Sub-Committees are established by the SSC Chair, in consultation with the SSC Steering Committee, to govern a specific portion of the SSC network or SSC's activities.
Currently there are six SSC Sub-Committees:
The Biodiversity Assessments Sub-Committee (BASC)
The BASC oversees and guides the work of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) on biodiversity assessments. This includes responsibility for the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM and advising on the functioning of the Species Information Service (SIS). The BASC, amongst other things, sets the standards of scientific quality for the SSC’s work on biodiversity assessments, developes guidelines on the application of these standards, ensures that evaluations of petitions against the listing of particular taxa on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM are carried out professionally and impartially, and builds collaboration with other organizations working on biodiversity assessments. The BASC delegates detailed technical work to working groups and temporary task forces, as needed. Current Working Groups include the The Standards and Petitions Working Group, The National Red List Working Group, and others
The Biodiversity Indicators Sub-Committee (BISC)
The BISC oversees and guides the work of the SSC on biodiversity indicators. The context for the work is the growing interest in monitoring the state of the world’s biodiversity, especially progress towards attainment of the CBD’s 2010 Biodiversity target and the Millennium Development Goal 7. The network of experts, the products and analyses that SSC undertakes, and the profile of IUCN SSC will enable us to gather, organise and deliver information of importance and relevance. The BISC has the general goal to link SSC’s work with external users of biodiversity information.
The Sustainable Use Sub-Committee (SUSC)
Sustainable use now has a history in IUCN stretching over twenty years. However, while the language of sustainable use appears to be spreading rapidly, its meaning is ever less clear, and it remains a controversial concept in many quarters. The SUSC was established to explore current issues surrounding sustainable use, develop ideas on the direction and priorities for action of the SSC in terms of sustainable use issues and advise the SSC Steering Committee on these matters. The Sub-Committee also provides advice to the SSC’s Sustainable Use Specialist Group with regard to monitoring progress on and modifying, as necessary, its contributions to the stated objectives of the SSC
The Marine Conservation Sub-Committee (MCSC)
The MCSC aims to ensure that decisions taken by policy-makers and resource managers on the management of marine resources are based on sound and scientific knowledge. SSC has been involved for decades in efforts to assess the threatened status of marine species and understand the factors that make them vulnerable to extinction, or are causing them to decline. The Marine project emerged in 2003 from a scientific steering group involving SSC’s Marine Specialist Groups and partner organizations. The basis of the project is to use and promote science to "shatter the myths" - that underlie the inadequate management and conservation of marine species and their habitats and change management practices. Together, the SSC MCSC, the SSC Marine Specialist Groups, the IUCN Marine Programme and several organizations such as WWF through its Endangered Seas Programme, The Ocean Conservancy, and Conservation International are involved in marine conservation and are helping raise awareness of the problems faced by the oceans and their inhabitants.
The Plant Conservation Sub-Committee (PCSC)
The PCSC leads IUCN's efforts in stemming the loss of global plant diversity through its wide-ranging network of plant conservationists. The PCSC is responsible for advising and assisting the on the overall prioritisation and programme oversight within the SSC to deliver on its plant conservation responsibilities. The PCSC works to support and facilitate the activities of the SSC Chair, the IUCN Species Programme, and the expert volunteer network of specialist groups, task forces and others, providing overall strategic guidance and direction in accordance with the mandate of SSC.
The Invertebrate Conservation Sub-Committee (ICSC)
The ICSC was established in 2005 to tackle the enormous challenge of how to manage conservation action for the most speciose taxonomic grouping on Earth. The ICSC’s responsibilities are the implementation of invertebrate conservation priorities with respect to the SSC’s Mandate and agreed contributions to the IUCN Intersessional Programmes. As such, the SSC ICSC advises the SSC Chair and Steering Committee on implementation of the agreed priorities, identifies other emerging issues of concern for invertebrate conservation and seeks out new and relevant partnerships for invertebrate conservation. The ICSC has worked hard to create an appropriate structure within the SSC network of Specialist Groups in order to achieve these objectives.
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