December 2019
IUCN Red List assessments for pangolins updated
Updated assessments for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for all eight pangolin species were published in December 2019. The updates confirmed that all pangolin species are still threatened with extinction. The 2019 assessments resulted in changes to the Red List categories for three pangolin species due to greater knowledge of the threat from overexploitation, including its inferred impact on populations, and habitat loss. Find out more here.
September 2019
First ever regional conservation strategy for Sunda pangolin published
The first ever Regional Sunda pangolin Conservation Strategy was published in September 2019. The document is the result of a collaboration between the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group (PSG), the IUCN SSC Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP), Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), and the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG). It outlines the objectives and actions necessary for Sunda pangolin conservation for the period 2018-2028. You can download the document here. More on the workshop to develop the strategy can be found here.
August 2019
CITES maintains a focus on pangolins CoP18
Representatives from the Pangolin Specialist Group participated in the CITES CoP18 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Pangolins were on the agenda following Decisions adopted at CoP17 and the CoP reaffirmed their commitment to protecting pangolins and reducing trafficking in the intersessional period to CoP19 by adopting further Decisions focused on illegal trade, amongst other conservation concerns. Further information on the Decisions passed can be found here. The Pangolin Specialist Group also held a side event on monitoring pangolin populations based on a body of work to develop suitable monitoring methods.
September 2018
Singapore National Sunda Pangolin Strategy published
In September 2018, the first National Action Plan for the Sunda pangolin in Singapore was published. Developed by Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), National Parks Board (NPB), IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group (PSG), IUCN SSC Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP) and IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG), the plan details five goals and corresponding actions required to achieve them. They including research into Sunda pangolin ecology, habitat protection, urban planning policies, rehabilitation and release of Sunda pangolins, and awareness raising. The strategy can be accessed here.
November 2017
Pangolin identification guide published
A pangolin identification guide was published by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) to assist front-line law enforcement officers to confidently identify the different pangolin specie and their derivatives. The guide is freely available online in ten languages. A smartphone app was also developed in collaboration with the Pangolin Specialist Group, and can be downloaded here.
September 2016
Pangolins at CITES CoP17
The seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) met in Johannesburg, South Africa, where proposals for all pangolin species to be transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I were adopted with almost unanimous support from member countries. This listing resulted in strengthened legal protection for pangolins and established an international trade ban for wild-caught pangolins traded for commercial purposes. Find out more about what this means for pangolins here.
September 2016
IUCN quadrennium ends with a pangolin motion
At the IUCN World Conservation Congress which took place in Hawai’i, USA from 1-10 September 2016, IUCN’s membership adopted a motion calling for greater protection for all pangolin species. This motion calls on IUCN’s members to work to deliver multifaceted solutions to secure the conservation of pangolins. It also explicitly recognises the work of the PangolinSG in the last four years. Watch this video which highlights some of the work of our membership in the last four years.
July 2015
Biggest ever Pangolin Conservation project funded
Swiss based foundation, Fondation Segré, launches The Fondation Segré Pangolin Conservation Initiative, the biggest ever pangolin conservation project funded to date. Implemented by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), with support from Save Our Species (SOS), the project is tackling direct threats to pangolins at priority sites in Cameroon and Thailand and initiating research into demand for pangolin products in China.
June 2015
Pangolin Specialist Group plays key role in First Pangolin Range States Meeting
Nine members of the Pangolin Specialist Group attended this first of its kind meeting and delivered technical presentations on the global conservation status of pangolins, threats, conservation, and management and trade.
July 2014
‘Scaling Up Pangolin Conservation’ action plan launched
The first ever global conservation action plan for pangolins synthesises recommendations from the first Pangolin Specialist Group Conservation Conference and sets out the critical actions that urgently need implementing to conserve pangolins.
July 2014
IUCN Red List Assessments show all eight pangolin species threatened
IUCN publishes Red List assessments drafted by the Pangolin Specialist Group at the first Conservation Conference in Singapore. Alarmingly, all eight species are now listed as threatened with extinction.
June 2013
First Pangolin Specialist Group Conservation Conference
The Pangolin Specialist Group holds its first international conservation conference in Singapore. Over 45 experts from 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the US worked together to set the global conservation agenda for pangolins.
February 2012
Formation of new IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group
The Pangolin Specialist Group is re-established in recognition of the widespread threats to pangolins globally and the need to catalyse conservation action.