WCS supports incorporating ecological integrity into national biodiversity strategies and action plans, protected and conserved area management, ecosystem restoration programs, and climate policies
WCS Scientist Co-Chairs International Task Force Providing Guidance to Governments on Measuring Ecosystem Health and Delivering Lasting Conservation Results
The full IUCN report is available at: https://doi.org/10.2305/
YEREVAN, ARMENIA (October 19, 2026) — The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today welcomed the release of a new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) calling for ecological integrity to become a central measure of success in global biodiversity conservation, climate action, and ecosystem restoration.
Released at the opening of the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD CoP17) in Yerevan, the report provides governments, conservation organizations, and other stakeholders with practical guidance for incorporating ecological integrity into conservation policies, national biodiversity strategies, and climate commitments. The new guidance is particularly timely as governments at CBD CoP17 undertake the first global review of progress toward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including its goals for protecting and restoring biodiversity by 2030.
The report was developed by the IUCN Task Force on Ecological Integrity, co-chaired by WCS scientist John G. Robinson and Emily Nicholson, with support from WCS and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Ecological integrity describes the extent to which an ecosystem retains its native species, natural structure, ecological functions, and processes. The report emphasizes that protecting intact ecosystems and restoring degraded ones are essential to achieving lasting results for biodiversity, climate resilience, and human well-being.
John G. Robinson, WCS Scientist and Co-Chair of the IUCN Task Force on Ecological Integrity, said: “The world has made ambitious commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, but success cannot be measured by simply counting the number of conservation areas established, the species protected, or the amount of land and water conserved. The real test is whether natural ecosystems — forests, grasslands, freshwater systems, and oceans — are maintaining or recovering the ecological integrity needed to sustain life. Do these places continue to support healthy wildlife populations, functioning ecosystems, and the natural processes that make life possible? By focusing on ecological integrity, we can make conservation more effective and governments can be more accountable for results.
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“This report provides a scientific foundation and practical guidance for making ecological integrity central to conservation decisions. It recognizes that ecosystems are dynamic, that their integrity can be measured, and that conservation must protect not only species and habitats but also the relationships and processes that sustain them. As governments gather at CoP17 to assess progress toward the Global Biodiversity Framework, ecological integrity offers a way to move towards measurable and verifiable goals for nature conservation. Protecting the world’s remaining high-integrity ecosystems, and restoring those that have been degraded, must become a global conservation priority.”
Madhu Rao, Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the Director of Protected and Conserved Areas for the Wildlife Conservation Society, said:
“Ecological integrity can tell us whether protected and conserved areas are actually working, for nature and for the people who depend on them. It should be a crucial measure of success for 30×30.”
Joe Walston, Executive Vice President of Global Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said: “Ecological integrity is not only the best overall measure of the health of nature, but it is the real measure of whether conservation action is working or not. A protected area on a map means little if its wildlife is gone, its rivers are cut off, or its forests no longer function. Conversely, land and seascapes with high ecological integrity store more carbon, regulate water, sustain fisheries, and more resilient in withstanding climate change and other impacts. This report gives governments and funders a practical way to plan, finance, and measure conservation by the outcomes it delivers for nature and people.
“Governments, donors, and conservation organizations should be asking not only where nature is being conserved, but whether that conservation is delivering the ecological outcomes the world urgently needs. This report gives us an important framework for answering that question and for making conservation investments more effective, efficient and enduring.”
WCS supports incorporating ecological integrity into national biodiversity strategies and action plans, protected and conserved area management, ecosystem restoration programs, and climate policies. The organization also emphasizes the importance of recognizing Indigenous Peoples and local communities whose longstanding stewardship contributes to maintaining high-integrity healthy ecosystems.
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