The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) designates Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram 2022.

Why in news?

• The Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram, Haryana, has been declared as India’s first “Other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECM) site.
• This was informed by the Union ministry of Environment, forest and climate change on the occasion of World Wetlands Day.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) gives OECM tag to those areas that are not protected but support rich biodiversity. The tag designates the area as a biodiversity hotspot on the international map.

About OECM

• OECM is a status for a place that has achieved effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity outside protected areas like forests.
• The park, which once was an abandoned mining pit, was transformed into a lush green forest patch in 10 years. Now, it has about 400 native species of plants.

About IUCN

• The IUCN is a global union composed of both government as well as civil society organisations. With more than 1400 organisations as its members, the IUCN is an international authority on the status of the natural world.
• Established in 1948, the IUCN has the tools and knowledge repository to help the world conserve nature and ensure sustainable development.
• It established the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 1964.
• The IUCN’s Secretariat is in Gland, Switzerland.