Razan Al Mubarak Highlights the Abu Dhabi Call to Action at IUCN Congress

IUCN

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), underscored the importance of adhering to the Abu Dhabi Call to Action and the key priorities set to face the pressing global challenges ahead, at the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress.

The IUCN Congress brought nearly 10,000 participants from 189 countries to Abu Dhabi for a week of dialogue, learning, and collective decision-making. Throughout, Ms. Al Mubarak expressed her appreciation that the United Arab Emirates had the opportunity to host the Congress and that the resulting global statement now carries the name of the city where the Union met.

The Abu Dhabi Call to Action reflects months of preparation and intensive discussions held during the Congress. It acknowledges that the world is facing a convergence of accelerating challenges: biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, pollution, climate instability, and widening inequalities. With only a few years remaining to meet the ambitions of the Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals, Congress participants affirmed that greater unity, urgency, and cooperation are essential.

Drawing from the diverse perspectives of governments, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, scientists, youth, faith communities, and the private sector, the Call to Action sets out five shared priorities for global action:

  1. Reaffirm nature as the foundation of human well-being, and protect, conserve, and restore land, freshwater, coastal, ocean, and polar ecosystems, while recognising and supporting those who steward them.
  2. Strengthen multilateralism and cooperation, grounded in justice, accountability, and the rule of law, to meet environmental challenges with coherence and resolve.
  3. Ensure justice, equity, and inclusion, by enabling meaningful participation across communities and generations and safeguarding environmental defenders.
  4. Advance science, knowledge, and innovation, drawing on scientific, traditional, and Indigenous knowledge to inform effective and sustainable solutions.
  5. Scale up and align resources for nature and climate action, including financial, technological, and human capacity, while eliminating harmful subsidies and incentivising nature-positive outcomes.

The Call to Action complements the decisions adopted at the Congress, including IUCN’s new 20-Year Strategic Vision, the 2026–2029 Programme, and 148 motions. Together, these commitments reflect the Union’s shared intention to turn ambition into measurable progress. Ms. Al Mubarak stated:

“The Abu Dhabi Call to Action stands as a reminder of what is possible when the global conservation community meets in a spirit of humility, listening, and cooperation. It carries the name of Abu Dhabi not as a claim of ownership, but as a reflection of the place where the world came together to reaffirm a common purpose: One Nature, One Humanity, One Future.”

Download the Abu Dhabi Call to Action

Razan Al Mubarak and Dame Amelia Fawcett Highlight the Importance of Biocredits in a New Op-ed for IUCN’s Crossroads

IUCN

Razan Al Mubarak, President of IUCN and panel member of the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB), recently co-authored an op-ed for IUCN’s Crossroads alongside Dame Amelia Fawcett, Co-Chair of IAPB. The article dives into biodiversity credits and highlights how private initiatives should scale up in order to bridge the financial gap regarding climate action.

“To appreciate the stakes, one must grasp how stark the financial gap is. Current assessments suggest global biodiversity conservation receives USD 124–143 billion annually, while an estimated gap of USD 942 billion remains to meet the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Approximately 80% of current conservation funding still comes from public sources (governments and multilateral institutions). That means private capital, philanthropy and market instruments must scale rapidly if we are to close the gap. The Global Biodiversity Framework itself includes Target 19, which explicitly mentions biodiversity credits as one of several financial mechanisms for resource mobilisation.”

In the article, Ms. Al Mubarak and Ms. Fawcett review the concept of biocredits — a certificate created to serve as a measured and evidence-based unit of positive biodiversity outcome, durable and additional to what would have occurred otherwise.

“Credits represent the biodiversity outcomes linked to a project and can be sold and issued throughout the project lifecycle. Biodiversity credits can be used to support both conservation and restoration of nature including maintenance activities. The goal is not to monetise nature itself but to monetise the results of actions that produce ecological value, making them investable.”

Calling back to the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which took place October 9 through 15 in Abu Dhabi, Ms. Al Mubarak and Ms. Fawcett introduce IAPB’s Framework for high-integrity biodiversity credit markets:

“As many at the Congress stressed, biodiversity credit markets must embed high integrity, strong governance and social equity from the start, not as afterthoughts. This is what the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits, of which we both are members, is addressing through our Framework for high-integrity biodiversity credit markets. This Framework was developed with input from over 120 experts from varied disciplines (including Indigenous Peoples and scientists) and more than 25 countries.”

In a call for action, the article wraps up with a powerful conclusion:

“If nature credits, backed by public, private, and philanthropic capital, can deliver high impact for nature and people, they may become a powerful tool to finance a living planet.”

 Read the full article here.