Press release 03 Sep, 2021

IUCN World Conservation Congress opens in Marseille and online

Marseille, France, 3 September 2021 (IUCN) - The IUCN World Conservation Congress – the world’s largest and most inclusive environmental decision-making forum – begins today in Marseille, France, with an address by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

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Photo: iStock, (c) Halfpoint

The IUCN Congress will drive action on biodiversity, nature-based recovery and climate change. Bringing together civil society, indigenous peoples and states, the IUCN Congress will set the global nature conservation agenda at a time when the link between biodiversity and human wellbeing is made increasingly evident by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the first hybrid in-person and virtual environmental event since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the IUCN Congress aims to enable broad participation from around the world while safeguarding the health of participants.

As a reminder, the IUCN World Conservation Congress brings together the global nature conservation community, including top international experts in conservation science, policy and practice. Held every four years, the Congress allows IUCN's 1,400 Member organisations to democratically determine the most pressing issues in nature conservation and actions to address them.

Among confirmed speakers are the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, actor and environmentalist Harrison Ford, photographer Sebastião Salgado, and leaders from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia.

See here for a list of scheduled press conferences.

Media registration – virtual or in-person – can be requested via this link.  For more information, please see the IUCN Congress website.

Media relations – International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):

Tel: +33 6 73 48 65 13

Email: [email protected]