Work of IUCN

 

Some key dates in the growth and development of IUCN:

1948: International Union for the Preservation of Nature (IUPN) established
1956: Name changed to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
1959: UNESCO decides to create an international list of Nature Parks and equivalent reserves, and the United Nations Secretary General asks the IUCN to prepare this list
1961: The World Wildlife Fund set up as a complimentary organisation to focus on fund raising, public relations, and increasing public support for nature conservation
1969: IUCN obtains a grant from the Ford Foundation which enables it to boost its international secretariat.
1972: UNESCO adopts the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the IUCN is invited to provide technical evaluations and monitoring
1974: IUCN is involved in obtaining the agreement of its members to sign a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), whose secretariat was originally lodged with the IUCN
1975: The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) comes into force, and its secretariat is administered from the IUCN's headquarters
1980: IUCN (together with the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wide Fund for Nature) collaborate with UNESCO to publish a World Conservation Strategy
1982: Following IUCN preparation and efforts, the United Nations General Assembly adopts the World Charter for Nature
1990: Began using the name World Conservation Union as the official name, while continuing using IUCN as its abbreviation.
1991: IUCN (together with United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wide Fund for Nature) publishes Caring for the Earth
2001: Establishment of the IUCN Business and Biodiversity Program
2008: Stopped using World Conservation Union as its official name and reverted its name back to International Union for Conservation of Nature
2012: IUCN publishes list of The world's 100 most threatened species.