With reference to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1.IUCN is an organ of the United Nations and CITES is an international agreement between governments.
- 2.IUCN runs thousands of field projects around the world to better manage natural environments.
- 3.CITES is legally binding on the States that have joined it, but this Convention does not take the place of national laws.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
The answer is (b). IUCN is a membership union of governments and civil-society bodies, not a UN organ. It only holds observer status at the UN General Assembly. Statements 2 and 3 match what IUCN and the CITES Secretariat say about themselves.
- ✗ 1. The CITES half is right, since CITES is an agreement between governments. The IUCN half is wrong. IUCN is a membership union of governments and NGOs, and the UN General Assembly gives it only observer status.
- ✓ 2. IUCN describes its work as 'thousands of field projects and activities around the world'.
- ✓ 3. CITES is legally binding on its Parties, which must implement it. It does not take the place of national laws. Each Party has to adopt its own domestic legislation to give it effect.
Remember · IUCN (founded 1948, Gland) is a membership union with UNGA observer status, not a UN organ. CITES (1973) binds its Parties but works through their national laws.
Sources
- CITES Secretariat – What is CITES? (archived copy of cites.org page) ↗ “Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws.”
- IUCN – About (archived copy of iucn.org page) ↗ “Thousands of field projects and activities around the world”
- IUCN – Permanent Mission of IUCN to the UN ↗ “IUCN is an entity with Observer Status in the United Nations General Assembly in New York and actively engages in all environment-related processes”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2015, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
