The IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) will take place in October 2025 in Abu Dhabi, and the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) is preparing its attendance to defend sustainable use.
At the WCC, IUCN Members will vote on motions that set the organisation’s conservation policy for the coming years. This process is more than an internal exercise. Each adopted motion becomes an official IUCN Resolution or Recommendation, which governments use to guide their own positions, laws, and priorities. These decisions also shape donor strategies, conservation funding, and the policies of international institutions.
This means the outcome of the IUCN motions process has direct consequences for sustainable use. It can strengthen recognition of hunting and wildlife-based economies as tools for conservation, or it can undermine them by promoting restrictive approaches that do not reflect realities on the ground. For communities, landowners, and hunters alike, the implications are wide-ranging.
A Timely Policy Brief
In advance of the voting, the African Wildlife Economy Institute (AWEI), together with CIC and with contributions from partners, has published The 2025 IUCN Motions and Sustainable Use.
Authored by Francis Vorhies, Alexandra Kalandarishvili (CIC Policy Coordinator), and Lydia Daring Bhebe, the brief analyses all motions tabled for the 2025 Congress. It highlights those most relevant to sustainable use and offers commentary to support informed voting.
By producing this guide, CIC and AWEI are ensuring that Members and partners have the tools to identify which motions safeguard sustainable use, rural livelihoods, and biodiversity-based economies, and which may threaten them.
CIC at the WCC
As a member of IUCN, CIC will take part in the WCC to ensure sustainable use is properly represented in global decision-making. Our participation helps safeguard rural communities, ensure biodiversity-based economies are recognised, and uphold hunting as a legitimate and effective conservation tool.
The stakes are high. What is decided at the WCC will echo far beyond the conference halls, informing governments and shaping conservation policy around the world. CIC will be there to make sure that sustainable use remains at the heart of this agenda.
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Media Contact:
Tristan Breijer MBA FRGS FRSA MCIJ
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
CIC – International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation
Email: tristan.breijer@cic-wildlife.org
Mobile: +44 781 408 7423
Website: www.cic-wildlife.org
