IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Four days, 800 events, and a crowd of conservationists

06 October 2008 | News story

The forum of the IUCN World Conservation Congress starts today, with more than 800 events scheduled to take place over the next four days.

The forum is the world conservation community’s chance to bring people together from all over the world to discuss, share and learn.

In his welcome address at the forum opening, Ted Turner, President of the United Nations Foundation, said that dealing with nuclear disarmament, global warming, the effects of over-population and ensuring equal rights of women need to be addressed if we want to make the Congress theme of “a diverse and sustainable world” a reality.

The forum addresses the world’s most pressing sustainable development challenges. It offers four days of debates, workshops, dialogues, art and film, roundtable discussions, training courses, music and exhibitions.

Split into three streams, the events will cover how to tackle climate change, how to safeguard the diversity of life in all its forms, and how to make sound environmental management the foundation of healthy people and economies.

The forum opening also included a global debate on the theme of the Congress, a diverse and sustainable world. Panelists included Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mohammad Yunus, Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Ma Jun, Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, China.