Nature doesn’t understand borders; Conservation requires global partners

On any given day at nature-based institutions, wide-eyed children experience animals and plants in new ways.

Picture a child, their gaze directly catching the eyes of a majestic gorilla or beluga whale, animals they have seen only in books or online. Or a family admiring the graceful branches of a towering 100-year-old American elm tree, one of few remaining after the 1930s Dutch elm disease outbreak. In these moments, magic happens: awe becomes connection, and connection becomes care. This is the heart of what we do, inspiring conservation action through connection.

But inspiration alone doesn’t save species from extinction.

Species recovery is built on science, long-term planning, and cross-border collaborations. Nature doesn’t recognize the lines drawn on maps. The threats animals and plants face — including habitat loss, disease, invasive species, climate impacts and illegal trade — move freely across boundaries, shipping lanes and human networks that span the globe.

That's why the federal government’s decision to withdraw U.S. support from 66 international bodies, many focused on nature and conservation, matters deeply. It's why our organizations signed onto a letter that was delivered to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this month, asking the administration to reconsider.

After 60 years of membership, the U.S. government withdrew from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s oldest and largest conservation organization addressing the threats facing our planet.

This decision has three compounding effects for conservation and our country:

First: Saving species just got harder, as we’ve lost access to the interconnected approaches to managing populations both in the wild and under human care. Today’s best conservation planning increasingly uses IUCN’s “One Plan Approach”: coordinated strategies that involve everyone responsible for a species' survival, including field conservationists, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, arboreta and other nature facilities.

Second: We are less prepared for an environmental crisis. Early warning networks and shared scientific coordination aren’t “nice to haves”; they are part of how we prevent harm. Wildlife and plant disease outbreaks aren’t only a threat in distant forests or reefs; they travel globally to threaten domestic agriculture, public health and local ecosystems. Invasive species can hitch rides on cargo ships. Diseases can spread through the illicit wildlife trade and can ravage crops and livestock. These risks are amplified by global connectivity, travel and climate change.

Third: If we aren’t at the table, we lose leadership. Global conservation priorities will keep moving with or without the U.S. Withdrawal from these key international partnerships will mean fewer chances to advocate for science-based standards, fewer partnerships for American researchers and institutions and fewer opportunities to shape conservation practices in ways aligned with American strengths in innovation, veterinary medicine, horticulture and wildlife science.

Effective conservation requires global coordination and cooperation. IUCN facilitates wide-ranging coordination across governments, universities, NGOs and conservation practitioners. Global cooperation through IUCN has been a foundational, bipartisan approach to advancing nature protection and sustainable development.

International cooperation works — and is crucial to saving numerous species from extinction, including the Przewalski’s horse, Panamanian golden frog and the arroyo oak. Even species native to the U.S., like critically endangered California condors and the Virginia round-leaf birch, have benefited from shared best practices, research and collaboration.

Regardless of federal action, Brookfield Zoo Chicago, The Morton Arboretum, and Shedd Aquarium remain proud IUCN members and contributors. Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Dr. George Rabb chaired IUCN’s Species Survival Commission for almost a decade, bolstering the important role zoos and aquariums play in conservation. The Morton Arboretum and Shedd Aquarium continue to lead as IUCN Centers for Species Survival with the Species Survival Commission, advancing conservation and public engagement for trees and freshwater ecosystems. These commitments to collaboration drive our organizations today.

To ensure the next generation inherits a world where threatened species still exist, we must do more than care. We must collaborate.

Join us in asking Secretary Rubio to reconsider the U.S. withdrawal from IUCN.

• Dr. Michael Adkesson is president and CEO of Brookfield Zoo Chicago, and a veterinarian with more than 20 years of experience in wildlife medicine and international species conservation. Jill Koski is president and CEO of The Morton Arboretum, overseeing the organization’s mission to plant and protect trees for a greener, healthier and more beautiful world. Dr. Bridget Coughlin is president and CEO of Shedd Aquarium, guiding its mission to spark compassion, curiosity and conservation for aquatic life and the ecosystems on which it depends.