What did IUCN NL do for nature in 2025? Read our annual report

We all want a thriving, healthy planet for generations to come. Yet, as in previous years, 2025 has presented significant challenges to our shared goal of safeguarding nature for all life on Earth. In 2025, IUCN NL continued working towards a just world that values and conserves nature together with international partners and with IUCN members in the Netherlands. We invite you to read our annual report sharing our results and stories.

Header photo: a trapcam being installed in Uganda © Andrew Kartende / IUCN NL

Globally and in the Netherlands, civil society is facing increasing risks and a shrinking operational space, while biodiversity declines and climate change intensifies. Facing these major challenges requires working together through a strong network of civil society organisations, trusted partnerships, and the support of dedicated donors.

Protecting and restoring nature

Amid an ocean of challenges, IUCN NL continues to push forward, dedicated to protecting and restoring nature. We further strengthened our holistic approach working with local partners to advance nature conservation and sustainable development, while supporting those defending human and environmental rights on the frontline.

A few 2025 highlights

Nature’s Heartbeat kicked off in the summer. With this groundbreaking programme, we are working towards a world where grassroots conservationists in key biodiversity areas are firmly embedded in the global conservation movement. At its core lies trust-based funding.

In October, 10,000 conservationists, government representatives, business leaders, and others were in Abu Dhabi at the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress. IUCN NL represented the 41 IUCN members in the Netherlands and hosted multiple events. 2025 also marked the 25^th anniversary of the IUCN NL Land Acquisition Fund – a true milestone!

A sneak preview of our results:

We selected 30 conservation organisations across 5 countries, in 7 landscapes spanning around 10 Key Biodiversity Areas through Nature’s Heartbeat.
Based on our assessments, 51 organisations in Madagascar, the Comoros, Mauritius, and the Seychelles were supported with in total 55 CEPF grants.
Through the Land Acquisition Fund we granted 6 new projects securing 2526 hectares of important habitat of endangered species in 5 countries.
Between 2020 and 2025, the MoMo4C partners leveraged 20.2 million euro, sustainably managed 150,000 hectares, and impacted around 160,000 people through its most successful business cases.
The Green Livelihoods Alliance brought 41.2 million hectares under sustainable forest management between 2021 and 2025. The programme has reached more than 262,000 people.
We selected 12 projects totalling 1.2 million euro to protect and restore nature in Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands through BESTLIFE2030.