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01 September 2025 | dataset

IUCN Green List

The IUCN Green List is a global campaign for successful nature conservation. At its heart is the Green List Sustainability Standard that provides a global benchmark  for how to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century. The IUCN Green List offers locally relevant expert guidance to help achieve fair and effective nature conservation results in protected and conserved areas. It can help guarantee that wildlife and ecosystems can survive, thrive and bring value to communities everywhere.

 

What is a ‘Green Listed’ site?

A protected or conserved area that reaches the IUCN Green List Standard is certified and recognised as achieving ongoing results for people and nature in a fair and effective way. Any site can join, and work its way towards achieving verified success, and then maintain the Standard or further improve .

Any protected and conserved area that gains ‘Green List’ status demonstrates:

  • Respect: for the local community through fair and meaningful engagement of rights-holders and stakeholders
  • Design: planning that identifies the needs to secure  the important values of the area
  • Effective management: monitoring of the status of these important values
  • Successful conservation results: for nature and for people
  • Clear contribution: to climate change responses, health and well-being and other challenges

Measuring success in more than just size

IUCN, along with the United Nations Environment  – World Conservation Monitoring Centre, maintains a global database of protected and conserved areas. This database, accessible through Protected Planet, lists about 261,766 officially recognised protected areas, covering over 15% of the of the earth’s land surface and 7.4% of the world’s oceans. This figure is only the official record; there are many more conserved areas, such as indigenous peoples’ territories and privately conserved wild areas. IUCN is working to identify and recognise  these areas and to bring their achievements into the global community of protected and conserved areas.

Yet, to address the mounting challenges to nature, and achieve a positive foundation for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, we need more than percentages and hectares or acres on a map. We need these conserved  areas to be vital signs of life. We need them to offer hope, regeneration, and good health. We depend on them for clean air, fresh water and rainfall, pollination, and spiritual sanctuary to people all over the world, in urban and in rural communities.

Data and Resource

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IUCN Green List site

Website containing links to the Green List…

Field Value
Publisher Secreteriat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
Modified
Release Date
Source URL https://iucn.org/resources/conservation-tool/iucn-green-list-protected-and-cons…
Identifier e2e68738-0369-403b-ad88-728b38f1853d
Spatial / Geographical Coverage Location Pacific Region, Worldwide
Relevant Countries Pacific Region, Worldwide
License SPREP Public Licence
[Open Data]