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The 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, 9-15 October, brought together thousands of people working to protect the planet’s biodiversity. For SHOAL, the Congress was an opportunity not only to reconnect with partners and friends from across the world and help shape global conservation policy, but also to gather fresh support for how the 1000 Fishes initiative can help turn back the clock on freshwater extinctions.
This year, SHOAL took part in six sessions across the Congress programme, each addressing critical gaps in freshwater conservation. Three were Forum sessions, which featured in depth discussions, and three were Exhibition sessions, where SHOAL and partners discussed their projects and programmes in various pavilions in the Exhibition Hall.
Forum sessions:
- Achieving Conservation and Socio-economic Benefits from Managing Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in Freshwater Ecosystems
- Global Mechanisms for the Conservation of Overlooked Species
- Overlooked Yet Essential: Advancing the Recognition and Conservation of Springs for Biodiversity and Society
Exhibition sessions:
- Innovative Actions for Effective and Resilient Freshwater Connectivity and Conservation
- Saving ASAP Fishes: A Radically Collaborative Approach
- Transforming Biodiversity Conservation Beyond Protected Areas – OECMs in Asia to Advance KM-GBF Target 3
While each session offered valuable insights, the Forum sessions presented the best opportunity for audience collaboration and rich level of detail. Each of the three provided valuable insights for freshwater biodiversity conservation, and highlighted the growing partnerships and momentum behind SHOAL’s 1000 Fishes initiative.
Achieving Conservation and Socio-economic Benefits from Managing Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in Freshwater Ecosystems
In collaboration with Freshwater Life, International Rivers, the IUCN Species Survival Commission, Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB), and TARSIUS, SHOAL co-hosted this session, which culminated in a joint statement committing all six organisations to stronger cooperation on invasive species management.
The speakers, including Muhammad Iqram (TARSIUS), Gregg Howald (Freshwater Life), Victoria Lichtshein (IUCN SSC), Joshua Klemm (International Rivers), and Guillaume Gigot (OFB), presented evidence that prevention is the most effective and cost-efficient approach. But they also shared success stories showing that, where invasives have already taken hold, targeted, science-based management can bring ecosystems back to life.
Fundación Somuncura and Freshwater Life’s restoration in Patagonia, which completely removed invasive fish from a section of the Valcheta Stream, causing the dramatic recovery of the Naked Characin (Gymnocharacinus bergii) and Valcheta Stream Frog (Atelognathus rivularis), was highlighted as a leading example. 
Graden Froese, CEO of Freshwater Life, said, “Too often, freshwater invasive species can feel like an overwhelming problem. But invasive species can be dealt with, and even permanently removed, from many rivers and lakes. The results, for people and nature, are spectacular. This gathering, the first of its kind at the IUCN’s world conservation congress, reminded and energized us around the importance of action.”
Dileri Berdeja, conservation consultant from Berde Environmental Consulting, who was instrumental in pulling this session together, said, “This session went beyond ecological concerns, emphasising how invasive species intersect with the socio-cultural and economic dimensions of local communities. Managing these species is essential not only for protecting biodiversity but also for safeguarding the livelihoods that depend on healthy freshwater systems. Witnessing collaboration among leading organisations and experts was both inspiring and a much-needed step toward stronger, coordinated global action.”
Global Mechanisms for the Conservation of Overlooked Species
Hosted by Synchronicity Earth and partners including Amphibian Survival Alliance, IUCN Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP), Mandai Nature, and SHOAL, this session explored how new global frameworks can raise the profile of species often left behind by mainstream conservation, from freshwater fishes to invertebrates and plants. It set the tone for a broader movement recognising that small, data-deficient, and non-charismatic species are every bit as vital to ecosystems as their larger counterparts.
SHOAL highlighted how the 1,000 Fishes Blueprint and its network of Priority Fishes already provide a practical model for identifying and investing in overlooked freshwater species. Participants agreed that better funding mechanisms, stronger coordination, and policy recognition are essential to scaling up this work.
Mike Baltzer, Executive Director of SHOAL, said, “This session fizzed with energy and actionable discussion for how we can together make a huge difference to overlooked freshwater biodiversity. We heard about many new mechanisms and solutions underpinned by a determination for change. This included many visionary funders and host organisations happy to take on the challenge to mobilise action to save these neglected species. Next step is to engage more funders and organisations”.
Overlooked Yet Essential: Advancing the Recognition and Conservation of Springs for Biodiversity and Society
Springs, the literal sources of many rivers, received rare attention in this session, which SHOAL co-organised with Re:wild, the International Water Management Institute, the Springs Stewardship Institute, Saint Louis Zoo, and the IUCN Species Survival Commission. It called for global recognition of springs as unique freshwater ecosystems, vital both to biodiversity and to the human communities that depend on them.
The discussion built momentum behind Motion 016 Springs under threat: Mobilising urgent action for neglected freshwater ecosystems, one of two SHOAL-proposed motions at the Congress, both of which were approved and elevated to IUCN Resolutions.
Joseph Holway, Assistant Director at the Springs Stewardship Institute (SSI), said, “At SSI, we have been actively studying and protecting springs for the past four decades, yet their significance has too often fallen on deaf ears. That is why it fills me with hope to see a room full of scientists and conservationists dedicating their time and energy to these systems, these tiny focal points in the landscape that collectively weave together the fabric of biodiversity itself. Without springs, we would have only a fraction of the perennial rivers, wetlands, and ecosystems that sustain life across the planet. It is time that springs receive the attention they deserve as the lifeblood upon which both freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity depend.”
Chouly Ou, Freshwater Fish Conservation Coordinator of SHOAL/Re:wild, addded, “This session provided a much-needed platform for spring experts to meet in person, exchange knowledge, and identify concrete steps to move from motion to action. We discussed the roadmap for protecting springs, the establishment of the IUCN Springs Task Force, and the creation of a Global Springs Alliance. These are essential steps following the adoption of the motion as an official IUCN resolution, and this session marked an important milestone in turning the resolution into coordinated global action”.
Exhibition sessions
Throughout the Exibition sessions, SHOAL and partners highlighted many of the challenges and successes they have been involved in through their work to protect freshwater biodiversity, such as the efficacy of using Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMS) to solve many freshwater conservation needs, and case studies highlighting how being innovative can help safeguard river connectivity and protect habitats that are highly important for local communities.
Jessica Judith Grefa Huatatoca, a biologist and Indigenous Kichwa woman from Santa Clara, Ecuador, who works with Piatua Resiste to protect the Piatua River and the cultural heritage of the Kichwa people, and who was a panellist in the Innovative Actions for Effective and Resilient Freshwater Connectivity and Conservation session offered some profound words about connectivity: “In the Kichwa tradition, humans are aquatic beings; we don’t say we learn to walk, but that we learn to swim. We are one interconnected, flowing system”.
Motions and Policy Wins
SHOAL closely followed 15 motions relevant to freshwater conservation. Each was approved, meaning these issues now become formal IUCN policy. Three were debated and adopted in the Members’ Assembly:
- Motion 067: Living in harmony with rivers through the rights of nature and ecocentric law
- Motion 094: Recognising the importance of Indigenous languages, knowledge and cultural heritage in biodiversity conservation
- Motion 108: Development of IUCN guidelines to effectively control the commercial pet trade in terrestrial wildlife
Each adopted Resolution, guides IUCN’s future actions and influences global policy, funding, and awareness.
Growing the SHOAL
Beyond the sessions, SHOAL’s exhibition booth drew crowds with an interactive fishing game, where visitors could win Priority Fishes posters and learn about the species and people behind them. It proved a fantastic way to spark conversations about freshwater life and the global network working to protect it.
The Congress also marked the first time the entire six-member SHOAL team gathered in person. For a team that works across continents, this made the week especially memorable.
In Abu Dhabi, freshwater voices were loud, united, and full of momentum, showing how much hunger and ambition there is among the wider SHOAL partnership to ensure the 1000 Fishes initiative will succeed. SHOAL leaves the Congress energised and inspired to build on the productive conversations that were had and connections that were made.
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