The CXC was established by the IUCN in 1982 to act as a provider of information on global conservation. This was to be accomplished by developing a central database with a global coverage of the status of living natural resources. Ideally the information held by the CXC would be provided to planning and programming divisions of the IUCN and the WF plus GEMS (UNEP) - the three major sponsors of the CXC, as well as governments, non-governmental organisations, the business, commercial, scientific and educational communities and the media among others.