Heads of state, policymakers and environmentalists will meet at Hawaii islands for the world’s largest gathering aimed at forging a path forward on the planet’s toughest conservation problems.
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conducts World Conservation Congress which is held every four years in a different location around the globe.
This year, the conference theme of “Planet at the Crossroads” is aimed at exposing the plight of island nations that are at risk of disappearing in the coming decades due to rising seas.
It is the first major environmental meeting of global leaders since the Paris climate talks last year.
This conference also marks the first time the IUCN World Congress has been held in the United States since the meeting was first convened in 1948.
Any motion passed at the IUCN meeting, becomes a resolution which carries considerable weight at the CITES convention two weeks later, which does have legal teeth.
Over 8,300 delegates from 184 countries are expected to attend the IUCN World Congress.
