Official IUCN publications

The dominant model for agricultural development has not adequately considered environmental and social externalities, leading to their insufficient integration into decision-making processes that shape agriculture and food systems. There is a critical need for comprehensive regulation of the agricultural sector to design and implement concrete transition pathways towards more sustainable agriculture and food systems at various scales,

This paper presents nature-based education (NbE) as a critical solution, positioning nature at the heart of learning to foster a deep recognition of the interconnectedness between humanity and the natural world. NbE is integrated by diverse strategies such as environmental education, Indigenous knowledge and experiential learning to cultivate a profound sense of belonging, responsibility and active stewardship towards nature.

This publication focuses on ecosystem governance in the context of urban-rural linkages, analysing nine case studies to develop principles for ecosystem governance. Ecosystem governance utilises the ecosystem approach, adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity, which emphasises the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the importance of integrated management for the analysis of the case studies.

Since publication of the 2015 Great Ape Health Guidelines, great ape tourism has continued to gain in popularity, and landscape conversion continues on a steep trajectory. In addition, there has been a tremendous amount of new scientific research on pathogens that infect wild great apes. Furthermore, the world experienced epidemics of Ebola (in West Africa from 2014–2016 and in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 2018–2020) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023).

This report, Biodiversity and agriculture in the Mediterranean region: A species conservation perspective, is designed to inform policymakers, conservation practitioners, and stakeholders across the Mediterranean region. Its purpose is to highlight the current challenges posed to biodiversity by intensive agricultural pressures, while identifying solutions and opportunities to reconcile biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture.