Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak is changing the face of leadership in conservation. In 2021, she became the first Arab woman to be president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. She is at the helm of environmental protection as the Managing Director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ Fund) as well as the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, for which she was the youngest female head selected for a governmental organisation. Not only is Al Mubarak conserving our natural world, she is paving the way for more women to take the reins in their communities.
Born in the warm climate of Abu Dhabi, this is where Al Mubarak’s love of the environment flourished. Development was slow in the early 80s, and nature was all around her. But as the world started to change, Al Mubarak began to comprehend the profound impact humans had on the planet and that the wellbeing of humanity is intrinsically linked with ecosystems. Al Mubarak’s work in conservation began in 2001 when she established Emirates Nature with the World Wildlife Fund. While focusing on global warming, Al Mubarak found that indigenous communities and women in particular suffered significantly from environmental changes.
Most women in remote communities rely on natural resources to sustain their families. When that declines, it places more pressure on them. “These women are so intimately aware of the changes in the natural environment,” Al Mubarak says. With the MBZ Fund, she is providing microgrants to people on the ground who have a direct understanding of how a particular species is faring, as well as what the potential solutions are. “We wanted to focus on the unusual suspects, women in the communities who against all odds are protecting nature,” Al Mubarak says. Since creating the organisation, they have donated to over 2 000 projects preserving an estimated 1 400 species.
“We put the spotlight on a number of our grantees, so we think not only should we include, but we should make sure that women and indigenous communities actually lead in many of these conservation initiatives,” Al Mubarak says. She has assisted women across 180 countries, including wildlife biologist Anne-Camille Souris who specialises in the Mongolian khulan, and Anya Ratnayaka fighting to protect the fishing cat in Sri Lanka.
In 2018, Al Mubarak was named as one of the top 100 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum for her contribution to conservation. Preserving the natural world should be inclusive of everyone, and Al Mubarak is ensuring that women are in charge of the fight for wildlife.
Footage and images by Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, and Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh were used in the creation of this film.
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