International Union for the Conservation of Nature

The mission of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature is to help find solutions to environmental and development challenges. Of the eight Arctic nations, only the United States and Russia have International Union for the Conservation of Nature offices.  However, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has a wide knowledge base on conservation matters: for instance, it maintains a red list of threatened species and publications on the assessment and monitoring of ecosystems. The International Council of Environmental Law is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Linda Nowlan, a scholar with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, published a comprehensive 2001 review that discusses the “Arctic Legal Regime for Environmental Protection.” This paper explores the environmental regime system in place in the Arctic in 2001 as well as the potential for negotiating a sustainability treaty for the Arctic. With the rapid pace of change in the Arctic, works such as Nowlan’s report are necessary to maintain the integrity of available information about Arctic environmental regimes. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature can be one important source of information on best conservation practices as Arctic governments look to manage development in the region in a sustainable fashion.