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The declaration issued by SSC members and partners conveys the critical role of species in ensuring clean water, food security, cultural connections, economic stability, and social justice. It calls on diverse sectors—including governments, businesses, Indigenous peoples and local communities, religious groups, and individuals—to prioritise species conservation within their actions, strategies, and giving, recognising that protecting animals, fungi, and plants is fundamental to sustaining life on earth.

“The declaration, Saving Species Sustains Life, reminds us that the fate of biodiversity is deeply intertwined with our own, affecting everything from climate stability to human health and wellbeing. Our actions to protect species are, in essence, actions to safeguard our collective future," said Razan Al Mubarak, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� President.

As the declaration states:

Saving Species Sustains Life.

We know how to save species and we have proved that conservation works.

SSC has doubled its actions since our 2019 Abu Dhabi Call for Global Species Conservation Action, even as threats continue to emerge and accelerate.

The world has already committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement.

Saving species is fundamental to achieving these commitments.

This 2024 declaration was created to inspire urgent and widespread action on behalf of all species. While climate action and area-based measures are critical to protecting and restoring nature, species conservation is also an essential part of this effort. SSC members asserted that species conservation underlies achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and the Paris Agreement. This call to action, advanced by SSC members in line with and the global conservation community, calls for the world to rally to protect and restore the species that sustain us all.

Reflecting on the meeting’s achievements, SSC Chair Prof Jon Paul Rodríguez stated, “The urgent need to conserve species is at the heart of SSC’s mission. This declaration amplifies our commitment to act for biodiversity, climate resilience, and human well-being. With support from communities, governments, civil society and individuals worldwide, we can build a sustainable future that values and conserves all life.”

For more than 15 years, with the dedicated partnership of Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), SSC Leaders’ Meetings have served as a vital platform for global conservation strategising, collaboration, and action. Since the inaugural meeting in 2008, these gatherings have driven advancements in species conservation, making the SSC Leaders' Meeting an indispensable event on the conservation calendar. This year’s event emphasised the regenerative power of nature and the crucial roles of animals, fungi, and plants in sustaining ecosystems, regulating climate, and supporting life. Together, the SSC Network continues to play a pivotal role in halting extinctions, reversing species declines, and driving species recovery efforts worldwide.

The 2024 SSC Leaders’ Meeting builds upon the foundational  2019 Abu Dhabi Call for Global Species Conservation Action, which underscored species conservation as a shared priority and responsibility. It inspired the 2023 launch of , which was presented at the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nairobi. Continuing this legacy, the 2024 declaration renews ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��’s commitment to empowering communities, supporting governments, and engaging civil society and businesses to prioritise species conservation at all levels and achieve the goals and targets agreed to in the GBF.

“The ‘Saving Species Sustains Life’ declaration from ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Species Survival Commission sends a powerful message: species conservation and the protection of biodiversity is essential for ensuring our survival. Species protection is critical in sustaining clean water, food security, cultural heritage, economic stability, and even social justice,” said ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Director General Grethel Aguilar. “With over 10,000 members, the SSC is ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��’s largest commission, and along with numerous supporters, we call on all sectors—governments, businesses, Indigenous Peoples, communities, and individuals—to make species conservation a priority in their strategies to protect life on Earth.”

“Actions taken by the Species Survival Commission for species conservation since the last Abu Dhabi declaration in 2019 have doubled. This is a reason for optimism and gives us hope as we need to further intensify our efforts to protect threatened species and take stock of the situation during the next ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi in October 2025,” said Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, EAD Secretary General. “Despite over 46,000 known species being at an imminent risk of extinction where we will lose forever the social, economic, health and other benefits they provide, we have been reintroducing species such as the Arabian and Scimitar-horned Oryx. It is our collective responsibility to take actions to protect them and fulfil our obligations under different conventions and agreements and our own individual responsibilities.”

The ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Species Survival Commission is the world’s largest volunteer conservation-science network with over 10,000 members globally. It is mandated by the Members of ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� (national and subnational governments, NGOs, businesses, and Indigenous peoples’ organisations) to develop and apply the evidence base to conserve species. This unique body includes biologists, ecologists, wildlife managers, health and social scientists, educators, community representatives, economists and government officials.

SSC generates knowledge for the , the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi, and plant species. SSC experts have unique insight into the extent to which species are undergoing unprecedented and growing threats from unsustainable human activities, as reflected in the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Red List.

The declaration is available also in Spanish,��French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, and Mandarin.