with climate change the fastest growing and invasive species, climate change and tourism the largest current threats. Planned infrastructure development pressure is increasing. Improved outlooks for 14 sites are described as a result of sustained action on nature conservation.

Results gauge 2017.jpg

Interactive map is at http://www.worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/ and the full report at https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-053.pdf

Biodiversity policy: World Heritage and biodiversity

IUCN and UNEP-WCMC have produced Biodiversity priorities for the World Heritage List. Examines the criteria for listing, gaps in coverage and makes recommendations for development of the process.

Biodiversity policy: IUCN guide to the Nagoya Protocol on ABS

IUCN have produced a comprehensive guide to the 2010 Nagoya Protocol to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Access and Benefit Sharing is an area of policy and legal development in progress on an international and national level, but the guide provides a very useful 390 pages of interpretation, explanation and insight.

Climate Change Policy: Durban Climate Conference December 2011

A few resources on the UNFCCC COP17 Durban conference. IISD reports give a blow by blow account and analysis. The official UNFCCC site. Resources from the USA-based World Resources Institute and views from IUCN.

Biodiversity policy EU: European Red List

EU and IUCN collaboration on the European Red List updated at September 2011. Grim reading on some ecosystems such as freshwater.

Biodiversity policy: IPBES first plenary

In progress in the week beginning 3 October, the first plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Papers, documents and updates on the website, but most of the discussion is about governance, organisation and so forth. IUCN position paper on IPBES also worth reading.

Biodiversity science: PLoS biodiversity hub - forward thinking

The PLoS Biodversity hub has been around for almost a year now, bringing together open access publications. A new paper from Mindell et al. on PLoS is essential reading on the potential for integration of many biodiversity resources with open access research. Not least, a good list of intiatives, which reads:..../ more

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aggregated specimen data:

interoperability among datasets and databases:

taxonomic literature:

BHL

taxonomic names:

molecular sequence data:

images:

phylogenetic relationships:

natural history:

Encyclopedia of Life

conservation status of species:

and ecological and evolutionary datasetsv http://datadryad.org/

Biodiversity policy: IUCN review of biodiversity in EU overseas territories

IUCN has published a review of biodiversity in the overseas territories ("entities") of EU countries - recommendations for an integrated EU policy.

Future directions for biodiversity action in Europe overseas : outcomes of the Review of the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, December 2010

Biodiversity policy: Biodiversity economics

Useful Biodiversity Economics website from IUCN/WWF

Biodiversity policy: IUCN publications - species and science

IUCN species magazine mentions Paul Williams as chair of the specialist bumblebee group. Also out is the IUCN Science Bulletin with a review of relevant publications.

Science, Biodiversity and Museums

Organizations

@nhm_science