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.

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are meeting in Montreal from 10 till 16 July to agree on the details of a new global legal agreement to regulate the provision and use of the world’s genetic resources. The results of these negotiations, to be presented to the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to take place in Nagoya, Japan in October this year, will significantly improve the management of the genetic diversity of our planet contributing to the three objectives of the Convention and - ultimately - to human well-being.

Business leaders in biodiversity-rich developing economies are concerned about losses of ‘natural capital’, a new report highlights.

IUCN and Rio Tinto today entered into a formal collaboration agreement, committing to work together over a three-year period.

In the rush to find new sources of energy and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, offshore wind farms are increasingly seen as an attractive solution, but their potential impact on marine biodiversity should not be overlooked.

Ninety-six per cent of known populations of eastern chimpanzees, that’s an estimated 50,000 individuals, could be protected with a new action plan, which puts stamping out illegal hunting and trafficking as key to saving one of man’s closest relatives. The nations of East and Central Africa have developed a 10-year plan to save the eastern chimpanzee from hunting, habitat loss, disease, the capture of infants for the pet trade and other threats, IUCN and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today.

A 2009 vintage of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris has been dedicated to IUCN in recognition of its work and to mark the International Year of Biodiversity (2010). Julia-Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN, whose headquarters are located near Geneva, received the wine from La Vigne des Nations from Canton Geneva’s official vineyard at a ceremony on 15 June.

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), Thomson Reuters Foundation and COMplus are launching the 2010 Media Awards, a worldwide competition aimed at raising global awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues, by encouraging the highest standards in environmental reporting worldwide.

After a week of intense negotiations, governments have agreed to establish a new mechanism, which will strengthen the dialogue between the scientific community and policymakers on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The so-called 'IPBES' - the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - will be a leading body in making scientifically sound and relevant information available to support more informed decisions on how biodiversity and ecosystem services are conserved and used around the world.

Climate talks in Bonn healed some of the wounds left by the great disappointment of the Copenhagen Climate Summit last December. Following two weeks of talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), there is now renewed hope that the building blocks for a global climate deal can be adopted at the next summit in Cancun, Mexico at the end of 2010, says IUCN.

Climate change is hitting coastal areas hard: rises in sea levels, ocean acidification, extreme events, bleaching and death of coral are all climate impacts which will require adjustments socially and economically. A new IUCN report, published today, provides practical guidance for coastal communities and industries to adapt to climate change.

IUCN and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) have today announced their support for the establishment of an overarching platform to provide independent policy‐relevant information on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Following the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) calls for a global moratorium on oil and gas exploitation in ecologically sensitive areas, including deepwater ocean sites and polar areas.

Gland, Switzerland, 4 June 2010 (IUCN) – IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, inaugurates its new Conservation Centre today, setting a benchmark for sustainable office construction.

Journalists worldwide now have a vital new resource to help their reporting on the world’s biodiversity, what its decline means for humanity, and how it can be tackled.

As part of the newly-formed Water and Climate Coalition, the IUCN Water Programme contributed towards the statement on water and climate change, to be announced during the Climate Change negotiations taking place from 1st – 11th June in Bonn, Germany.

As climate negotiations resume today at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Bonn, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) urges delegates to establish a post-2012 global climate change regime.

Nearly 12,000 Critically Endangered saiga antelopes have been found dead over the last week in the Ural population in western Kazakhstan.