A brief introduction to some of the most important international agencies involved in conservation and management of wildlife.

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INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES INVOLVED IN
CONSERVATION & MANAGEMENT OF WILDLIFE
Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats to prevent species
from going extinct. Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction and fragmentation,
overexploitation, poaching, pollution, and climate change.
The IUCN estimates that 27,000 species of the ones assessed are at risk for extinction. Expanding
to all existing species, a 2019 UN report on biodiversity put this estimate even higher at a million
species. It's also being acknowledged that an increasing number of ecosystems on Earth containing
endangered species are disappearing.
To address these issues, there have been both national and international governmental efforts to
preserve Earth's wildlife. Prominent conservation agreements include the 1973 Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the 1992
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). There are also numerous nongovernmental
organizations (NGO's) dedicated to conservation such as the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife
Fund, and Conservation International.
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources) is an international organization working in the field of
nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. IUCN
was established in 1948. It was previously called the International
Union for the Protection of Nature (1948–1956) and the World
Conservation Union (1990–2008). It is involved in data gathering and
analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to:
“Influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to
ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable”.
Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now
incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. IUCN does not aim to

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mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of
governments, businesses, and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through
building partnerships. The organization is best known to the wider public for compiling and
publishing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of
species worldwide.
IUCN has a membership of over 1400 governmental and non-governmental organizations. IUCN
has observer and consultative status at the United Nations and plays a role in the implementation
of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity.
IUCN Red List: The (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species
(also known as the (IUCN) Red List or Red Data List), founded
in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the
global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of
criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species
and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all
regions of the world. It is recognized as the most authoritative
guide to the status of biological diversity.
A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk
of extinction to species within a political management unit. The goals of the Red List are to provide
scientifically-based information on the status of species and subspecies at a global level, to draw
attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity, to influence national and
international policy and decision-making, and to provide information to guide actions to conserve
biological diversity. The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every five
years if possible, or at least every ten years. The number of species included on the Red List has
been increasing over time.
CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED
SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,
also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants
and animals. It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of

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the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The convention was opened for
signature in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975.
Figure 1: CITES aims to stop illegal wildlife trade.
It aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of
wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the
species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of
protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and
plants. To ensure that the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) was not violated, the Secretariat of GATT
was consulted during the drafting process. Roughly 5,000
species of animals and 29,000 species of plants are
protected by CITES against over-exploitation through
international trade. Each protected species or population is included in one of three lists, called
appendices. The Appendix that lists a species or population reflects the extent of the threat to it
and the controls that apply to the trade. There are three appendices in total: I, II, and III. The first
one is for categorizing species that are under severe threat, while the last one is for those which
are under minimal threat.

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CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity
Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals including the
conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its components; and
the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. In other words, its
objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity.
The Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992
and entered into force on 29 December 1993. CBD has two supplementary agreements: Cartagena
Protocol and Nagoya Protocol.
Cartagena Protocol: The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological
Diversity is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs)
resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another. It was adopted on 29 January
2000 as a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity and entered into
force on 11 September 2003.
Nagoya Protocol: The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and
Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It
provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three
objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of
genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol on ABS was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya,
Japan, and entered into force on 12 October 2014, 90 days after the deposit of the fiftieth
instrument of ratification. Its objective is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the

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utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a charitable environmental
organization, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United
States. Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy has over one
million members and has protected more than 119,000,000 acres
(48,000,000 ha) of land and thousands of miles of rivers worldwide. The largest environmental
nonprofit by assets and revenue in the Americas, it ranks as one of the most trusted national
organizations.
Figure 2: The Nature Conservancy at the 2017 Capital Pride.

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Projects: The Nature Conservancy's expanding international conservation efforts include work in
North America, Central America, and South America, Africa, the Pacific Rim, the Caribbean, and
Asia. The Nature Conservancy is working to halt deforestation on private lands in and around the
1.8 million acres (7,300 km²) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, along the Guatemala–Mexico border.
The Nature Conservancy's programs in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are working together to
build partnerships and enhance the profile of the conservation needs in the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem by supporting voluntary, private land conservation of important wildlife habitat.
Figure 3: Nature Conservancy of Tennessee's William B. Clark, Sr., Nature Preserve on the Wolf River
at Rossville, Tennessee
In December 2015, The Nature Conservancy announced the finalization of the first-ever debt swap
in Seychelles aimed at ocean conservation. The new protected area increases the country's marine
protected waters from less than 1 percent to more than 30 percent including support for the creation
of the second-largest Marine Protected Area in the Western Indian Ocean.

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CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL
Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization
headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Its mission is to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that
nature provides to humanity, such as food, freshwater, livelihoods, and a stable climate. CI's work
focuses on science, policy, and partnership with businesses, governments, and communities. CI
has helped support 1,200 protected areas and interventions across 77 countries, protecting more
than 601 million hectares of land, marine, and coastal areas.
CI focuses on four strategic priorities: protecting nature for climate; ocean conservation at scale;
promoting nature-based economic development; and innovation in science and finance. CI works
with governments, universities, NGOs, and the private sector to replicate its successes on a larger
scale. By showing how conservation can work at all scales, CI aims to make the protection of
nature a key consideration in economic development decisions around the world.
For example, CI supported 23 Pacific Island nations and territories in the formation of the Pacific
Oceanscape, a framework to conserve and sustainably manage over 15 million square miles of sea
in the South Pacific. In addition to the sustainable management of ocean resources, the agreement
includes the world's largest marine protected areas and sanctuaries for whales, dolphins, turtles,
and sharks.
The organization has been active in United Nations discussions on issues such as climate change
and biodiversity, and its scientists present at international conferences and workshops. On a per-
paper basis, Conservation International’s scientific output research is among the most influential
of any conservation organization in the U.S., and ahead of top research universities and other
NGOs.

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WORLD WILDLIFE FUND (WORLDWIDE FUND FOR NATURE)
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-
governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of
wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the
environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund,
which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.
WWF is the world's largest conservation organization with over five
million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries,
supporting around 3000 conservation and environmental projects.
They have invested over $1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation
initiatives since 1995. WWF is a foundation with 55% of funding from
individuals and bequests, 19% from government sources (such as the
World Bank, DFID, USAID), and 8% from corporations in 2014.
WWF aims to "stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in
which humans live in harmony with nature."
Figure 4: A WWF hot air balloon in Mexico (2013).

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Actions: The Living Planet Report has been published every two years by WWF since 1998; it is
based on a Living Planet Index and ecological footprint calculation. Also, WWF has launched
several notable worldwide campaigns including Earth Hour and Debt-for-Nature Swap, and its
current work is organized around these six areas: food, climate, freshwater, wildlife, forests, and
oceans.
Panda Symbol: WWF's giant panda logo originated from a panda named Chi Chi that had been
transferred from Beijing Zoo to London Zoo in 1958, three years before WWF became established.
Being famous as the only panda residing in the Western world at that time, her uniquely
recognizable physical features and status as an endangered species were seen as ideal to serve the
organization's need for a strong recognizable symbol that would overcome all language barriers.
The organization also needed an animal that would have an impact on black and white printing.
The logo was then designed by Sir Peter Scott from preliminary sketches by Gerald Watterson, a
Scottish naturalist.
Figure 5: Giant Panda.

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Collaboration: WWF's strategy for achieving its mission specifically concentrates on restoring
populations of 36 species (species or species groups that are important for their ecosystem or to
people, including elephants, tunas, whales, dolphins, and porpoises), and ecological footprint in 6
areas (carbon emissions, cropland, grazing land, fishing, forestry, and water).
The organization also works on several global issues driving biodiversity loss and unsustainable
use of natural resources, including finance, business practices, laws, and consumption choices.
Local offices also work on national or regional issues.
WWF works with a large number of different groups to achieve its goals, including other NGOs,
governments, businesses, investment banks, scientists, fishermen, farmers, and local communities.
It also undertakes public campaigns to influence decision-makers and seeks to educate people on
how to live in a more environmentally friendly manner. It urges people to donate funds to protect
the environment. The donors can also choose to receive gifts in return.

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SUMMARY
Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats to prevent species
from going extinct. Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction and fragmentation,
overexploitation, poaching, pollution, and climate change. To address these issues, there have been
both national and international governmental efforts to preserve Earth's wildlife. Prominent
conservation agreements include:
1. International Union for Conservation of Nature
2. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
3. Convention on Biological Diversity
4. The Nature Conservancy
5. Conservation International
6. World Wildlife Fund
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the
field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
The Convention on Biological Diversity, known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a
multilateral treaty. The Nature Conservancy is working to halt deforestation on private lands in
and around the 1.8 million acre Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, along the Guatemala–Mexico
border.
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.
The Nature Conservancy's programs in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are working together to
build partnerships and enhance the profile of the conservation needs in the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem by supporting voluntary, private land conservation of important wildlife habitat.
Conservation International is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in
Arlington, Virginia. Its mission is to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides
to humanity, such as food, freshwater, livelihoods, and a stable climate.
WWF aims to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in
which humans live in harmony with nature.