IUCN Members give mandate to act towards sustainable food and agricultural systems
In October 2025, IUCN hosted the largest World Conservation Congress ever, in Abu Dhabi, with more than 10,000 attendees. Food and agricultural systems featured prominently, through the participation of new food and agricultural systems actors and many relevant events, discussions, and resolutions on the topic. This reflects the increased understanding of the power of sustainable food and agricultural systems to benefit nature and people.
The IUCN Members’ Assembly is the most democratic gathering of the international conservation community. It is the opportunity for members to vote on motions to set the Union’s future policy. This year, a new Vision, Programme and 148 resolutions were adopted.
Vision and Programme
The key vote was to adopt the 20-year strategic Vision and four-year Programme guiding the Union’s work in the lead up to 2030. They focus nature conservation in eight transformational areas to address drivers of biodiversity loss, and “Fostering sustainable food and agricultural systems” is one of them.
“We must transform our society, our food and energy systems - and our Union - to build lasting resilience to face the future. With this ambitious Vision and Programme, I know that IUCN is ready to drive the action needed to safeguard nature and with it our wellbeing, our livelihoods and our very identity,” said Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General.
The Programme Outcome for sustainable food and agricultural systems is:
Significant progress in establishing sustainable, nature-positive and multifunctional agricultural production landscapes and seascapes has been achieved and further loss of biodiversity prevented.
Resolutions adopted by members at the Congress provide support for this Outcome.
Read the IUCN Press Release about the adoption of the Vision and Programme
Voting on motions
Seventeen motions proposed at the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress were directly focused on food and agricultural systems transformation, and more than 50 included them in their considerations. All these have been approved by members to become Resolutions, becoming policy for the Union and a guidance for the work of its Secretariat, Members and Commissions.
A full report on all the resolutions directly relevant to food and agricultural systems can be found here.
One of the first– and most foundational – motions for IUCN’s work on sustainable food systems is Resolution 002 – Accelerating action for nature-positive, sustainable agriculture and food systems.
Recognising that food and agricultural systems drive both biodiversity loss and climate change—while billions still lack access to healthy diets—the resolution provides a powerful mandate to make food and agricultural systems part of the global solution towards the 2026-2029 Programme Outcome of sustainable, nature-positive and multifunctional agricultural production landscapes and seascapes.
It calls for expanded membership from and partnership with relevant actors of the agri-food sector, mobilisation of funding for research and on-the-ground action, the establishment of a cross-Commission Working Group on Food and Agricultural Systems and Biodiversity, to develop tools, guidance, and recommendations, and an Expert Group on Soil Biodiversity to advance soil health science. For State Members, it urges coherent policies that link food systems and conservation, alongside stronger commitments to climate, biodiversity, and soil protection.
To build momentum, over 30 organisations joined a roundtable discussion to translate the resolution’s vision into action and identify where the Union can have the greatest impact in the next 4 years —leveraging its scientific credibility, convening power, and diverse membership base.
Events
For many of the attendees, the rich variety of events is the highlight of the Congress – learning, discussing and widening horizons on the increasing importance of the conservation of nature, with a packed schedule of more than 1,000 events.
Food and agriculture systems were at the heart of the High-Level session The Balancing Act: Feeding People, Sustaining the Planet. The audience heard from Dr. Agnes Kalibata (UN Envoy for the Food Summit), Ewald Rametsteiner (FAO), Dr. Nizar Hani (Ministry of Agriculture, Lebanon), Elizabeth Nsimadal (President, Eastern African Farmers Federation), and youth leader Gloria Amor Paredes. In her keynote address, Dr Kalibata stressed that restoring ecosystems will be impossible without changing how we grow and produce food. “We cannot achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without transforming food systems”, she said. This conclusion added further support to the Outcome for sustainable agriculture.
See more here
The Congress also saw the launch of key resources, including the report Agricultural support, biodiversity, and trade : Examining connections to repurpose harmful incentives, a free, certificate-based online course, Introduction to Conservation and Agriculture – both designed to empower stakeholders with actionable knowledge – and the pre-launch of the report Policy and legal enabling conditions for sustainable agriculture.
The 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress showcased a vibrant exchange of ideas, partnerships, and innovations aimed at transforming food and agricultural systems.
Our aim was to increase the understanding that IUCN is a key player in linking biodiversity conservation with food and agricultural systems transformation – an urgent and inspiring agenda for global sustainability. I think we achieved a great deal in that respect.
The passion of the IUCN members for nature conservation, and the sheer number of them working to achieve change, was very visible in Abu Dhabi and it reminded me how powerful is our Union when Members, Commissions and Secretariat come together and unite for nature.– Pascale Bonzom, IUCN Global Head of Food and Agricultural Systems
For a complete account of all the proceedings and decisions at the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress, see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.