IUCN and Junta de Andalucia recently facilitated a technical exchange for the King Abdulaziz Royal Nature Reserve (KARNR) team to share and gain expertise in protected area management. The exchange aimed to improve ecological connectivity between protected areas & integrate biodiversity conservation with tourism and public use, including visitor management & ecotourism facilities.

Endangered Polynesian storm-petrels are returning to Kamaka Island, just two years after invasive rats were removed. This milestone highlights the power of community-led restoration and international support. At a recent SOP Manu event, projects backed by the EU’s BESTLIFE2030 programme showcased how local action and global partnerships are reversing biodiversity loss across French Polynesia and restoring vital island ecosystems.

The 2025 Tech4Nature Summit highlighted innovations and approaches in technology-driven conservation. Aligned with Huawei’s Tech4all initiative and the IUCN Green List, Tech4Nature is a global partnership launched by Huawei and IUCN in 2020 to scale up success in nature conservation through technological innovation.

Building on a strong foundation, including our work through the BIOPAMA programme, this renewed MoU formalises a shared commitment to leverage geospatial technologies and data to drive informed decision-making and policy in support of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

In alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Saudi Green Initiative, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and IUCN convened the Closing Ceremony of the Strategy and Execution Plan for Ecosystem Restoration in AlUla, marking a significant step toward environmental resilience and sustainable development.

During its Green List journey, the Cristalino Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN) identified a crucial gap: the thresholds of success for species within the area had not been clearly defined. The Reserve developed a structured research plan to generate concrete conservation outcomes while systematically mapping threats to its natural, ecological, cultural, and social values.

The Soure Marine Extractive Reserve, located on the Marajó Island, Pará,  has demonstrated how incorporation into the IUCN's Green List can significantly improve the management of a protected area and strengthen community ties and partnerships, facilitating access to resources that enable effective and equitable management.  

Imagine a place where water is born and life flourishes, where Andean bears leave more footprints than ever, and where 10 million people drink hope every day. This is not a fairy tale. It is the Chingaza National Natural Park, the ecological titan that attained the IUCN Green List status and continues its success story. 

SERNAP's officialisation of the Green List has generated healthy competition and empowered PAs, positioning the Green List as a key pillar in public policy to guarantee effective conservation.

The efforts of Olsi, Besjana and others led to the historic designation of the Vjosa Wild River National Park. The new national park is both Albania and Europe’s first to protect a wild river.

Under the BIOPAMA programme, twenty marine protected area practitioners from Caribbean came together for the workshop.

Through the Kiwa Initiative, the IUCN Oceania Regional Office and BirdLife International are training female rangers to help monitor invasive rats in East Rennell (Solomon Islands).Guided by an Environmental Monitoring Plan, rangers and community members, including women, monitor and replenish bait across 40 hectares, tracking wildlife changes

Dr. Jodi Edwards, a Yuin woman with Dharawal kinship, has been actively involved in projects, including the revival of the Dharawal language and the "Unbroken Whispers" project to explore the connections between marine life and Indigenous stories.

The past year saw a strong delivery of knowledge products, and Commission members have also spent much effort engaging with relevant stakeholders such as Indigenous Peoples and local
communities, government agencies, and national and international organisations for impact.

This discussion paper aims to clarify the complexities amongst PAs, OECMs, and green and blue spaces in urban settings by providing working definitions and a concept map that compares their similarities and differences, and
provide a framework to connect isolated urban nature areas by strategically
building urban ecological networks for conservation.

The Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit 2.0 offers a self-assessment methodology to evaluate management effectiveness in a World Heritage property or other heritage place. Tabe’a III addresses the status and trends in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the Arab region during the period from 2015 to 2019.

This paper reaffirms the IUCN Green List’s role as a cornerstone of global biodiversity strategies. It examines the Standard’s diagnostic tools and knowledge products, highlighting their
contributions to bridging capacity gaps and fostering evidence based practices. 

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