IUCN releases new guidance on ecological integrity for biodiversity

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released new guidance aimed at integrating ecological integrity into global biodiversity and climate action policies. The report, produced by several IUCN commissions with support from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, emphasizes that ecological integrity—the degree to which an ecosystem’s species, structure, and processes remain within their natural range of variation—is a unifying principle for conservation and human well-being.

To strengthen global biodiversity goals, the IUCN presented six principles for measuring ecological integrity. These include defining a reference state to track how ecosystems deviate from their natural condition over time and recognizing that ecosystems naturally undergo variations due to seasonal changes, succession, or disturbances like fires.

The guidance warns that simply increasing the amount of protected land or water is insufficient; success must be measured by whether ecosystems remain functional and resilient. Prioritizing high-integrity ecosystems and restoring degraded ones is presented as a critical strategy to ensure more durable conservation outcomes and the continued delivery of essential ecosystem services.