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About UsThe Species Monitoring Specialist Group is a voluntary network of experts from around the world who have come together to enhance conservation by improving the flow of species data from collection point to decision-maker. We include specialists on different species and taxa, specialists on different monitoring techniques and issues, and specialists on different types of data use.
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Who We Are
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The IUCN Species Survival Commission
The Species Monitoring Specialist Group is a disciplinary specialist group within the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC). The SSC is a science-based network of more than 10,000 volunteer experts from almost every country of the world, all working together towards achieving the vision of, "A just world that values and conserves nature through positive action to reduce the loss of diversity of life on earth". Most members are deployed in more than 140 Specialist Groups, Red List Authorities, Task Forces and Sub-Committees. Some groups address conservation issues related to particular groups of plants, fungi or animals while others focus on topical issues, such as reintroduction of species into former habitats or wildlife health. Members include:
Working in close association with IUCN’s Global Species Programme, SSC’s major role is to provide information to IUCN on biodiversity conservation, the inherent value of species, their role in ecosystem health and functioning, the provision of ecosystem services, and their support to human livelihoods. This information is fed into The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. SSC members also provide scientific advice to conservation organizations, government agencies and other IUCN members, and support the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). The Policies, Guidelines & Standards produced by the SSC provide guidance to specialized conservation projects and initiatives, such as re-introducing animals into their former ranges, handling confiscated specimens, and halting the spread of invasive species. The IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group The IUCN SSC is the logical and most appropriate institutional home for a group dedicated to making a concerted push to improve biodiversity monitoring. For example, IUCN:
Membership is drawn from experts on an array of key monitoring issues such as methods, tools, databases, indicators, applications, capacity building and data use. It is vital that the membership includes data users as well as technical experts so as to ground the Group’s outputs in reality and the needs of decision-makers. The Group also strives to reflect a suitable diversity of institution types (governmental, intergovernmental, academia, civil society, donors, MEA secretariats), geographies, taxa and biomes, as well as being gender balanced. We need monitoring generalists and taxonomic specialists. Recruitment of members is ongoing. |
Our Partners
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The Group is a formal Data User partner of the Biodiversity
Indicators Partnership The Group also works very closely with a range of other organisations, networks and consortia, including (but not limited to):
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