Conservation needs more women, says Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak performing a laparoscopy on a Green turtle before release. Image: As originally published by Mongabay.

Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay | August 30, 2021

Few people likely associate the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven mostly oil-rich emirates on the Western shores of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with biodiversity conservation. But the next president of one of the world’s most prominent conservation groups, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), could be from the UAE.

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak is in the running to become the first woman from the Arab world to head IUCN. Ms. Al Mubarak is up against two other candidates — Malik Khan from Pakistan and John Robinson from the United States — in the election, which will take place during IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, which starts this week.

Having served as the managing director of three prominent institutions — the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), a government agency; the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the philanthropy funded by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi; and Emirates Nature, an NGO affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) — Ms. Al Mubarak would bring unique experience to the helm 73-year-old conservation organization.

Ms. Al Mubarak has distinguished herself in these roles. In her capacity as managing director of EAD, she persuaded Abu Dhabi to double its protected areas targets and adopt a goal of reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions 42% by 2030. At the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund — which she has managed since its 2008 founding — Ms. Al Mubarak has overseen grants distributed to more than 2,250 conservation projects in over 180 countries. At Emirates Nature, she has helped lead efforts to protect reefs, wilderness, and sea turtles in the UAE.

Along the way Ms. Al Mubarak has been an advocate for improving inclusivity in conservation, providing resources to communities that have often been marginalized in the sector, including Indigenous peoples and women.

“The only way to solve a multidimensional problem like biodiversity loss is to ensure that all stakeholders have a seat at the table – women, young people, and people from all geographies,” Ms. Al Mubarak told Mongabay during a recent interview. “For example, indigenous peoples make up five percent of the world’s population and they are protecting over 80 percent of Earth’s biodiversity. Their experience with resilience and how to live in balance with nature provide the world with invaluable insights on how to conserve biodiversity while adapting to climate change.”

“It is critical that women have an equal voice in decision-making when it comes to the sustainable use of land, water, and other natural resources,” she continued. “Women are not just lacking an equal seat at the table at a grassroots level. Like many fields dominated by men such as science, engineering, and government, women are also underrepresented in the conservation world.”

Ms. Al Mubarak said that a recent analysis of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund’s grant applications found men submit three times more requests for funding than women. She also noted that only 30% of the members of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, which plays a critical role in driving the conservation agenda for individual species, are women.

“Our own response has been to make a concerted effort to solicit more applications from women,” she said. “Spotlighting the critical work of women conservationists will inspire more women to pursue a career in the field. At the same time, we need to encourage schools and universities to recruit and support women considering a conservation career.”

Ms. Al Mubarak told Mongabay she has four priorities if elected to the IUCN’s presidency.

The first of these includes doubling down on IUCN’s strengths: specifically, its “knowledge products like the Red List of Threatened Species and the Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas.”

“We need to embrace our unique selling points as a nature conservation institution and leverage the expertise of our employees, members, and volunteers,” she said.

The second is enhancing collaboration between different stakeholders to make conservation more relevant to more people.

“We need to better engage with business, government, civil society, and philanthropic communities and create effective collaborations across complex sectors of society,” said Ms. Al Mubarak.

The third, she noted, is consistency and good governance: “Good governance, when done right, will lead to greater efficiency, scaled-up impact, and enhanced trust.”

Fourth is communication.

“IUCN’s brand needs to be recognized and valued so that we can build trust and achieve our mission,” she said. “Good communication does not happen by default. It happens by design.”

Ms. Al Mubarak talked about these topics and much more during an August 2021 conversation with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

Mongabay: What inspired your interest in nature and the environment?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: I had the opportunity to be surrounded in nature growing up in the UAE. I was able to be very close to the desert and the sea. There was not much to distract us from observing the colors of the ocean, the fish, the creatures, and all of the wonder of these landscapes. In university, I studied the impact of environmental toxins which inspired me to explore a very natural set of questions: how is our impact on the environment affecting us, affecting our health, our identity, our culture, and indeed, our humanity? I came to realize that, first and foremost, we are part of nature. We’re not separate from nature. And therefore, the fate of nature is very much intertwined with our own fates, destiny, and prosperity.

Mongabay: Do you have a favorite place in nature that serves as an escape or refuge for you?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: I love the vastness and silence of the desert, especially the Empty Quarter, where the dunes seem to go on forever. Sitting on the crest of a dune at sunrise is always meditative, calming, and reinvigorating.

Mongabay: As managing director of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, you led the Gulf region’s largest environmental regulator. What have been your top priorities in that role? And what achievements are you most proud of?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: When I was appointed managing director of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) in 2010, I was the youngest person to lead an Abu Dhabi government entity and one of the only women to hold such a position. During my tenure, the government agreed to double its protected wildlife areas and adopt the region’s first carbon targets: a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent by 2030.

One of our greatest achievements, which demonstrates the power of collaboration across borders, is the story of the Scimitar-horned oryx, which was relegated to extinction. We worked with the people of the UAE as well as institutions and zoos from around the world to bring this beautiful creature back from the brink. We brought together a world herd of Scimitar-horned Oryx and began to reintroduce it to the protected areas of Chad in collaboration with the Chadian Government and the nomadic people of the area. This project proved that there are conservation paths that go beyond boundaries, beyond languages; that unify people across geographies.

Mongabay: You’ve been the managing director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ Fund) since its founding in 2008. What distinguishes the Fund from other conservation endeavors?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: The Fund is a philanthropic endowment providing micro-grants of up to $25,000 to support boots-on-the-ground conservation projects for the world’s most threatened species. It is guided by the principle that small but focused interventions on the ground can make a big difference.

Since 2009, the Fund has funded more than 2,250 projects in over 180 countries, supporting more than 1,450 different species and subspecies. Many grantees have succeeded in rediscovering lost species, discovering new ones, and reducing threats to countless others.

Mongabay: Is there a particular project or initiative that best exemplifies what the MBZ Fund is trying to achieve?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: There are so many but I will share just two that demonstrate how simple and targeted solutions can have a big impact.

We supported Anslem DeSilva whose work in Sri Lanka is dedicated to reducing conflict between humans and crocodiles. Every year scores of Sri Lankans are attacked by crocodiles as they bathe in rivers. A common response to human-wildlife conflict in all cultures is to take ‘revenge’ on the animal that attacked the person. As a result, many crocodiles are killed in Sri Lanka no matter if they were involved in the attack or not. We provided a small grant to Dr DeSilva to build fenced-off areas where people can wash and bathe safely without being threatened by a crocodile attack. By reducing the number of attacks, Dr. DeSilva is protecting crocodiles.

Another shining example is grantee Purnima Devi Barman, a wildlife biologist working to protect India’s greater adjutant stork, or Hargila, a scavenger that had been reviled because of its strange appearance. She founded the Hargila Army, a local all-female volunteer group that protects nesting sites, saves fallen baby birds, and educates the local community on the importance of these rare and endangered scavengers.

Mongabay: What do you see as the role of technology in conservation?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: Technology such as drones, camera traps, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and environmental-DNA, is transforming how conservationists do their work. But, in the end, technology supports conservation. Nature conservation is ultimately about getting into the field to understand the challenges facing species, ensure the threats to species are reduced, and to engage governments and local communities to look after threatened species.

Mongabay: What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the MBZ fund’s work?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: The MBZ Fund recently conducted a survey of more than 300 of its grantees in 85 different countries. Not surprisingly, the survey found that many conservationists were very concerned about the financial futures of their organizations. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said their organization had been negatively impacted, with 57 percent reporting their organization was experiencing financial difficulties and 22 percent reporting their organization planned to eliminate jobs.

Many grantees highlighted the loss of revenue for their organizations due to park, zoo, and aquarium closures, the decline in eco-tourism, and the reduction in student enrollment for courses and fieldwork experiences. That’s one of the reasons why we loosened our restrictions on grants last year so grantees could use funds to meet core emergency operating needs. It’s clear that conservation organizations cannot protect threatened species if they cannot meet basic needs like staff salaries and rent. The Fund has always been dedicated to keeping conservationists in the field. Allowing conservationists to lose their jobs or for their organizations to collapse would be detrimental to fulfilling our long-term mission.

Mongabay: You are running to become the next president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). If you’re successful, you would be the first woman from the Arab world to head the 73-year-old organization. What would be your top priorities in that role?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: We face profound challenges: an extinction crisis, climate change, and a global pandemic.

The good news is that IUCN has so much to offer at this critical moment, especially as more and more people recognize that protecting nature is critical to solving the current challenges we face. Nature-based solutions are increasingly seen as an effective way to mitigate the impact of climate change. We also know that restoring habitats and preventing biodiversity loss will rebuild the barriers that protect us against pathogens and future pandemics.

My top priority will be to reassert IUCN’s leadership and influence on the global stage. We must bring conservation into the mainstream conversation – and make it an essential part of the solution for solving the multiple crises that the planet faces.

Mongabay: And what’s your long-term vision for IUCN?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: First, we need to concentrate and focus on our niche. The niche of nature conservation. We need to focus on our scientific prowess as experts in nature conservation and we need to leverage this expertise. IUCN is known for its knowledge products like the Red List of Threatened Species and the Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas. We must take steps to advocate for the development of new products and evolve existing ones. We need to embrace our unique selling points as a nature conservation institution and leverage the expertise of our employees, members, and volunteers.

Second, we must collaborate. We need to better engage with business, government, civil society, and philanthropic communities and create effective collaborations across complex sectors of society. We must leverage our unique position with the United Nations and other intergovernmental frameworks to ensure that nature conservation has a seat at the table.

Third, we need consistency and you can’t get consistency without good governance. And good governance, when done right, will lead to greater efficiency, scaled-up impact, and enhanced trust.

Fourth, communicate. IUCN’s brand needs to be recognized and valued so that we can build trust and achieve our mission. Good communication does not happen by default. It happens by design. Armed with a clear message we need to build our capacity to communicate. That is how we will motivate everyone to act with urgency on behalf of nature. We must all become nature’s best advocates. We are its voice.

Mongabay: Recently the conservation sector has attracted criticism for its history of discrimination, colonial legacy, inequity, and lack of inclusivity. How does conservation move past that to become more inclusive and representative of communities and peoples who have traditionally not had a seat at the table?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: The only way to solve a multidimensional problem like biodiversity loss is to ensure that all stakeholders have a seat at the table – women, young people, and people from all geographies.

For example, indigenous peoples make up five percent of the world’s population and they are protecting over 80 percent of Earth’s biodiversity. Their experience with resilience and how to live in balance with nature provide the world with invaluable insights on how to conserve biodiversity while adapting to climate change.

That is why it is imperative that we accelerate efforts to make it easier for indigenous peoples to share knowledge with each other, as well as the broader community of scientists, researchers, and policymakers. As IUCN President, I will ensure indigenous peoples have a central, active, and equitable role in IUCN governance, and are at the forefront of the sustainable development agenda. We must empower indigenous communities and not just pay lip service.

I recently participated in a panel for International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples with Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad. During our talk, Ms. Ibrahim shared this inspiring message that should guide us all: “Indigenous people are everywhere — from the arid deserts, savannas, and high mountains to glaciers, tropical forests, oceans, and islands. When you go to indigenous land, it is more fertile than a national park that is protected by the government. And that is because we know how to keep balance with nature. It is the wisdom of the indigenous people that makes this possible.”

Mongabay: You have championed stronger roles for women in conservation. What are the key levers for making progress on this front?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: In many parts of the world, especially in rural and indigenous communities, women are among the first to experience the devastating impact of biodiversity loss. They are forced to spend more time traveling greater distances to collect water, wood for fuel, and animals and plants for food, medicine, and clothes. That is why it is critical that women have an equal voice in decision-making when it comes to the sustainable use of land, water, and other natural resources.

Women are not just lacking an equal seat at the table at a grassroots level. Like many fields dominated by men such as science, engineering, and government, women are also underrepresented in the conservation world. Men comprise 70% of the members of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, a global network of 10,000 experts who advise the organization on the conservation of individual species.

The MBZ Fund recently analyzed the gender ratio among our grant applicants and discovered that in Africa and Asia, regions of exceptional biodiversity where conservation efforts are most needed, men submit three times more grant applications than women. It would benefit all grantmaking organizations to conduct a similar analysis in order to ensure that they are doing what it takes to foster an equal representation of gender among their applicants. Our own response has been to make a concerted effort to solicit more applications from women in these regions. Spotlighting the critical work of women conservationists will inspire more women to pursue a career in the field. At the same time, we need to encourage schools and universities to recruit and support women considering a conservation career.

Mongabay: In a Wired piece published in May you call yourself a “conservation optimist.” What keeps you optimistic?

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak: I am an optimist because we know that conservation is effective. And every day we learn more about what we can do to protect it.

There is no doubt that nature is being challenged, just by our sheer population alone. But despite that, nature is not dead; it just needs our help.

When I am overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge we face, I like to think of it this way: there are 7.8 billion people on this planet, and we have 10 billion species. If just one individual out of 10 is empowered to protect a potentially endangered species, we have addressed the problem. So be interested, be curious, and use that energy for good. There are incredible individuals that are protecting nature. Get in touch with them and be part of something that is very fulfilling.

Read the original story here.

Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay | August 30, 2021

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Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay | August 30, 2021

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