Conference Statements
During ICCB 2025, members of the SCB community prepared several statements to provide clarity, uphold our values, and center equity and Indigenous leadership in conservation. We’re sharing them here in full for transparency and as a record of the Congress. The statements include the SCB GNB DEIJ Committee Statement and a Statement from Indigenous Delegates at ICCB 2025. We have also shared an update on our process for the SCB Middle East Conflict Statement below. The SCB Oceania Statement will be published soon.
Final Statements
In June 20205, over 1,500 conservation professionals gathered in Brisbane/Meeanjin/Magandjin on the lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people, my hometown, and one of the most biodiverse cities in the world for the major global forum for conservation.
The ICCB 2025 philosophy is to provide a safe and inclusive space that is accessible for people of many cultures and backgrounds to share their insights, knowledge, and research. This is all with the shared aim of addressing conservation challenges and advancing conservation science and practice.
Indeed this is the philosophy of SCB so it was timely that our DEIJ statement was drafted with input from SCB members and participants to reflect our commitment to DEIJ. The draft was presented by outgoing president Vanessa Adams on the final plenary of ICCB 2025.
- Statement from Indigenous Delegates at the International Congress for Conservation Biology 2025 - endorsed by the SCB Global Network Board
Statements in Progress
SCB's Middle East Conflict Statement Process Update:
We acknowledge that conservation must include all voices and that many impacted by the Gaza war and other global crises were unable to join us at ICCB to have their voices heard. We call for peace based on mutual respect and security for all, advocating for an immediate end to all fighting in Gaza (and all other parts of the Middle East) from all sides, and promoting reconciliation and collaboration. As a conservation community it is our responsibility to address these conflicts by facilitating conversations of peace and equality. We seek to do our part in this by taking a new path. We had a Formsite open for several weeks to receive feedback on the statement. We will invite a small set of those who engaged in the submission period and that identified as those who wish to engage in a respectful and facilitated conversation to begin a new discussion. The intent is to write a collaborative scientific statement or editorial on shared (and unique) environmental problems in the Middle East region as a whole, with war as one aspect and many others in scope. When it is robust it would be shared again more widely for others to comment on and sign on to.