On the eve of the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 two weeks ago, in a special edition of the Protecting the Planet newsletter, we looked at the opportunities ahead. The world’s largest conservation gathering was coming at a moment when efforts to protect the planet are converging, like pieces of a puzzle gradually finding their place. Today, with the closing of the Forum and Exhibition, we leave Abu Dhabi content that significant progress has been made in positioning many of the pieces of this conservation puzzle.
The announcement that Panama will host the IUCN World Protected and Conserved Areas Congress (WPC27) in two years fills the team with optimism and excitement. Like Panama, which sits between two great continental landmasses and two mighty oceans, 2027 is a year that sits firmly between IUCN Congress 2025 and the deadline to achieve our 2030 goals. There is no better place to ensure we are on track than a country with a rich diversity of peoples and cultures, and a range of ecosystems conserved in no less than 123 protected areas.
2025 has seen an IUCN Congress where the Voice of Nature has spoken definitively: the Union already holds many of the answers to our triple planetary crises. We have witnessed commitment to excellence through the IUCN Green List Awards; dedication and resilience in the IUCN WCPA International Ranger Awards; success stories that leave a lasting legacy through the BIOPAMA programme, and innovation and resourcefulness at the inaugural Tech4Nature Awards. We have seen Indigenous Peoples and local communities advocate for full participation as decision makers, already possessing the knowledge, systems and values necessary to continue conserving their territories in perpetuity.
IUCN Protected and Conserved areas has supported a dizzying array of voices to be present and participate at Congress. From the perspectives of those conserving in EU Overseas Countries and Territories to the Coral Triangle; from social media influencers to indigenous peoples from the deepest forests of Central Africa, and to high-level government representatives. Our +83 sessions have involved discussions on grant-making best practices, OECMs, Green List Standard reviews and launch of the self-assessment tool, linguistic diversity, communications and storytelling, Participatory 3D Mapping, justice and grievance mechanisms, animal culture, and so, so much more.
IUCN's unique ability to convene the pieces of our complex world and provide a space for productive dialogue has once again been demonstrated at IUCN Congress 2025. The challenge – as it always is – is to capitalise on the momentum of conversations from the last five days and ensure good will translates into action for people and planet. We wrap up an intense few days with weary eyes and tired feet, but a renewed sense of optimism to guide our work and steward our one, shared, Planet Earth.
- The PCA team - | 
