Previous Year Question

• The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) belongs to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• It is a global expert network working under the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the IUCN.

• It was established to provide scientific and policy-related information on invasive alien species and to reduce the loss of biodiversity caused by them.

• The ISSG brings together scientists, conservation experts, policymakers and invasive-species managers from different regions of the world.

• The ISSG developed the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD).

• The GISD provides information about the identification, native distribution, pathways of introduction, geographical spread, ecological impacts and control measures of invasive alien species.

• An invasive alien species is a species whose introduction and spread outside its natural range create a threat to biodiversity.

• Invasive species may prey upon native species, compete with them for resources, spread diseases and transform local ecosystems.

• The IUCN was established in 1948 and is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland.

• The IUCN is an international conservation union that includes governments and civil-society organisations as its members.

• The United Nations Environment Programme is the principal environmental body of the United Nations, but the ISSG does not function under it.

• The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development is also called the Brundtland Commission; it presented the Our Common Future report in 1987.

• The World Wide Fund for Nature is a separate global conservation organisation, and the ISSG is not its specialist group.

Therefore, the Invasive Species Specialist Group belongs to the Species Survival Commission of the IUCN.