IUCN SSC SPECIES MONITORING SPECIALIST GROUP
Biodiversity data for conservation
The 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.

Who We Are
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:
  • researchers
  • government officials
  • wildlife veterinarians
  • zoo and botanical institute employees
  • marine biologists
  • protected area managers
  • experts on plants, birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates.
 
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:
  • Leads the development and roll out of a series of knowledge products that collect and store and use species data, especially the Red List of Threatened Species, Protected Planet and Key Biodiversity Areas
  • Co-leads the Eye on Earth Alliance set up to encourage key actors to convene, converge and collaborate on data collection and sharing
  • Co-ordinates, through the SSC, the largest body of conservation biologists, all of whom have an interest in at least some aspects of species monitoring and data management
  • Actively collaborates with key global players as a member of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership
  • Publishes scientific papers to advance data use and species monitoring.

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):
  • IUCN Commissions, Secretariat and offices (especially science and species and protected areas staff)
  • IUCN SSC specialist groups and subcommittees, especially the Species Conservation Planning SC
  • MEA Secretariats, especially CBD, CMS and Ramsar
  • Species conservation funds, especially the IUCN Save Our Species (SOS) Programme
  • Conservation Measures Partnership
  • Organizations and networks with existing initiatives, tools and databases of relevance, such as (but not restricted to) Birdlife International, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Group on Earth Observations - Biodiversity Observation Network, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, NatureServe, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Wetlands International, Zoological Society of London, etc. etc.
  • Eye on Earth Alliance partners (Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, GEO – Group of Earth Observations, UNEP, World Resources Institute) and relevant Eye on Earth specialist interest groups and special initiatives
  • Governments keen to enhance data use in decision-making and to improve reporting against Sustainable Development Goals and MEAs
  • Managers of key conservation sites (e.g. protected areas, Key Biodiversity Areas, Ramsar sites, World Heritage sites, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites)
  • Academic institutions conducting biodiversity research
  • Businesses keen to enhance their sustainability and reduce their ecological footprint.