About & how we engage

With more than 8,300 volunteer experts, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) work independently and with the different IUCN Units to build knowledge on the status of species and threats to them and to provide advice, develop policies and guidelines and facilitate conservation planning. Through this work, SSC catalyses conservation action and enables IUCN to influence policy and assist societies in biodiversity conservation.

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The SSC network

Description

176 groups in 186 countries comprise the SSC network, distributed in Red List Authorities, Task Forces, Action Partnerships, Conservation Committees and Specialist Groups.

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Barometer of life

Description

Red List Partnership and SSC network delivered key indicators through the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, up to date, 142,000+ species have been assessed.

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Capacity building

Description

The SSC Chair’s Office is partnered with leading species conservation organisations to leverage the Network capacity and implement further conservation action.

Our work

SSC members provide scientific advice to conservation organisations, government agencies and other IUCN members, and support the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.

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SSC spotlight
IUCN Species Strategic Plan

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The IUCN Species Strategic Plan encompasses the joint work of the Species Survival Commission as well as a number of partnerships. This 2021-2025 IUCN Species Strategic Plan collect high-level goals of the Species Conservation Cycle, and Key Species Results (KSR) determined by the SSC network.

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High-level interventions address conservation issues of serious and urgent concern, through letters to governments or private companies which highlight the threat(s) to species and /or their habitats, using SSC expert advice, proposing suitable action to influence decision-making and therefore helping to avoid or reduce any adverse impacts on biodiversity. 

Reverse the Red

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Committing to REVERSE the current negative trends in THE RED list status of species, Reverse the Red aims to ignite optimism and collaborative action to guarantee the survival of all species we share this planet with, and the ecosystems they live in. 

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SSC leadership

Aimed to support the mission of SSC by empowering and accompanying the network, providing leadership, boosting impact, helping build capacity, keeping efforts on track, and building partnerships.

Jon Paul Rodriguez

Jon Paul Rodríguez

Jon Paul Rodríguez has been working for the conservation of Venezuelan species and ecosystems since he was a biology undergraduate at Universidad Central of Venezuela (UCV) in the late eighties. With ...

Jon Paul Rodríguez has been working for the conservation of Venezuelan species and ecosystems since he was a biology undergraduate at Universidad Central of Venezuela (UCV) in the late eighties. With other students he co-founded Provita in 1987, an NGO that has championed numerous evidence-based projects, including several editions of the Red Book of the Venezuelan Fauna and of the Red Book of Terrestrial Ecosystems of Venezuela. After graduating from UCV in 1991, he went to Princeton University for a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology (1999), and a Certificate on science, technology and environmental policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (2000). He currently Chairs the IUCN Species Survival Commission, is Professor at the Center for Ecology of the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigations (Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas ― IVIC) and continues to be active in Provita as the organization’s President. He defines himself as a biologist that is interested in generating information useful for informing conservation policies, without being a politician. Jon Paul is author in more than 230 publications, including books, chapters, and peer-reviewed articles in major international scientific journals.

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We need more collaboration. We need to bring together the expertise, the political power, the urgency and passion, and the resources. We need ambitious targets to be set by global leaders. We need concerned citizens to push for this. We need to bring everyone in to achieve those targets. 


Rima Jabado

Rima Jabado

She is a scientist and conservationist that has experience as a government official, and director for non-profit organizations. In 2022, Rima was appointed SSC Deputy Chair.

Kira Mileham

Kira Mileham

She is a science communicator focused on species conservation through collaborative partnerships. Currently, Kira is the SSC Director of Strategic Partnerships. 

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Press release
IUCN calls for halt to species decline by 2030

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 11 October 2019 (IUCN) – IUCN has issued an urgent call to massively scale up species conservation action in response to the escalating biodiversity crisis. The Abu Dhabi Call for Global Species Conservation…