World Conservation Union (IUCN)

The international union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) was founded in 1948 following an international conference in France (Fontainebleau) under the name International Union for Protection of Nature (IUPN). However, the name was changed to IUCN in 1956. The name was once again changed to World Conservation Union in 1990, but it is still called by its old name and acronym. It is still known as the Union or IUCN. The Union's mission is “to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.”

The World Conservation Union has its headquarter in Gland, Switzerland, and is headed by a director general. ...