International conservation organization elects Emirati woman as president

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has named Razan Al-Mubarak as its new president. (IUCN)

• IUCN is a union that brings together some of the world’s most influential organizations, experts to conserve nature
• Al-Mubarak is the founding director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

LONDON: The International Union for Conservation of Nature has named an Emirati woman as its new president at its World Conservation Congress in Marseille.
IUCN is a union that brings together some of the world’s most influential organizations and experts to conserve nature and accelerate the transition to sustainable development.
“Regional representation and scientific expertise are core to IUCN,” Enrique Lahmann, IUCN global director said. “The union’s democratic process, bringing together over 1,400 state, indigenous peoples’ organizations, and civil society members, gives incoming President Razan Al-Mubarak and the council she leads a strong mandate.”  
Al-Mubarak is the founding managing director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, which under her leadership has supported more than 2,000 species conservation projects in more thsn 160 countries. 
She is also the head of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the managing director at Emirates Nature, an NGO affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund.
Members elect the chairs of IUCN’s commissions, which bring together 18,000 volunteer experts from around the world in a range of disciplines from species conservation to environmental law and protected area management.
The commissions assess the state of the world’s natural resources and provide the union with expert knowledge and policy advice on conservation issues.