The Conifer Specialist Group of IUCN-SSC was established in 1987. Its mission is the conservation of species of conifer worldwide in their natural habitats and the sustainable uses of these natural resources Its objectives are the collection and interpretation of data relevant to the conservation of conifer species and the assessment of their IUCN conservation status; as well as the development of conservation strategies. The proposed project to re-assess the conifers for the IUCN Red List has a global scope and covers all the world’s species. The geographical area is therefore the entire world (all continents except Antarctica). Re-assessment of the conservation status will give us the new status of all conifers and, with the earlier assessment of the 1990’s it provides a benchmark for the Red List Index for plants.

The most notable activity carried out recently was a very successful workshop of one week in December 2010 held in the city of Shenzhen, China. It was organised by the Chair of the CSG Aljos Farjon and Nan Li, gymnosperm botanist at the Fairy Lake Botanical Garden in Shenzhen. It was very generously hosted by the Fairy Lake Botanical Garden. With a group of 10-15 people (it varied daily) including IUCN's Red List Unit Manager Craig Hilton-Taylor, we were able to complete assessments of 192 species, or nearly a third of the total of 615. We concentrated on species of temperate eastern Asia, including China and Japan, with participants from both countries contributing crucial direct experience information.