11/10/2025
17:00 - 17:45
IUCN Commissions Knowledge Hub
, Onsite
Session with interpretation
Why attend
Civic space is shrinking worldwide, threatening Indigenous rights, civil society voices, and effective conservation. This session explores how repression undermines biodiversity governance, highlights real-world impacts, and calls for collective action. Speakers will spotlight advocacy, protocols, and partnerships to safeguard civic space as essential for just, inclusive, and effective conservation.
Session Description
Around the world, civic space is under threat—from restrictive laws, surveillance, violence, and the silencing of Indigenous voices and civil society actors. This session, Shrinking Civic Space, Growing Crisis: Safeguarding Participation and Governance for Conservation, will examine the erosion of civic space and its profound impacts on global environmental governance, conservation action, and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Drawing on a new IUCN motion and lived experiences from environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders, speakers will highlight why open civic spaces are critical to protecting biodiversity, advancing territorial governance, and ensuring justice for frontline communities. Together, we will explore emerging risks, shared responsibilities, and the proactive steps IUCN and its Commissions can take—through advocacy, protocols, and partnerships—to safeguard participation and strengthen conservation rooted in rights, equity, and accountability.Organised by
Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy
Partners
Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets ( Armenia )
Zoologisk Have København ( Denmark )
Reforestamos México A.C. ( Mexico )
Fundación para la Promoción del Conocimiento Indígena ( Panama )
Moderator
Speaker
Host