UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre is a world leader in biodiversity knowledge. It works with scientists and policy makers worldwide to place biodiversity at the heart of environment and development decision-making to enable enlightened choices for people and the planet.
UNEP-WCMC is the lead organisation for this global project, working together with partners towards sustainable trade in commodities and wild products
The Development Corridors Partnership, led by UNEP-WCMC, is helping countries in East Africa to plan for a sustainable future.
In 2020 a new global biodiversity framework will be agreed to replace the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. UNEP-WCMC is well placed to support govern...
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre is working with the Natural Capital Finance Alliance to build the knowledge base needed by financial institutions to understand their exposure...
Ocean+ Library is an online library that identifies 183 ocean-related resources available globally.
Illegal harvest of timber is a global threat to forests and biodiversity, and has considerable impacts on livelihoods and development. UNEP-WCMC provides support to the European Commission in mo...
Our 100-strong international team are recognised leaders in their field and have unrivalled understanding of the institutional landscape surrounding biodiversity policy and ecosystem management.
Climate Change and Biodiversity
Valerie leads on our work on the impacts of climate change and the role of ecosystems in climate change mitigation and adaptation. In addition to overseeing and managing the work of the large Climate Change and Biodiversity team, her role includes overseeing the development of new projects and ideas, and liaising with counterparts in national governments, and with key collaborators, partners and funders.
Discover more about Valerie Kapos >
Neil’s primary role as Chief Scientist is to develop the scientific work and profile of UNEP-WCMC with external partners interested in the conservation of nature, and the role data and analysis plays in this. He also oversees the work of the Science Programme and its staff, helps to publish leading scientific work at the science-policy interface, mentors staff in scientific delivery and ensures overall quality and scientific credibility of outputs.
Discover more about Neil Burgess >
Ecosystem Assessment and Policy Support
IUCN and UNEP-WCMC collaborate on numerous issues under a Joint Programme Agreement, with many of these themes related to the IUCN Chief Scientist’s responsibilities. These include supporting: the maintenance of the Protected Planet knowledge product (including the Green List); the derivation of indicators of protected area coverage of key biodiversity areas to track progress towards Aichi Target 11 and SDG Targets 14.5, 15.1, and 15.4; and the delivery of the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT).
Discover more about Thomas Brooks >New citizen science project launched which will improve our knowledge of flowering plant diversity in four countries - Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and Turkey.
UNEP-WCMC today announced the launch of a global alumni network, helping former employees to stay connected with the people and ideas shaping conservation today.
Nature is declining around the world at rates unprecedented in human history. This degradation of the fabric of life is leading to grave impacts on people across the planet, warns a landmark new...
60 years ago Dag Hammarskjöld, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, established the first list of national parks and equivalent reserves. That list would grow to become the Wor...
The first large-scale study of the views held by those working to protect the natural world has found agreement on the goals of conservation – but substantial disagreement on how to move t...
A new environmental classification system is the first to fully categorise both the renewable and non-renewable resources that provide benefits to people and the economy.
