IUCN - The World Conversation Union

One of the foundations of any science is a common nomenclature that practitioners can use to describe the problems they are facing and the solutions they are using in a mutually intelligible way. For example, if one project team faces the threat of "cattle" and another "grazing" and yet another "beef production" they may not realize that they are all really dealing with the same issue. As a result, it cross-project learning is difficult and the ability to meaningfully roll-up information across projects is greatly hampered.

IUCN and the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP) have come together to create standard classifications of direct threats that conservationists encounter and of the conservation actions that they can take to counter these threats. Click on the following links to obtain the overviews and classifications for both direct threats and conservation actions.

• Classification of Direct Threats
  • Overview Web Page
  • Classification Web Page
  • Download: PDF of Overview and Classification (457 KB)
• Classification of Conservation Actions
  • Overview Web Page
  • Classification Web Page
  • Download: PDF of Overview and Classification (324 KB)

These unified classifications replace earlier versions of the IUCN Red List Authority files and the CMP taxonomies. You can use the above links to download the classifications and to provide comments and feedback.

These classifications are intended to:

1. Help practitioners figure out what is going on at their site. A project team can scan these classifications and see if they recognize any threats that they may be overlooking in their analysis of the conditions at their site, or get any ideas for actions that they might take.
2. Facilitate cross-project learning and the development of a science of conservation. A common classification of conservation direct threats enables practitioners to search a database of conservation projects and find projects facing similar threats or using similar actions and (hopefully) to learn from their experiences.
3. Create general summaries or “roll-ups” for broader organizational purposes and/or use by senior managers, fundraisers, and external affairs staff. Summaries can tally the frequency of threats or actions across projects at various organizational scales or be combined with other information for more detailed summaries.