Question

What is the official name of IUCN?
A. World Wide Fund for Nature.
B. World Conservation Union.
C. United Nations Environment Programme.
D. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Answer 1

Hint: IUCN is an international organization that is working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. This organization is involved in various areas like data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education.

Complete answer: IUCN stands for “International Union for Conservation of Nature”. It is a membership Union that is composed of both government and civil society organisations. IUCN harnesses the experience, resources and reaches more than 1,400 members and governmental and non-governmental organisations along with the input of more than 17,000 experts. The diversity and vast expertise make IUCN the global authority on the status of the natural world and measures needed to safeguard it. Over the past decades, IUCN has spread its focus beyond conservation ecology and to the incorporation of issues related to sustainable development. IUCN, itself does not aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It generally tries to influence the actions of governments, businesses and other stakeholders by providing the information and relevant advice and building through partnerships.

Additional Information:
IUCN was established on 5 October 1948 in Fontainebleau, France. The representatives of governments and conservation organizations headed by UNESCO signed a formal act that constituted the International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUPN). The initiative to set up a new organisation aroused from UNESCO and specifically from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley. At the time of its establishment, IUPN was the only international organisation that focused on the entire spectrum of nature conservation.

Note: IUCN works on different themes including business, climate change, environmental law, forest conservation, economics, ecosystems, gender, protected areas, science and knowledge, social policy, global policy, marine and polar, species, and water and world heritage. IUCN generally works based on four-year programs which are determined by the membership. IUCN takes into account the knowledge held by indigenous groups and other traditional users of natural resources and states that it aims to have a solid factual base for its work.