As participants arrive in Abu Dhabi, UAE, for the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025, protected and conserved areas actors gathered across the city.
Fifty-one delegates of the Biodiversity and Protected Area Management (BIOPAMA) programme assembled for a Knowledge Sharing Day, bringing a close to one of IUCN's largest and longest-running grant-making initiatives (approximately 55 million over 13 years). Grantees from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific reflected on the impact of their grants, ranging from supporting management effectiveness through the IMET and PAME tools, strengthening governance of protected areas, and to supporting grassroots organisations to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic and build their financial capacity.
"For a long time, protected areas have ignored the rights and contributions of local communities. BIOPAMA has put the focus on governance to make conservation more equitable."
Samuel Shaba, Honeyguide Foundation Tanzania.
"Through BIOPAMA, it’s evident that good governance is the foundation of sustainable conservation. When decisions are transparent and communities are empowered, conservation becomes shared and a lasting success."
Annick Zanga Ada, African Marine Conservation Organisation
The BIOPAMA initiative, funded by the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) has supported +160 organisations across 79 countries since its inception in 2012. IUCN Congress will host almost 30 events in which BIOPAMA grantees will showcase their conservation work. Click here to learn about the events.
At the ADNEC Centre, the first ever in person ‘World Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nature “Our Traditional Knowledge is the Language of Mother Earth”’ took place, a historic first for IUCN, led by Anita Tzec, Maya leader and Senior Programme Manager of IUCN. The event gathered IUCN Director General Dr. Grethel Aguilar; IUCN President Razan Al Mubarak; and Indigenous leader and IUCN Vice President, Ramiro Batzin Chojoj, alongside IUCN’s Indigenous Peoples Organisations members and partner representatives from across the globe. The opening spiritual ceremony was followed by high level segments that acknowledged the outsized role that Indigenous peoples and local communities play in conserving biodiversity through centuries of practices rooted in traditional knowledge, customary governance, cultural and spiritual values that tie Indigenous peoples to their ancestral territories.
“For Indigenous peoples, conservation is everything, it is about life, it is about mother earth, it a way of living for Indigenous peoples, so conservation must be about the rights, governance and knowledge of Indigenous peoples”. Ramiro Batzin Chojoj, IUCN Vice President.
The issues discussed at the Indigenous Peoples Summit shouldn’t remain aspirational but rather form strong action oriented plans that can drive change: “The first Indigenous Peoples Summit in the history of IUCN is not just symbolic, it is a promise to work closely with Indigenous peoples and local communities” said Razan Al Mubarak, “the priorities that are set here must carry forward into national plans and global frameworks”. The messages on the first day were clear, Indigenous peoples are rightsholders not just stakeholders, and are leaders not beneficiaries. It is up to us to build long term trusted partnerships to effect real change. The Indigenous Peoples Summit will be followed by the first Indigenous Peoples Pavilion and IUCN PCA Team will follow the key messages and recommendations closely.
Last but not least, the IUCN Protected and Conserved Areas team were hard at work across the ADNEC Exhibition space to prepare the the pavilions for the opening of the Exhibition tomorrow. See you at IUCN Congress 2025!
View the IUCN Protected and Conserved Areas team's 09 October events by clicking here
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