Our monthly focus takes an in-depth look at how IUCN turns conservation policy into a conservation reality, supporting people’s livelihoods and saving nature. Some months focus on IUCN's involvement in key international meetings such as on climate change or biodiversity, others highlight IUCN's efforts on a particular issue such as ocean conservation. In each focus section you'll find a range of material from audio and video interviews to expert opinion articles and stories about concrete conservation action.
Shaking things up at Rio
May - June 2012. It’s time to get serious about sustainability. As preparations gear up for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, IUCN is calling for far greater progress towards a cleaner, fairer and more prosperous world.
Nature for all
April 2012. Nature concerns all of us. It’s the common denominator between us. We all depend on nature and benefit from it in so many ways. The problem is, these benefits are not shared equally because of various political, geographic, social and economic reasons.
Wet and wild
March 2012. To coincide with the 6th World Water Forum that takes place in France this month, we’re taking a look at IUCN’s efforts to help secure the world’s fresh water supplies and improve access to clean water.
Naturally Europe
February 2012. For the people of Europe, struggling through another cold winter, it’s time to fall in love again! Walks along the Seine, bird watching along the coast of the Waddenzee, skiing in the Alps…from Portugal to Russia, Europe is home to some of the world’s most iconic romantic settings. And this is thanks to a rich natural heritage.
Biodiversity up front
January 2012. This month we take a look at the first of the three themes of the IUCN Congress 2012—the challenges that delegates from all walks of life will come together in Jeju, South Korea to find solutions to.
Climate change
December 2011. While the world bemoans the lack of political commitment to tackle climate change, IUCN experts are working day and night to ensure that natural solutions are part of the international response to this growing threat.
Celebrating forests
November 2011. As we come to the end of 2011—the International Year of Forests—we look at what’s been achieved in securing the enormous, irreplaceable contribution that the world’s forests make to the survival of biodiversity and human society.
Saving our Drylands
October 2011. This month’s Focus exposes the real value of drylands and IUCN’s efforts to save them. With the biennial meeting of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) taking place 10 to 21 October in the Republic of Korea, IUCN will be promoting solutions that simultaneously conserve the extraordinary biodiversity found in drylands and improve the lives of the people living in them.
Let's do it!
September 2011. One year from now, leaders from government, UN agencies, business, industry and civil society organizations will come together in the Republic of Korea to debate and decide on solutions to the world’s most pressing environment and development challenges.
From Karakorum to Kalimantan
August 2011. Asia is a land full of natural and cultural wonders. But the region, its people and its nature, face critical challenges, including poverty, water shortages and the disastrous threats posed by climate change.
From Beirut to Bahrain
July 2011. Few regions are as diverse and fascinating as West Asia, the convergence point of Mediterranean, Persian and Arabic civilizations. Spanning Mediterranean forests, deserts, mountains, mangroves and coral reefs, this region has it all ecologically but is undergoing some profound environmental changes.
Simply the best?
Our June Focus takes a look behind the scenes at efforts underway to save the planet’s iconic natural and cultural sites.
Ocean commotion
May 2011. It’s a challenging time for our oceans and seas. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant are stark reminders of the serious threats facing the marine world that have escalated sharply in recent decades.
Natural born heroes
April 2011. Our April focus highlights the compelling stories of some of conservation’s unsung heroes in their efforts to save the natural world
IUCN at work in South America
1 March 2011. From towering waterfalls to mighty mountains, lush rainforests to harsh deserts, South America is a land of contrasts and a land of extremes. It is home to the world's highest waterfall—Angel Falls in Venezuela, the longest mountain range—the Andes, the driest place on earth—the Atacama Desert and the largest rainforest—the Amazon Rainforest.
IUCN celebrates the International Year of Forests
January 2011. Join us in celebrating all that’s wonderful about the world’s forests—our jungles, woods and mangroves—and what they mean for the well-being of people and the planet.
