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Saudi Arabia Participates in the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi

General view of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 3, 2019. Picture taken January 3, 2019. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
General view of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 3, 2019. Picture taken January 3, 2019. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
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Saudi Arabia Participates in the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi

General view of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 3, 2019. Picture taken January 3, 2019. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
General view of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 3, 2019. Picture taken January 3, 2019. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is participating in the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025, which is taking place from October 9 to 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi delegation is led by the National Center for Wildlife (NCW) and includes several national entities engaged in the environmental sector.

The conference is recognized as the world’s leading platform dedicated to the protection of biodiversity and the sustainability of natural resources. It aims to accelerate environmental action and promote innovative scientific solutions that advance collective efforts to safeguard nature, restore ecosystems, and strengthen global biodiversity resilience, according to SPA.

Saudi Arabia’s participation highlights a range of national programs and initiatives that contribute to protecting nature, restoring degraded habitats, and enhancing biodiversity. Alongside NCW, the delegation includes the Royal Commission for AlUla, the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve Development Authority, and the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority.

This joint participation reaffirms the Kingdom’s commitment to achieving the 30×30 target—to protect 30% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030—set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). By aligning this global target with national efforts such as the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, Saudi Arabia is demonstrating its leadership in advancing regional and global environmental action.

The congress brings together global experts, leaders, and decision-makers in the field of nature conservation, serving as a forum, exhibition, and members’ assembly for sharing knowledge and presenting innovations in conservation and sustainable development. Held every four years, the 2025 edition focuses on the theme “Advancing Transformative Conservation”, which shapes the global nature agenda for the coming years.

NCW CEO Dr. Mohammed Qurban stated: “The Kingdom’s participation—represented by NCW and its national partners—underscores our firm commitment, under the leadership of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to achieving the ambitious environmental goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives.”

He added: “The conference provides an important opportunity to exchange expertise and showcase the Kingdom’s significant achievements in protecting biodiversity and reintroducing endangered species in line with the highest international standards. It also reflects Saudi Arabia’s dedication to strengthening international cooperation and advancing innovative, transformative environmental solutions that drive sustainable impact.”

This step underscores the Kingdom’s prominent role in leading regional and global environmental efforts and its contribution to building a more balanced and sustainable environmental future.

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Varieties

Dead Humpback Whale Brought to Shore in Denmark with Autopsy Set Next Week

30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: The dead whale is being pulled ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. (dpa)
30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: The dead whale is being pulled ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. (dpa)
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Dead Humpback Whale Brought to Shore in Denmark with Autopsy Set Next Week

30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: The dead whale is being pulled ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. (dpa)
30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: The dead whale is being pulled ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. (dpa)

The carcass of a humpback whale, whose life and death captivated Germans for months as the mammal became repeatedly stranded in the Baltic Sea, was dragged Saturday onto a Danish beach after two weeks of the body languishing in shallow waters.

The whale had gained the nicknames “Timmy” and “Hope” as German media outlets sent push alerts and updated live blogs with the status of its health since it was first spotted off the German coast on March 3.

The whale was found dead on May 14, stranded just off the small island of Anholt in the Kattegat, the broad strait between Denmark and Sweden that connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.

The whale's death ended months of a spectacular and contentious rescue effort that culminated May 2, when the mammal was transported toward the North Sea in a barge in a final effort to guide it back to its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.

The carcass will be examined next week to determine the cause of death, according to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

Danish news outlet “News5” on Saturday published a livestream of the carcass being dragged onto the shoreline by a cable attached to a truck on the beach.

It’s not clear why it swam into the Baltic Sea, which is far from its habitat and it wasn’t suited to, although some experts said it may have lost its way while swimming after a shoal of herring or during migration.

Varieties

Austrian Protesters Shut Vital Motorway Connecting Germany to Italy

People demonstrate against transit traffic near the A13 Brenner Highway in the direction of Italy during the blockade of the Brenner Base Tunnel on May 30, 2026, on the Tyrolean Brenner Highway. (AFP)
People demonstrate against transit traffic near the A13 Brenner Highway in the direction of Italy during the blockade of the Brenner Base Tunnel on May 30, 2026, on the Tyrolean Brenner Highway. (AFP)
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Austrian Protesters Shut Vital Motorway Connecting Germany to Italy

People demonstrate against transit traffic near the A13 Brenner Highway in the direction of Italy during the blockade of the Brenner Base Tunnel on May 30, 2026, on the Tyrolean Brenner Highway. (AFP)
People demonstrate against transit traffic near the A13 Brenner Highway in the direction of Italy during the blockade of the Brenner Base Tunnel on May 30, 2026, on the Tyrolean Brenner Highway. (AFP)

Thousands of local residents shut down Austria's Brenner motorway on Saturday, a vital north-south corridor through the Alps between Germany and Italy, in protest at trucks and tourists perennially clogging up their roads.

The protest was led by Karl Muehlsteiger, mayor of Gries am Brenner, one of the towns in the shadow of the artery that snakes through the narrow, steep-sided Wipp Valley on giant concrete stilts.

The issue of ‌excess traffic and ‌pollution in the valley, which leads ‌to ⁠the Brenner Pass, ⁠has for decades been a source of tension between Austria and Germany. Local authorities in the Austrian state of Tyrol have introduced various measures to stem the flow, often prompting howls of protest across the border.

"You are making history!" Austrian news ⁠agency APA quoted Muehlsteiger as telling a ‌crowd of around 3,000 ‌protesters who gathered on the motorway at 1 p.m. to ‌block it symbolically, hours after police cordoned off ‌both ends of the corridor. Cars arriving there turned around and drove away.

The eight-hour shutdown from 11 a.m. did not cause the chaos many had feared as drivers ‌largely heeded warnings to stay away, even during what in some German states, ⁠including ⁠neighboring Bavaria, was a school holiday.

Trains passing along the same route were crowded, local media reported.

The provincial road that runs from town to town alongside the motorway was also closed to all but locals and local traffic.

In Italy, a suspected arson attack on electrical control units overnight disrupted rail traffic between Peri and Dolce, near Verona, on the Verona Porta Nuova–Brenner line.

Investigators were looking into possible links to radical environmentalist or anarcho-insurrectionist groups.

Varieties

Blue Origin Rocket Explosion is Bad News for Both Bezos and NASA

Video of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explosion showed the spacecraft combusting into a massive fireball. JohnCn (@JConcilus) on X / UGC/AFP
Video of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explosion showed the spacecraft combusting into a massive fireball. JohnCn (@JConcilus) on X / UGC/AFP
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Blue Origin Rocket Explosion is Bad News for Both Bezos and NASA

Video of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explosion showed the spacecraft combusting into a massive fireball. JohnCn (@JConcilus) on X / UGC/AFP
Video of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explosion showed the spacecraft combusting into a massive fireball. JohnCn (@JConcilus) on X / UGC/AFP

Space exploration is filled with setbacks, but the spectacular explosion of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on Thursday night marked a significant blow to not only the company, which was founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, but also NASA, with the two collaborating for the upcoming US Moon missions.

"Spaceflight is unforgiving," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a post on X soon after the explosion, promising to "support a thorough investigation of this anomaly," which happened during a ground test and resulted in no injuries.

The rocket -- which stands 98 meters (321 feet) tall and is the most powerful in Blue Origin's fleet -- exploded around 9:00 pm local time Thursday (0100 GMT Friday).

It was undergoing a ground test in Cape Canaveral, Florida in preparation of an upcoming flight when it blew up in a massive fireball, sending shockwaves throughout the space industry.

While anomalies during ground tests are relatively frequent, such explosions are rare, and the magnitude of the blast caused significant damage not only to the spacecraft but the launch pad itself, according to photos of the aftermath released Friday.

"It will take some time to rebuild their pad," Florida congressman Mike Haridopolos, whose district includes Cape Canaveral, told broadcaster Fox News on Friday.

Blue Origin declined an AFP request for additional details on the incident, extent of damage or the ongoing investigation, which is conducted alongside NASA and the US Space Force.

The New Glenn rocket will remain grounded while the investigation is conducted.

- Moon Mission -

The vessel is at the heart of Blue Origin's ambition and NASA's Artemis lunar program, and could have implications for the company's role going forward.

"I have no doubt they will recover but I'm wondering how does this affect Artemis," Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP.

NASA has also tasked rival space exploration company SpaceX to develop lunar landers for transporting astronauts and equipment to the surface of the Moon to establish a base.

SpaceX has seen its own challenges in recent months, and Blue Origin had emerged as a promising alternative for NASA, with the US space agency awarding a new contract to it for the lunar mission earlier this week.

- Major setback -

But these projects depend on the New Glenn rocket, and with its explosion coming shortly after a malfunction causing a satellite mission failure last month, the anomalies could disrupt NASA's tight mission schedule.

NASA is aiming to test an in-orbit rendezvous between a spacecraft and one or two lunar landers in 2027 as part of Artemis III, and carry out a crewed lunar landing before the end of 2028, before the end of US President Donald Trump's time in office.

Thursday's explosion also deals a major setback to another Bezos project, the Amazon Leo satellite internet constellation, which seeks to compete with SpaceX's Starlink but relies on the New Glenn rocket, among others, to launch its satellites, according to Swope.

The Blue Origin rocket blowing up is not the only time an explosion has rocked Cape Canaveral.

Ten years ago, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blew up during a ground test before launching, destroying a $200 million satellite it was supposed to carry.