Under the patronage of the President of the University of Baghdad and under the slogan “The Natural History Research Center and Museum: A Scientific and National Reference,” the Center organized its Second International Scientific Conference on Natural History from February 11-12, 2026. The conference was attended by Professor Dr. Ali Abdul-Amir Sajit, Dean of the College of Arts, representing the University of Baghdad, and representatives of the supporting institutions, including Professor Dr. Ali Adnan, Dean of the College of Languages, and Assistant Professor Dr. Fadhel Ahmed Saeed, Dean of the College of Science at Al-Farabi University. They were received by Assistant Professor Dr. Hanaa Hani Al-Saffar, Director of the Center, along with the scientific, preparatory, reception, and support committees responsible for the conference’s operations. The conference witnessed broad scientific participation in the field of natural history, with research papers presented from various Arab and international countries, in addition to local contributions.
The conference aimed to enhance scientific efforts to preserve wildlife as a natural, cultural, and national heritage by supporting field research that studies the reality of biodiversity in Iraq and striving to establish a comprehensive national database that supports sustainable scientific planning. It also aimed to highlight the important role of the Center as a national scientific reference for identifying and documenting biological and geological specimens for relevant scientific and research institutions. The conference emphasized the need to direct efforts toward protecting Iraqi species, particularly those threatened with extinction, and to identify and control the spread of alien and invasive species in the Iraqi environment. This should be done using sound research methodologies to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The conference also issued several recommendations related to this issue, most importantly the establishment of nature reserves and the necessity of their monitoring by the relevant authorities. Researchers stressed the importance of creating a comprehensive electronic database of Iraqi animal and plant species to preserve these species and facilitate access to information resources needed by researchers and graduate students.
This scientific activity falls under the umbrella of environment and sustainability and contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 14, 15, and 17.
