Le Prix Solaire suisse 2010 distingue l’intégration d’une installation photovoltaïque réalisée par Romande Energie sur le nouveau bâtiment de l’Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature, l’UICN, exemplaire en termes d’efficience énergétique.

Twenty-one per cent of freshwater species in continental Africa are threatened with extinction, putting the livelihoods of millions of people at risk. With so much to lose, inland waters must be managed not just for their supply of freshwater but also to sustain the abundant life within.

Growing populations in towns and cities worldwide mean that more pressure is placed on our natural water supplies. Protecting water resources upstream must become a priority to ensure that people living in towns and cities downstream have access to clean water for their basic needs.

Growing threats to Euroasian steppes such as climate change, land-use change, overgrazing, hunting and mining will be the focus of an international conference organized by IUCN from 9 to 12 September in the Hustai National Park in Mongolia. The meeting will be attended by experts on natural grasslands but also by politicians and people that rely on steppes in their everyday lives, such as pastoralists.

Energy company Shell and sugar giant Cosan have announced a partnership to produce biofuels from Brazilian sugarcane. IUCN will work through its partnership with Shell to ensure that the impact of these operations on local communities and nature are minimised.

The Government of the Kingdom of Tonga has officially announced its decision to join IUCN by endorsing the Union’s Statutes, becoming the 84th State Member of the world’s largest and oldest environmental network. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has been designated by the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga as its liaison with the IUCN Secretariat.

IUCN has congratulated the Australian government on its decision to include the Koongarra project area which covers substantial uranium deposits, into Kakadu National Park and World Heritage site, prohibiting any future mining activity in this area.

Teams of scientists around the world have launched an unprecedented search in the hope of rediscovering 100 species of "lost" amphibians – animals considered potentially extinct but that may be holding on in a few remote places – Conservation International and the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group announced today.

IUCN Director General, Julia Marton-Lefevre, has accepted the role of ambassador for a major art installation called “Ghost Forest”, by British artist Angela Palmer.

Six new natural sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 34th World Heritage Committee meeting which closed in Brasilia last night. The Committee also updated its List of World Heritage in Danger.

IUCN has opened a new office in Brazil, to be located in the federal capital Brasilia. Establishing a permanent institutional presence in a country that offers great opportunities and challenges in the social and environmental fields was considered essential, and IUCN’s Brasilia office will address the need to effectively and efficiently implement the IUCN programme in South America.

Following IUCN’s recommendations, the landscapes of France’s La Reunion Island, Russia’s Siberian Putorana Plateau and the Phoenix Islands Protected Areas of Kiribati have been added to the List of Natural World Heritage sites by UNESCO. The Committee also decided to add Danxia (China) to the List.

The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka and Papahānaumokuākea in Hawai’i were added to the list of World Heritage sites by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, currently meeting in Brasilia. The Committee continues its consideration of natural sites for inscription.

On 26 July 2010 Achille Vilavu was killed whilst protecting the gorillas of Mount Tshiaberimu against a Mai Mai militia attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Achille is just one of a long line of rangers who have given their lives for conservation worldwide.

Following the recommendations of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), important rainforest areas in Madagascar and the Everglades National Park (USA) have been added to the List of World Heritage in Danger at the World Heritage annual meeting, currently taking place in Brasilia.

The Pitons Management Area in Saint Lucia will remain off the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. IUCN welcomes the decision following new information from the Saint Lucia government that a moratorium on all new and unapproved development has been approved.

The World Heritage Committee decided to remove the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) from the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger, despite IUCN´s recommendation to the contrary.

Deserts are not just arid, inhospitable places, they are unique and fragile environments and surprisingly full of life. But only a few deserts are World Heritage Sites, despite them covering one third of the earth’s land surface, says IUCN.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee opened its annual meeting today in Brasilia. The Committee will add new outstanding natural and cultural places to the list of World Heritage sites. IUCN plays a key role in the meeting as the advisory body assessing natural sites and recommending new nominations to the World Heritage list. 

A deal to set a standard for sustainable practices within the aluminium industry, from bauxite mining to recycling coffee capsules, has been signed between leading coffee company Nespresso and IUCN. It’s hoped that the agreement will encourage others in the alumiunium supply and demand chain to consider sustainable practices which, in particular, safeguard biodiversity.