Pew at the IUCN World Conservation Congress

Editor’s note: This page was updated Oct. 7, 2025, to clarify Pew’s co-sponsored motions.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s 2025 World Conservation Congress runs from Oct. 9 to 15 in Abu Dhabi. This gathering, which takes place every four years, brings together thousands of government decision-makers, Indigenous and civil society leaders, and environmental advocates—including experts from The Pew Charitable Trusts—from around the world to set the global conservation agenda for the next four years. Motions adopted during the congress highlight priority issues that will be carried forward as the general policy of the IUCN.

Pew co-sponsors and supports adoption of the following motions:

• Vote yes on 035: Protection of mesopelagic ecosystem integrity This motion would urge a precautionary pause on any expansion of mesopelagic fishing—which takes place in the ocean’s “twilight zone,” 200 to 1,000 meters below the surface—or other activities that would potentially affect mesopelagic species and ecosystems.
• Vote yes on 059: Advancing actions to end plastic pollution to protect human health, biodiversity, and the environment This motion would request immediate global action to target all sources of plastic pollution, including microplastics, and transition away from their use; encourage the reduction of plastic protection to more sustainable levels; and complete negotiations on a global plastic treaty.

Pew-organized events and speaking engagements

Subject matter experts have helped to organize or will participate as speakers in the following events:

Thursday, Oct. 9

• 14:30-15:00 GST, Virtual Channel 5, online only, “Innovative Leadership for a Nature-Positive Economy”
  • Panelist: Kathleen Fitzgerald, Enduring Earth

Friday, Oct. 10

• 13:30-15:00 GST, IUCN Programme Pavilion, Exhibition Hall, “From Harmful Subsidies to Overfishing: Exploring the Roots of Unsustainable Fisheries”
  • Panelist: Megan Jungwiwattanaporn
• 17:00-17:40 GST, Room CS, Disruptive Innovation and Technology, hybrid, hosted by France, “Disruptive Innovation: Alternatives to Plastic for a Pollution-Free Future”
  • Panelist: Natacha Tullis

Saturday, Oct. 11

• 16:30-17:10 GST, Room CR B, Forum—Session Room 8 and online, “From Negotiations to Action: What Global Plastic Policy Means for Local Governments”
  • Panelist: Natacha Tullis
• 17:00-18:00, IUCN, The Americas, Room 1, “Advancing Connectivity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific: A Holistic Approach to Marine Conservation and Management”
  • Moderator: Jen Sawada
• 18:00-18:45, IUCN, The Americas, Room 2, “The Thermal Dome as a Case Study for an ABMT in the High Seas”
  • Moderator: Jen Sawada