RIYADH, Sept 10 – The 10th Regional Conservation Forum for West Asia, hosted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), commenced in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Running until September 11, the forum has brought together over 350 participants, including members from IUCN member organisations, government officials, donors, and partner institutions. This gathering is one of nine regional forums organized this year, aimed at developing a comprehensive roadmap for conservation in West Asia.
In her opening remarks, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, President of IUCN and UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28 UAE, emphasized the importance of long-term strategic planning in conservation efforts. She highlighted that the need for a strategic vision was formally recognized during the 2021 World Conservation Congress in Marseille. The upcoming World Conservation Congress 2025, set to be hosted in the United Arab Emirates, will mark the official adoption of the IUCN's first 20-year strategy.
Al Mubarak stressed the urgency of aligning the IUCN's work with pivotal global environmental milestones, as outlined in the UN Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Climate Agreement. "These targets are more than just dates on a calendar; they represent urgent calls to action, demanding our immediate and unwavering attention to address key environmental and biodiversity challenges," she stated.
The forum will not only address regional conservation issues but also deliberate on the IUCN's 2026-2029 Programme of Work and its 20-year Strategic Vision. Al Mubarak underscored the IUCN's leadership role in conservation, noting its success in habitat and species revival, nature-based solutions, and global environmental policy shaping. She indicated that future efforts will focus on scaling up these initiatives and innovating responses to global threats such as climate change, agricultural expansion, and health crises.
Inclusivity and collaboration are central to the IUCN's strategy, with a commitment to integrating the perspectives of indigenous communities and youth into a unified vision. "We need to ensure that nature, climate, and development agendas are bridged and no longer tackled in silos to unlock the full impact of our collective action and finance," Al Mubarak emphasized.
In addition to addressing the forum, Al Mubarak met with Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Egypt's Minister of Environment. The forum has also garnered significant interest from UAE-based IUCN members, with representatives from the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund in attendance.
As the forum progresses, the focus remains on crafting actionable strategies that address both immediate and long-term environmental challenges, reinforcing IUCN's commitment to effective and inclusive conservation efforts.
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