The onset of a new IUCN quadrennium for 2026–2029 sets the stage for the launch of the Venezuela Biodiversity Specialist Group. For the first time, it brings together members of the Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM), Species Survival Commission (SSC) and World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), to stimulate national evidence-based environmental decision-making by generating and collecting biodiversity data, sharing available knowledge, supporting public and private policies, and strengthening national professional capacity. The new Specialist Group focuses on the conservation of Venezuelan animals, fungi and plants, and the terrestrial, marine, freshwater and subterranean ecosystems in which they live.

The Venezuela Biodiversity Specialist Group includes people who responded to an invitation to be a founding member, distributed to all members of CEM, SSC and WCPA registered on the IUCN Portal as based in Venezuela, plus an ad hoc list of additional members, including representatives from Indigenous peoples and local forestry and fishing communities, and government. Of the 106 people who responded, 92% are based in Venezuela, two in the UK, and one each in Chile, Dominican Republic, France, Saudi Arabia, Spain and USA; three are leaders of Indigenous peoples or local communities; 58% identify as men and 42% as women; 6% are 21–30 years old, 22% are 31–40, 22% are 41–50, 25% are 51–60 and 25% older than 61. Their primary institutional affiliations are academia (47%), civil society organizations (28%), freelance professionals (14%), government agencies (9%) and the private sector (2%). At the time of writing, the Venezuela Biodiversity Specialist Group now has 148 members.

Over the next 4 years we aim to (1) provide information on the status and trends of all forms of life in Venezuela and the degree of effective conservation, (2) propose policies and guidelines to facilitate conservation planning and catalyse action on land and underwater, (3) convene all relevant actors for these tasks and offer opportunities to improve technical skills and expand knowledge, (4) engage with the public through citizen science, traditional and social media, and (5) support the idea that the use of species and ecosystems should be equitable and ecologically sustainable.

We are grateful to the National Fund for Science, Technology and Innovation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Venezuela for supporting our first-year workplan. Short-term goals include updates of the national Red Lists of species and ecosystems, and growth in the number of areas voluntarily devoted to conservation.

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