Dear Readers,

Welcome to issue #32 of A Voice for Nature, and thank you, as always, for your continued interest in nature conservation across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Just hours before the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 opens, we are thrilled to share details about our activities on site and to invite you to join us in Abu Dhabi or online. Explore the many inspiring sessions and visit the Together for Nature – IDEA Campaign & IUCN ENCA Pavilion, where Members, experts, and partners from across our region will come together to exchange knowledge and shape the future of conservation.

We are also delighted to welcome two new IUCN Members in our region, strengthening our collective efforts and voice. In this issue, you’ll also find a few updates and stories from our region, as well as two new publications worth exploring.

As always, we round off with recent publications, announcements, and media highlights capturing the vibrant work of the IUCN network.

We hope you find inspiration in these updates, and warmly thank all our contributors to this issue.

Enjoy the read,
IUCN ECARO Editorial

In a day, conservation leaders, scientists, Indigenous representatives, civil society, and the private sector will come together in Abu Dhabi, UAE, for the IUCN Congress, a global platform that shapes the path towards a sustainable future for nature and people.

It’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and forge partnerships to take action on the most urgent environmental and social challenges of our time. This year’s Congress is fully hybrid, welcoming participants both in person and online.

There’s still time to register and join virtually, with access to live and on-demand sessions, the Exhibition, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the Members’ Assembly, available until 15 January 2026.

If you are attending the Congress in person, join us at the Together for Nature pavilion co-hosted by the IDEA Campaign and IUCN ENCA (Europe, North and Central Asia).

This space will serve as a regional hub for dialogue, exchange, and partnership building, and hopes to unite IUCN Members, experts, government representatives, youth, the private sector, and partners from across Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Through an engaging programme of discussions, exchanges, and networking events, the Pavilion will highlight regional biodiversity priorities, climate resilience, sustainable development, and cross-border conservation efforts. It will also showcase innovative tools, standards, and successful collaboration models driving impact from the global to the regional level.

Regional outlet Daryo reported on the first IUCN Red List training delivered by IUCN in Tashkent, while TREND news agency published an interview with Dr Aguilar, IUCN Director General. 

News about the recent conservation reclassification officially recognising four giraffe species was widely covered across the Western Balkans, with articles appearing in NIN, BBC Serbian, Danas, and Oslobođenje BA, among others.

International Union for Conservation of Nature, Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (IUCN ECARO)

Created in 1948, IUCN has evolved into the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its 1,400 Member organisations and the input of some 17,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Our experts are organised into seven commissions dedicated to species survival, environmental law, protected areas, social and economic policy, ecosystem management, climate crisis and education and communication. Contributing to a sustainable future in Eastern Europe, North and Central Asia, IUCN ECARO focuses on good governance, long-term protection of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources since 2004.

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IUCN ECARO Newsletter ‘A Voice for Nature’ contains third-party articles. The views expressed in it do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, and the responsibility for the content of the published articles remains with the authors. Whilst IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) has used reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information provided in the newsletter is accurate, it accepts no liability for any errors, misprints or omissions herein (whether negligent or otherwise). The designation of geographical entities in this newsletter and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the definition of its frontiers or boundaries.

The newsletter may point to other internet sites that may be of interest to you; however, we do not endorse or take responsibility for their content. The information in this newsletter is provided free of charge; therefore, you agree by receiving it that this disclaimer is reasonable.

Edited and published by IUCN ECARO, 2025.

Photo credits: A Voice for Nature cover, IUCN Congress banner, Nick St. Oegger, Dmitry Potashkin, Stephanie Gentle, Dragan Arsovski/MES, Eko-Svest, Alexandr Iscenco, AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, SunChild NGO, COP17 visual, SunChild Festival banner, Mainstreaming behaviour change in biodiversity conservation cover, Scaling Up: Conservation in a connected world cover, COP30 logo, CITES50 logo, IUCN Commissions, Arber Xhaferaj.