On November 16, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon signed a decree on the republic's accession to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  The document’s text was published by the presidential press service.

According to the decree, the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of Tajikistan, as the national authorized body, is tasked with representing the country in the IUCN and covering the annual membership fee from the Committee’s special funds.

The decree notes that joining the IUCN will provide Tajikistan with opportunities such as access to funding from the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund and access to a special flora and fauna fund included in the global red list.

Additionally, the Union supports countries in developing and implementing environmental protection projects.

Founded in 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the oldest and largest international environmental organization in the world.  Headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, IUCN is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education.  IUCN's mission is to “influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable”.

Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects.