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Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, President of IUCN, authored an op-ed for Mongabay reflecting on the deeper meaning of biodiversity ahead of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which will take place in Abu Dhabi, October 9 to 15.
Ms. Al Mubarak argues that biodiversity represents the most ancient and sophisticated information network our planet has ever known, and underscores the importance of understanding biodiversity as more than a valuable resource for sustainability:
“Long before humans developed language or writing, nature had perfected the art of storing and transmitting information. Each species represents a unique library of evolutionary wisdom, encoded in DNA refined over millions of years. When we lose a species, we don’t just lose a physical entity; we lose an irreplaceable repository of information that took eons to develop.”
Through practical examples of how species have adapted to specific conditions of the environment, Ms. Al Mubarak emphasizes that understanding the value of the information stored in nature is crucial for effective conservation:
“How do we preserve this network? First, we must acknowledge its value beyond sentiment. The UAE has demonstrated this through its Red List of threatened species assessments, protected area designations, and international conservation leadership through the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, which has supported more than 3,000 projects across 170 countries.”
As the IUCN Congress approaches, Ms. Al Mubarak reaffirmed nature conservation must be positioned at the center of the conversation:
“Biodiversity offers us the ultimate backup system — a distributed storage of survival information no technology can match. In an era of climate uncertainty, preserving this biological knowledge isn’t just ethical — it’s existential. As the world gathers in Abu Dhabi for the IUCN World Conservation Congress, let us safeguard this living network with vigilance, investment and care — ensuring that nature’s silent information exchange endures as our shared inheritance for generations to come.”