Reflections from the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025

Earlier this month, Wetlands International joined governments, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society organisations at the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress to shape the direction of conservation for the years ahead.  

Every four years, IUCN Members come together to discuss and decide on motions, the building blocks of IUCN policy and the wider conservation agenda. Once adopted, these motions become ‘Resolutions and Recommendations’ that guide IUCN’s Programme of Work and inform global and national policies for nature. 

This year, Wetlands International co-sponsored five motions and supported several others to place wetlands at the heart of global efforts for achieving climate stability, sustaining biodiversity, and supporting sustainable development. The adoption of these motions reaffirms that safeguarding and restoring wetlands is essential to our shared future. 

Why motions matter 

The IUCN motions influence what the global conservation community will prioritise in the coming years. For Wetlands International, influencing these motions ensures that wetlands (arguably some of the most overlooked ecosystems) are placed where they belong: at the centre of solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises. 

Motions co-sponsored by Wetlands International 

Motion 023: Prioritising wetlands conservation and restoration to tackle the dual climate and biodiversity crises 

Adopted by an overwhelming majority, Motion 023 marks a significant milestone in elevating wetlands within global and national climate and biodiversity policy and action. The motion advances one of our core priorities to ensure that wetlands are recognised not as peripheral ecosystems, but as core natural infrastructure for a stable climate, thriving biodiversity, and resilient communities. 

It urges governments to prioritise wetland conservation and restoration as a strategic action for climate and biodiversity, calls for cross-convention collaboration (especially with the Convention on Wetlands), and promotes engagement with initiatives such as the Freshwater Challenge and Mangrove Breakthrough. 

The motion also encourages safeguards to protect wetlands amid the energy transition, and the mobilisation of new funding streams, including high-integrity carbon markets. 

To catalyse its implementation, Wetlands International co-hosted a follow-up meeting with Fundación Global Nature, bringing together partners and cosponsors to discuss next steps. The discussions connected directly to global dialogues on bridging biodiversity and climate agendas, as we move towards this year’s UNFCCC COP30 and next year’s UN Water Conference 2026 and CBD COP17. 

Motion 130: Strengthening protective measures for protected areas against unsustainable tourism development 

 
Picture: Narta Lagoon in Albania’s Vjosa estuary, Adobe Stock 
 
The adoption of Motion 130 reinforces efforts to protect fragile wetland ecosystems in the face of unsustainable tourism. The Narta Lagoon in Albania’s Vjosa estuary, for instance, is a site that is under threat due to major airport development. The motion calls on governments to prohibit environmentally damaging mass tourism projects in protected areas and directs IUCN to assist Albania in enforcing environmental safeguards. 

This outcome builds on our long-term advocacy through the Wetlands International European Association. Through the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands’ Red Alert system, we mobilise response to urgent wetland threats. The recent Red Alert on Albania’s Narta Lagoon, issued in response to large-scale airport infrastructure development threat, shows exactly why a motion such as this ensures that conservation and community well-being are not compromised for short-term economic gains. 

Further information on the motion can be found here.  

Motion 067: Living in harmony with rivers through the rights of nature and ecocentric law 

 
Rooted in our ongoing programme on the Rights of Wetlands that is led by Wetlands International Eastern Africa and funded by the UK’s Darwin Initiative, this motion builds on the growing global momentum to recognise the rights of rivers and wetlands and other ecocentric laws (laws that acknowledge nature not as property, but as a living system with its own inherent rights). 

The motion calls for collaboration between the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law and proponents of the Rights of Rivers and Rights of Wetlands declarations, encourages support for rights-based conservation, and aligns with GBF Target 19(f).  

Motion 067 lays the groundwork for the draft resolution on the Rights of Wetlands, which Sri Lanka is expected to lead at the Convention on Wetlands COP16 in Panama in 2028. it also reinforces a shift from managing ecosystems as resources to recognising them as partners in sustaining life. 

Further information on the motion can be found here. 

Motion 104: Safeguarding biodiversity and human rights in energy transition mineral governance 

As the world rushes to secure minerals for renewable technologies, the ecological and cultural costs of mining are mounting. The High Andean wetlands, which sustain water and carbon cycles, and support local livelihoods, are experiencing a growing amount of pressure.  

Motion 104 strengthens efforts to protect High Andean wetlands and other wetlands across the globe from the expanding footprint of lithium and other mineral extraction, advancing ongoing work led by the Wetlands International Latin America and Caribbean(Fundación Humedales) and the Wetlands International European Association, with our partners Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, FARN), YUCHAN Foundation (Fundación para la Conservación de Yungas, Chaco y Andes), 

The motion calls for best-practice guidance for safeguards, no-go zones, and meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. It also urges governments to restrict mining in ecologically or culturally significant areas, including World Heritage Sites, Ramsar Sites, Key Biodiversity Areas, Indigenous territories, sacred sites, protected areas, watersheds, and other ecosystems vital for biodiversity, carbon storage, and community well-being. 

The motion complements Motion 024 – Declaration on the urgent preservation of high mountain wetlands in Latin America and other regions of the world, amplifying our message to ensure that climate solutions do not come at the expense of the ecosystems that sustain them. 

Further information on the motion can be found here. 

Motion 143: Declaration on the urgent preservation of high mountain wetlands in Latin America and other regions of the world 

AI is rapidly transforming conservation practice, from ecological monitoring to communications, yet it also brings ethical and environmental risks. Motion 143 tasks the IUCN to develop a policy framework on the responsible design and governance of AI in conservation, addressing data integrity, transparency, water and climate impact, and human rights. 

Wetlands International co-sponsored this motion reflecting our commitment to harnessing innovation while upholding ecological and ethical integrity. 

Further information on the motion can be found here. 

Beyond our motions: Advancing a collective vision 

Among the many positive outcomes of the Congress was the adoption of several landmark proposals by IUCN Members, from safeguarding peatlands, rivers, and inland fisheries to recognising ecocide as a crime and strengthening international cooperation. Together, these decisions signal a growing global recognition of how central wetlands are for ensuring climate stability, sustaining biodiversity, and human wellbeing. 

Motions adopted on wetland issues, include:  

• 147 Protecting ecosystems and riverine communities from the impacts of hydropower in the Lower Congo and globally (a urgent and new motion) 

• 003 Developing a unified global definition of ‘peatland and peat’ (divergent WI views) 

• 016 Springs under threat: mobilising urgent action for neglected freshwater systems 

• 018 Advancing and tracking global river conservation to meet biodiversity and climate goals 

• 019 Activating sustainable management of inland fisheries 

• 020 Implementing an aquascape approach to conservation of fresh and saline water ecosystems 

• 021 For an international framework for the preservation of watershed heads and the strengthening of their resilience in a changing climate 

• 024 Declaration on the urgent preservation of high mountain wetlands in Latin America 

• 025 Recognizing India’s First Dugong Conservation Reserve 

• 036 Facilitating synergistic delivery of multilateral commitments on conserving coastal ecosystems (refers to World Coastal Forum) 

In several sessions, our delegates spoke on integrating wetlands into the heart of global frameworks, reaffirming that wetlands are not peripheral ecosystems, but foundational ones. Wetland ecosystems regulate climate, sustain biodiversity, ensure access to clean water, and support more than a billion livelihoods globally, yet they continue to disappear faster than forests. 

At a time when nations are preparing for COP30, CBD COP17, and the mid-term review of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, these motions help strengthen the policy and practical foundations for accelerating action for wetlands at both the global level, and within countries where change begins. From integrating wetland targets into national climate and biodiversity plans to advancing initiatives such as the Freshwater Challenge and Mangrove Breakthrough, these decisions can translate international ambition into tangible results on the ground. 

 
The adoption of these motions signals a turning point for wetlands and for how we understand our relationship with the living world. Together, the outcomes move us closer to a future where wetlands are fully recognised across sectors as equally essential to ensure a safer planet for our shared future.