IUCN

Also called: International Union for Conservation of Nature · Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 14 "Biodiversity and Conservation"

Meaning

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is a world body that studies nature and advises on how to protect it. It was founded in 1948 at Fontainebleau (France), its headquarters is at Gland, Switzerland, and its members include states, government agencies and NGOs (non-government organisations).

It matters because its Red List of Threatened Species is the world's main guide to how close each species is to extinction (when the last member of a species dies). It also advises on protected areas and on natural World Heritage Sites.

Explanation

What IUCN is and what it does

• A mixed union: states, government agencies and NGOs are all members of one body. This mix is unusual.
• It is not a UN body.

• India has been a state member since 1969.

• Older name: NCERT Class 11 calls it the "International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources". That is its old name. The short name is still IUCN.

• Main jobs:
• It runs the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which began in 1964.
• It advises on protected areas (national parks, sanctuaries and similar areas).
• It advises UNESCO on natural World Heritage Sites.

• It holds the World Conservation Congress, its top meeting.

• World Conservation Congress 2025:

• It was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on 9–15 October 2025. This was the first Congress in the UAE [3][4].
• More than 10,000 people attended, on site and online [3][4].
• Members adopted 148 Resolutions and the Abu Dhabi Action Plan, which has five areas for action [3][4]:
  • nature as the base of well-being
  • stronger multilateralism (countries working together)
  • justice and inclusion
  • knowledge and innovation
  • more money for nature and climate
• It hosted the first World Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nature. IUCN also adopted its first policy on synthetic biology (making or changing living things in a lab) in relation to nature conservation [4].
• Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak was re-elected IUCN President for a second term [3].
• Six new state members joined: Armenia, Tajikistan, Marshall Islands, Gabon, Tuvalu and Zimbabwe [3].

The Red List and its categories

• Red List: a world list that gives each species a conservation status, which shows how close it is to extinction.
• Latest size (update of 10 October 2025): 172,620 species assessed. Of these, 48,646 are threatened with extinction [2].
• Old NCERT scheme (used by IUCN before 1994): it had three groups.
• Endangered: in danger of extinction. Examples: red panda, Bengal tiger, Asian elephant.
• Vulnerable: numbers have fallen sharply, and the species will likely become endangered if the threats go on. Examples: snow leopard, one-horned rhinoceros.

• Rare: very small populations, living in a small area or thinly spread over a wide one. "Rare" is no longer an IUCN category. A rare species may be naturally small in number but stable.

• Current scheme (Categories and Criteria, version 3.1):

• It was approved by the 51st meeting of the IUCN Council at Gland on 9 February 2000. A second edition came out in 2012 [5].
• The categories, from highest risk to lowest [5]:

Category	Code	Meaning
Extinct	EX	No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died
Extinct in the Wild	EW	Lives only in captivity, in cultivation, or as a population far outside its old range
Critically Endangered	CR	Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Endangered	EN	Very high risk
Vulnerable	VU	High risk
Near Threatened	NT	Not threatened now, but close to qualifying soon
Least Concern	LC	Widespread and common
Data Deficient	DD	Not enough data to judge. Not a threat category
Not Evaluated	NE	Not yet checked

• Threatened = CR + EN + VU only. NT, LC, DD and NE are not "threatened".

How a species' status is decided: criteria A–E

• A species is placed in CR, EN or VU if it meets any one of five criteria [5]:
• A: the population is falling. The fall is measured over 10 years or 3 generations, whichever is longer.
• B: the range is small. It is measured as extent of occurrence (EOO: the area inside a line drawn around all known sites) or area of occupancy (AOO: the area the species actually uses).
• C: the population is small and still falling.
• D: the population is very small or found in very few places.

• E: a mathematical model shows the extinction probability (the chance it will die out).

• Key limits [5]:

Criterion	CR	EN	VU
A2: population fall	≥ 80%	≥ 50%	≥ 30%
B1: extent of occurrence	< 100 km²	< 5,000 km²	< 20,000 km²
C: mature individuals, still declining	< 250	< 2,500	< 10,000
D: mature individuals	< 50	< 250	< 1,000
E: chance of extinction	≥ 50% in 10 yrs / 3 generations	≥ 20% in 20 yrs / 5 generations	≥ 10% in 100 yrs

• Mature individuals: adults that can breed. Young animals are not counted.

Recent changes in status (October 2025 update)

• Hooded seal (Arctic): moved from Vulnerable to Endangered. The cause is sea ice lost to global warming [2].
• Bearded seal and harp seal (Arctic): moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. These seals need ice to breed, raise pups, moult and rest [2].
• Green sea turtle (global): moved from Endangered to Least Concern. Thanks to conservation, its numbers have risen about 28% since the 1970s [2].
• Birds: of 11,185 species assessed, 1,256 are threatened (11.5%). 61% of species are declining, up from 44% in 2016. The main cause is habitat loss from farming and logging [2].

Where it occurs

• Founded: Fontainebleau, France (1948). Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland.
• Global events: World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi, UAE [3][4]. Panama will host the World Protected and Conserved Areas Congress in September 2027 [3].
• World Heritage: IUCN advises UNESCO on natural sites. 43% of natural World Heritage sites are threatened by climate change [3].
• Indian species on the Red List:
• Critically Endangered:
  • Gharial: Chambal river (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh)
  • Great Indian Bustard: grasslands of Rajasthan and Gujarat
  • White-rumped and long-billed vultures: across the plains of India
  • Pygmy hog: tall grasslands of Assam (Manas area)
• Endangered:
  • Red panda: eastern Himalaya (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling)
  • Gangetic river dolphin: Ganga–Brahmaputra rivers
  • Asiatic lion: Gir, Gujarat
  • Lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri tahr: Western Ghats
  • Bengal tiger and Asian elephant: forests across India
• Vulnerable:
  • Snow leopard: Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim
  • One-horned rhinoceros: Kaziranga (Assam)
  • Dugong: Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Andaman and Nicobar
  • Olive ridley turtle: mass nesting on the Odisha coast

Don't confuse with

• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 schedules: these are India's legal lists, and Schedule I gives the highest protection. The Red List is a global science list with no legal force in India. A species in Schedule I may be only Vulnerable, or even Least Concern, on the Red List.
• "Rare" (old NCERT category): this was used before 1994. It is not part of version 3.1. Rare does not always mean threatened.
• Near Threatened / Data Deficient: these sound worrying, but they are not threat categories. Only CR, EN and VU count as "threatened" [5].
• UN bodies such as UNESCO: IUCN is not a UN body. It only advises UNESCO on natural World Heritage Sites.

Prelims Hooks

• IUCN: founded 1948 at Fontainebleau. Headquarters at Gland, Switzerland. India has been a state member since 1969. The Red List began in 1964.
• The Red List update of 10 October 2025 assessed 172,620 species, of which 48,646 are threatened [2].
• Order of risk: EX > EW > CR > EN > VU > NT > LC. DD and NE sit outside this ranking.
• Critically Endangered limits: fewer than 50 mature individuals (criterion D), or extent of occurrence under 100 km² (criterion B1) [5].
• The green sea turtle moved from EN to LC, and the hooded seal moved from VU to EN (2025) [2].
• Matching pairs: Great Indian Bustard – CR – Rajasthan/Gujarat. Pygmy hog – CR – Assam. Red panda – EN – eastern Himalaya. Olive ridley – VU – Odisha coast.

Mains Points

• Why Indian species become threatened (GS-III):
• Grasslands are treated as "wasteland" and turned into farms, solar parks and power lines. Great Indian Bustards die when they hit power lines, and the pygmy hog loses its habitat.
• Dams and pollution harm the gharial and the Gangetic dolphin.

• Vultures were poisoned by diclofenac (a cattle painkiller) when they ate dead cattle.

• Linking the science list with the legal list:

• The Red List uses measurable tests: population fall, range, size and extinction chance.
• The Wildlife Act schedules follow legal priorities.

• Linking the two would help India send money and action to the species most at risk.

• Conservation works, but climate is a new threat:

• The green turtle's recovery to Least Concern shows that long-term protection works [2]. Rhinos in Kaziranga and lions in Gir also recovered from very small numbers.
• Loss of Arctic sea ice is pushing seals towards extinction [2]. Climate change threatens 43% of natural World Heritage sites [3]. Himalayan species such as the snow leopard and the red panda face similar pressure as their habitats move uphill.

Related concepts

• IUCN Red List
• Threatened species
• Endangered species
• Vulnerable species
• Rare species

Read more

• Threatened species: IUCN and the Red List