IUCN World Conservation Congress to set the global path for nature conservation

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The IUCN World Conservation Congress – the world’s largest and most inclusive environmental decision-making forum – will meet in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi from September 1-10, 2016 to define the global

The IUCN World Conservation Congress – the world’s largest and most inclusive environmental decision-making forum – will meet in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi from September 1-10, 2016 to define the global path for nature conservation for the years to come.

Over 8,300 delegates from 184 countries, including Heads of State and other high-level government officials from various organizations, are expected to attend the IUCN Congress.

The IUCN Congress will be held under the theme “Planet at the crossroads,” emphasizing that nature conservation and human progress are not a zero-sum game, and that credible and accessible choices exist that can promote general welfare while supporting and enhancing our planet’s natural assets.

This will be the first time the IUCN Congress will be hosted by the United States, home to over 100 IUCN member organizations.

Key issues that will be discussed at the Congress include wildlife trafficking, ocean conservation, nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and private investment in conservation.

At the Congress, IUCN’s 1,300 member organizations – some of the most influential government and civil society organizations from more than 160 countries – will collectively decide on actions to address the most pressing and often controversial conservation and sustainable development challenges. Around 100 motions are expected to be adopted by this unique global environmental parliament of governments and NGOs, which will then become IUCN Resolutions or Recommendations calling third parties to take action.


Some of the motions to be voted on at the IUCN Congress include:

– Advancing conservation of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction

– Mitigating the impacts of oil palm expansion on biodiversity

– Calling for closure of domestic markets to all ivory sales

– Calling for the end of use of lead in ammunition

– Protecting primary forests, ancient forests, and intact forest landscapes

– Protecting areas and other areas important for biodiversity in relation to environmentally-damaging, industrial-scale activities and infrastructure development

Media announcements at the Congress:

Balancing whale conservation with oil and gas development report – Announcement from IUCN, WWF and the International Fund for Animal Welfare on the work of the Western Grey Whale advisory panel. (3 September)

Update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ – The IUCN Red List is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant, animal, and fungi species. Each update of the IUCN Red List reveals new information about the status of species that have been assessed. (September 4)

Ocean Warming report – Launch of the Ocean Warming report including the most up-to-date, comprehensive analysis of what we know about ocean warming and its consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and humans. (September 5)

Announcement of new ocean Hope Spots. (September 9)

State of Hawai’i briefings – Daily briefings from the host community highlighting local conservation issues.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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