The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has endorsed Razan Al Mubarak for President of the IUCN. This is the first time in the organization’s history it has endorsed a candidate for the IUCN Presidency. 

In the endorsement, the AZA stated: 

“We need a leader who offers skilled management and a courageous, strategic vision. Someone who will not just sail the IUCN ship, but set it to a better course. We believe Razan Al Mubarak’s 20-plus years of experience in government, sustainability, citizen engagement and philanthropy make her that candidate. 

If elected, she will be only the second woman to lead the IUCN in its 72-year history. And importantly, the fact that she is the mother to a young daughter will make her a more influential leader, more relatable, and more able to inspire conservation’s next-generation. These characteristics are particularly critical for the person who will lead IUCN at this crucial moment.”

Founded in 1924, AZA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, animal welfare, education, science, and recreation. AZA is the accrediting body for the top zoos and aquariums in the United States and 12 other countries.

Read more about AZA’s endorsement of Razan al Mubarak at AZA Connect.

In 2019, facilities accredited by Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) donated more than $231.5 million to conservation programs globally. But in the United States alone, its zoos, aquariums, and museums are losing $33 million daily due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

In an op-ed written for Connect, the publication of the AZA, Razan Al Mubarak highlights that “zoos and aquariums are in especially challenging financial straits, as they continue to take on all the costs of supporting the animals in their care — from the largest elephant to the tiny Polynesian tree snail — without any of the income from visitors.”

Razan Al Mubarak lays out her goals for a “nature recovery plan” that will provide the conservation sector, including zoos and aquariums, with the support and funding needed to ensure the care, conservation and study of endangered and threatened species.

Read Razan's op-ed “Conservation in the Age of COVID-19” on AZA's Connect