What is the IUCN World Congress and why is this meeting so important?
109Every four years the International Union for Conservation of Nature holds a great big meeting: the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
During this meeting members help set the global conservation agenda for the next four years.
This year's conference is happening in Marseilles, France, and will cover topics like:
- The global COVID pandemic
- Food insecurity
- Record global temperatures caused by climate change
-And the incredible number of species at risk of extinction
The IUCN has been around since 1949 and are one of the oldest nature and conservation organisations that exist. Their mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature"
Simply put they want a just world that values and conserves nature. And who can argue with that?
This year the IUCN Congress is vital because it comes ahead of some big, important UN decision-making meetings on climate, nature loss, and food systems.
These decisions guide humanity’s relationship with our planet for the decades ahead so this is a critical opportunity for us to address nature loss and the climate crisis, and send a reminder to Governments that the race is on to turn the tide now - so we can build a world where nature and people thrive.