Things are going badly for the hooded seal, the bearded seal and the harp seal – the numbers of the three Arctic seal species are plummeting due to climate change. More than one in ten bird species is also threatened, as is one in ten European wild bee species. These are some of the conclusions of the international IUCN summit that was held in Abu Dhabi from 5 to 15 October. There is also a bright spot: the green sea turtle is doing better thanks to nature conservation.
IUCN stands for International Union for Conservation of Nature, an international partnership that focuses on nature conservation and the protection of natural resources. More than 1,400 organizations from more than 160 countries are affiliated, including scientific institutes such as Naturalis Biodiversity Center and NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund and Bird Protection. Once every four years, these members meet to vote on motions and to discuss updates to the international Red List: the IUCN measuring method that indicates how endangered each plant, animal or fungal species is. “During the current meeting, the list has been expanded to 172,620 species, of which 48,646 are threatened with extinction,” says Marianne de Beer of IUCN NL on the phone from Abu Dhabi.
Worrying reports have been coming out about global biodiversity for years. This is under pressure due to, among other things, global warming, fragmentation of nature reserves and pollution. Various measurement methods (in addition to the Red List, for example, the Living Planet Index of the World Wildlife Fund) all paint the same picture: a sharp decline in species diversity.
Precisely for this reason, more and more attention has been paid to biodiversity conferences in recent years, the best known of which is the biennial Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations. COP 16 took place in Cali, Colombia, at the end of 2024, and Armenia will host COP 17 next fall.
Coral reefs and rainforests
“You can see the IUCN summit as a kind of preparation for the COP,” says De Beer. “The topics that were on the agenda here in Abu Dhabi will undoubtedly also play an important role in Armenia. For example, motions have been passed on the protection of nature conservationists in conflict areas and on better cooperation with the indigenous population. And it has also been decided that more research should be conducted into the impact of mining on species diversity.” The IUCN summit differs from the UN summit because not only countries have the right to vote, she says. “All members may vote.” In principle, the members (including the authorities present) commit themselves to the adopted motions. Progress is monitored, but there are no sanctions associated with failed agreements.
The topics of the IUCN summit extend beyond just the Red List, De Beer emphasizes. That’s what this year was like one health an important theme, the interdisciplinary approach to threats to health and ecosystems, which, in addition to good health care, also revolves around nutrition and climate, clean water, clean energy and clean air. The threat to natural World Heritage sites was also discussed – coral reefs and rainforests, among other things, are increasingly confronted with climate change, invasive species and diseases.
The United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital, joined the IUCN five years ago, De Beer said. Razan Al Mubarak, who was elected president of the IUCN in 2021, is also an Emirati national. “She has really put nature conservation on the map there in recent decades.” One of the success stories is the protection of the Arabian oryx: in 2011, the status of the desert antelope on the Red List was reduced from endangered to vulnerable.
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