It’s time to wake up and take action to protect the planet’s natural wealth, that’s the message of the first part of IUCN’s World Conservation Congress.

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, according to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, revealed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress kicks off today in Barcelona, Spain, with its mission of boosting action to conserve nature. Leading questions are how to meet the growing needs of populations and expanding markets without sacrificing nature, and how to get conservation messages to new audiences.

For the first time, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is monitoring the world’s plants and animals using the IUCN Red List Index.

The Jadran has left its port of departure, and is now sailing to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.  

Julia Marton-Lefèvre, directora general de UICN, y Grethel Aguilar, directora Regional de UICN Mesoamérica, anunciaron la incorporación del Gobierno de México como Estado Miembro de la UICN.

Japan, which is due to host the 10th UN Biodiversity Conference in 2010, has signed the Countdown 2010 Declaration to halt or reduce the loss of biodiversity. The move came while ministers from Asia gathered at the Eco-Asia Summit in Japan.

A new book, Transition to Sustainability: Towards a Humane and Diverse World, by William M. Adams and Sally J. Jeanrenaud, has been launched by IUCN today. The world is facing unprecedented challenges from climate change, continuing loss of biodiversity, and the end of the era of cheap oil, according to the book.

Hotspots, a film by Michael Tobias, was shown for the first time in Europe at IUCN on Friday, September 5.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has joined forces with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) for its World Conservation Congress, the world’s largest ever conservation event.

The most comprehensive update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ will be unveiled at IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in Barcelona on Monday, October 6, 2008.

A Rwandan conservationist who helped turn mountain gorilla poachers into tourism guides has been given an award by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the International Ranger Federation.

Mangrove ecosystems are under threat from climate change. Initial research led by IUCN and three leading universities shows that most mangrove sediment surface levels are not keeping pace with sea-level rise.  The greatest impact will be on those mangroves where there is limited area for landward migration.

Five highly resourceful and innovative local entrepreneurial partnerships which can contribute to the Millennium Development Goals were today celebrated as the SEED Initiative announced its 2008 SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development.

The ardvaark was one of the first, but other species of bird and animal have since returned to a once bare and desolate corner of Tigray in northern Ethiopia.

IUCN has teamed up with the African Development Bank to work together on conservation and sustainable development projects.

Reuters Foundation and IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announce today the regional winners of the 2008 Reuters-IUCN Media Awards for Excellence in Environmental Reporting, who will vie for the global prize of US$5,000.

Some large whale species, including the humpback, are now less threatened with extinction, according to the cetacean update of the 2008 IUCN Red List. Most small coastal and freshwater cetaceans, however, are moving closer to extinction.

Mankind’s closest relatives – the world’s monkeys, apes and other primates – are disappearing from the face of the Earth, with some being literally eaten to extinction.

Seagrass meadows are essential to commercial species such as prawns