Abu Dhabi, 13 October: As conservation leaders converge in the United Arab Emirates for the Members’ Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Congress, over 80 organisations have petitioned the IUCN (here) and its members to take urgent steps to address the plight of land and environmental defenders.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress takes place every four years, bringing together nature conservation experts, leaders and decision-makers from around the globe, with the aim of shaping global priorities for nature conservation, biodiversity protection and climate change for the coming decade. Following Forum Sessions last week, the Members’ Assembly sittings take place this week, starting 13 October and wrapping up on Wednesday 15th.
In September 2021, the IUCN held its World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France, where the Union adopted its Nature 2030 programme and a number of policy resolutions to address the most pressing conservation challenges.
Resolution 115: “Protecting environmental human and peoples’ rights defenders and whistleblowers” was adopted in Marseille against a background of escalating global violence against environmental defenders, and a continuing recognition that conservation itself must explicitly safeguard human rights defenders. The IUCN committed to develop a policy and action plan on environmental human rights defenders.
Although some successful IUCN projects were funded and implemented in Latin America and Nepal, there is no evidence of a global action plan or policy under the IUCN itself as of yet. This suggests that the policy and action plan is still under development, but with little information as to why their adoption has been delayed. Notably, there are no active projects in Africa.
Meanwhile, the latest figures show that globally, on average, around three defenders were killed or disappeared each week throughout 2024. Such lethal attacks are almost certainly an under-count. Between 2019 and 2023, Global Witness recorded 43 killings of environmental and human rights defenders across the African continent. Frontline Defenders recorded 74 human rights defenders killed in Africa between 2020 and 2024, with environmental and human rights defenders one of the groups most at risk.
The projects in Latin America and Nepal demonstrate what can be done by IUCN members when the most immediate line of defence against deforestation, illegal mining, land grabs, and other threats is strengthened.
As a global conservation union, IUCN’s legitimacy and effectiveness depends on protecting the people on the frontlines of nature conservation. Its unique combination of scientific authority, diverse and multi-stakeholder membership, and global convening power gives it exceptional leverage to protect environmental defenders – but that leverage must be matched by a clear policy, predictable funding, operational systems, and careful, consent-based engagement with defenders.
Natural Justice, the African Civil Society Biodiversity Alliance (ACBA) have sent a letter endorsed by over 80 organisations from across the globe with recommendations urging the IUCN President, Director General, and the Secretariat to acknowledge the ongoing plight of land and environmental defenders. The letter calls on them to recommit to fulfilling the Marseille Manifesto, Resolution 115, compelling the Union and its members to take urgent steps including prioritising the adoption of a clear Global Policy on Environmental Human Rights Defenders, and developing and implementing a Global Action Plan.
“As an environmental defender, I call upon all governments and business institutions to uphold the rights and protection of defenders — whose only ‘crime’ is taking peaceful action against the discriminatory, corrupt, and exploitative destruction of our natural resources and environment. Profit should never come at the expense of nature.” – Grace Oloo, Environmental Rights Organization Network, Kenya.
“Protecting the environment and local communities should not be a death sentence. Across East Africa, courageous defenders resisting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) due to its devastating impact on biodiversity and other oil projects are being harassed, threatened, and criminalized simply for standing up for their communities and ecosystems. If the IUCN is serious about conservation and justice, it must move beyond resolutions and take concrete, global action to protect those on the frontlines especially in regions like Africa where silence is costing freedom and lives.” – Aryampa Brighton, Youth for Green Communities (YGC), Uganda
“On a continent where attacks are severely underreported, strengthened protection measures, and the adoption of laws that explicitly recognize and safeguard environmental defenders, as envisaged in the IUCN Marseille Manifesto — would go a long way in encouraging States acknowledge defenders’ vital role in safeguarding our environment and ensuring that accountability replaces silence.” – Tawonga Chihana, Co-ordinator of the African Environmental Defenders Initiative
“Given the annual rise of lethal and non-lethal attacks, the gendered nature of reprisals against women defenders, and the life and death circumstances under which defenders fight for our environment, ecosystems and climate, we have to move beyond lip service and symbolism. We need political will and urgent action from States and IUCN members, especially in Africa, where the plight of defenders remains a tragic blind spot.” – Katherine Robinson, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Natural Justice
“If conservation is to be just and sustainable, the IUCN must lead from the front in protecting those who defend the environment. Resolution 115 presents a vital opportunity to build a proactive, rights-based framework that anchors conservation in human rights and the lived realities of Indigenous Peoples and defenders. The IUCN’s true strength lies in uniting governments, civil society, and communities around the shared truth that protecting nature also means protecting those who safeguard it”- Farida Aliwa , Executive Director, Natural Justice.