The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress (WCC) is the world’s largest and most democratic recurring conference for environmentally sustainable development. Meeting every four years, the WCC brings together IUCN’s 1,400+ government, civil society, and Indigenous peoples members, as well as experts, leaders, and decision-makers from around the world.
This year’s WCC met from 9-15 October, 2025 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). In addition to a Forum and Exhibition, which included over 1000 events to showcase research, innovation and conservation progress among participants, the Congress convened the Members’ Assembly, IUCN’s highest decision-making body. Along with updating Strategic Vision and Programme of Work, elections of IUCN leaders, and Commission mandates, the Assembly considers new policy “Resolutions” to bring focus and IUCN’s influence to bear on specific conservation issues.
This year, IUCN adopted Motion 127 – Recognising and Reporting Ecological Corridors, a step toward further strengthening global coordination and reporting for connectivity conservation. This motion calls on all of IUCN to increase efforts for standardizing recognition, reporting, and databases around ecological corridors, aligned with the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (especially Target 3 on “well-connected” systems of protected and conserved areas). In doing so, Motion 127 builds on — and seeks to strengthen — prior commitments and guidelines regarding connectivity, while addressing existing gaps in measurement, governance, and financing.
Motion 127 is a consolidation and escalation of ecological corridors as a conservation priority: whereas earlier resolutions emphasized building awareness, guidelines, and alignment with biodiversity targets, the world is now moving toward more formal recognition, standardized reporting, data infrastructure, and financing mechanisms for corridors.
Key elements of the motion include:
- Multilateral definition and framework advocacy: The motion calls on all parts of the Union to “recognize the value of, and advocate for, a multilaterally agreed definition and frameworks for ecological corridors as a spatially-explicit conservation measure” — an important element for full implementation of Target 3.
- Use of IUCN Connectivity Guidelines and capacity building: Members, governments, NGOs, and conservation practitioners are explicitly invited to use the IUCN Connectivity Guidelines when identifying, proposing, or designating corridors. The motion also urges strengthening design, governance, management, monitoring, and implementation of corridors grounded in those guidelines.
- World Database on Ecological Corridors: The motion tasks all parts of the Union to assist with developing a World Database on Ecological Corridors, integrated into Protected Planet. The database is intended to bring coherence, transparency, comparability, and global tracking to corridor efforts.
- Mobilizing funding and private sector support: The motion “encourages donors, finance institutions and the private sector” to invest in ecological corridors for long-term conservation impact. In effect, the motion aims to elevate corridors from a technical conservation tool to a recognized target of conservation finance portfolios.
The new motion builds on nearly a decade of concentrated policy advancement, reflecting IUCN’s long-standing recognition that ecological connectivity is essential, especially across political borders and fragmented landscapes.
- Resolution 073 (WCC 2020) – Ecological connectivity conservation in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework embeds connectivity more explicitly in global biodiversity policy, urging nations and conservation actors to document, plan, and account for connectivity across scales.
- Resolution 071 (WCC 2020) – Wildlife-friendly linear infrastructure addresses fragmentation via infrastructure, which is a key threat to corridors. This resolution is still active and implementation remains and ongoing priority.
- Resolution 087 (WCC 2016) – Connectivity awareness and guidelines raises awareness of connectivity conservation and to formalize development of connectivity guidelines. This resolution served as a foundation for the IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity (2020) that define key concepts (corridors, networks, stepping stones) and best practices.
- Recommendation 149 (WCC 2012) – Transboundary ecological corridors in the Western Iberian Peninsula
- Recommendation 152 (WCC 2012) – Enlarging and connecting protected areas for the Ecological Corridor of Northeast Asia
Please note: This digest is intended to provide up-to-date information on policy development from a neutral, unaffiliated position as it relates to connectivity and corridor science and management.
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