Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 10 September 2016 (IUCN) –
The
IUCN World Conservation Congress closed today in Hawaiʻi, setting the
global conservation agenda for the next four years and defining a
roadmap for the implementation of the historic agreements adopted in
2015.
The
IUCN Congress closed with the presentation of the Hawai'i Commitments.
This document, titled “Navigating Island Earth”, was shaped by debates
and deliberations over the last ten days, and opened for comment to some
10,000 participants from 192 countries.
It
outlines opportunities to address some of the greatest challenges
facing nature conservation and calls for a commitment to implement them.
It encapsulates the collective commitment by all who attended the
Congress to undertake profound transformations in how human societies
live on Earth, with particular attention to making our patterns of
production and consumption more sustainable.
“Some
of the world’s greatest minds and most dedicated professionals met here
at the IUCN Congress to decide on the most urgent action needed to
ensure the long-term survival of life on Earth and our planet’s ability
to sustain us,” says Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. “This
IUCN Congress has come at a pivotal time in our planet’s history as we
find ourselves at a crossroad, facing challenges of unprecedented
magnitude.
“Today
we leave Hawaiʻi equipped with a much clearer roadmap for advancing on
the post-2015 agenda, confident that we have taken our first steps on
the road to a sustainable future where nature and human progress support
each other.”
With
more than 10,000 registered participants, the event brought together
leaders from government, civil society, indigenous, faith and spiritual
communities, the private sector, and academia, to collectively decide on
actions to address the most pressing conservation and sustainable
development challenges.
More
than 100 resolutions and recommendations have been adopted by IUCN
Members – a unique global environmental parliament of governments and
NGOs – many of which call on third parties to take action on a wide
range of urgent conservation issues.
Key decisions included closure of domestic markets for elephant ivory, the urgency of protecting the high seas, the need to protect primary forests, no-go areas for industrial activities within protected areas and an official IUCN policy on biodiversity offsets.
“International decision-makers have converged on the most urgently needed conservation action,” says IUCN President Zhang Xinsheng.
“IUCN’s more than 1,300 Members behind these decisions give them the
weight to drive the real change needed to address some of the biggest
challenges our planet faces today.”
IUCN Members have also approved a new programme for IUCN for the next four years and elected new IUCN leadership.
The
IUCN Congress put new issues on the global sustainability agenda,
including the importance of linking spirituality, religion, culture and
conservation, and the need to implement nature-based solutions – actions
that protect and manage ecosystems, while effectively addressing
societal challenges, such as food and water security, climate change,
disaster risk reduction, human health and economic well-being.
U.S.
President Obama’s announcement to expand the Papahānaumokuākea Marine
National Monument – now the largest protected area in the world – set
the scene for the IUCN Congress.
Other
announcements included the commitment from Governor Ige of Hawaiʻi to
protect 30% of Hawaii’s highest priority watershed forests by 2030,
effectively manage 30% of Hawai‘i’s nearshore waters by 2030, double
local food production and achieve 100 % renewable energy in the
electricity sector by 2045.
Colombia has announced the quadrupling in size of the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary bringing it to 27,000 km2.
The
IUCN Congress also saw new commitments to the Bonn Challenge initiative
to restore 150 million hectares of degraded land by 2050. With the
latest pledges from Malawi and Guatemala, total Bonn Challenge pledges
have now exceeded 113 million hectares, committed by 36 governments,
organisations and companies.
The next IUCN World Conservation Congress will take place in 2020.
Editors’ notes
Key resolutions and recommendations adopted by the IUCN Congress
Illegal wildlife trade
Following
intense deliberations, IUCN Members have urged all governments to close
domestic markets of elephant ivory, seen as creating opportunities for
laundering illegal ivory. Elephants are killed for their tusks across
Africa, threatening both the survival of savannah and forest elephants
and park rangers.
Combatting
illegal wildlife trade was also at the heart of an IUCN decision on the
alarming increase in the poaching of vicuña for its fibre. IUCN Members
have called for measures to be put in place to promote the sustainable use of the species, and eliminate the illegal trade, including greater traceability of vicuña fibre and cross-border collaboration.
Hunting for captive-bred lions
IUCN
members have called for legislation to ban – by 2020, and particularly
in South Africa – the breeding of lions in captivity for the purpose of
'canned shooting', regarded by hunters as ‘an ethically repugnant
embarrassment’.
The high seas
Members
have also identified the need for internationally binding legislation
to preserve the high seas, and have set an ambitious target of 30% of
marine areas to be protected by 2030. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s
ocean lies beyond the jurisdiction of countries.
Indigenous peoples
IUCN
Members have also agreed to create a new category of IUCN membership
for Indigenous peoples’ organisations, boosting support for Indigenous
peoples’ rights on the international scene. A large number of
resolutions adopted by IUCN Members have also contributed to
strengthening Indigenous peoples’ rights.
Protection of primary forests
IUCN
Members have expressed support for the conservation of primary forests,
including intact forest landscapes. These are seen to play a critical
role in maintaining biodiversity, and are vital for the protection of
indigenous cultures, and livelihoods of poor, marginalised communities.
No-go areas
Another
decision by IUCN Members has put all land and seascapes classified
under any of IUCN’s categories of protected areas off limits for
damaging industrial activities – such as mining, oil and gas,
agriculture – and infrastructure developments – such as dams, roads and
pipelines. To date, only World Heritage sites have been formally
recognised as no-go areas.
Oil palm industry
In
another decision, IUCN Members stressed the crucial need to identify
intact forests and critical ecosystems to be avoided by the fast-growing
oil palm industry. The rights of Indigenous peoples and local
communities should be respected and taken into consideration, according
to the decision. Activities of the oil palm industry can have negative
impacts on the environment, such as the loss of habitat for great apes
and other primates, as well as on community livelihoods.
Biodiversity offsets
IUCN
Members have also agreed on a policy on biodiversity offsets,
emphasising that priority must be given to avoid biodiversity loss.
Offsets must be a measure of last resort, and in certain cases, they are
not appropriate – according to the Members.
Natural capital
IUCN
Members have also agreed to develop a policy defining natural capital,
taking into account ecological, ethical and social justice issues.
Members have noted emerging standards which aim to integrate the value
of nature in the decision-making of business and financial institutions,
and the need for an improved understanding of natural capital.
The full text of all motions can be accessed here.
Motions are proposed by IUCN Members every four years to set priorities for the work of IUCN.
The Members' Assembly is
the highest decision-making body of IUCN. It brings together IUCN
Members to debate and establish environmental policy, to approve the
IUCN Programme and to elect the IUCN Council and President.
IUCN’s membership
currently stands at over 1,300 and includes 217 state and government
agencies, 1, 066 NGOs, and networks of over 16,000 experts worldwide
from more than 160 countries. Resolutions and Recommendations on
important conservation issues are adopted by this unique global
environmental parliament of governments and NGOs, guiding IUCN’s policy
and work programme and as well as influencing many other organisations
around the world.
Scientific announcements
Major
scientific announcements were released at the Congress, including the
latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ which declared
the eastern gorilla – the largest living primate –as Critically
Endangered due to illegal hunting, while announcing the improvement in
status of the giant panda. IUCN also launched the most comprehensive
review of the scale and impact of ocean warming on nature and people
available to date.
For a full list of press releases launched at the IUCN Congress go here.
Speakers
Speakers
at the IUCN Congress included HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco; Tommy
Remengesau Jr., President, Republic of Palau; Hilda Heine, President,
Republic of Marshall Islands; Edouard Fritch, President of French
Polynesia; Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior; Patricia
Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary; Erik Solheim, UNEP Executive
Director; John Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES; Daniel Calleja
Crespo, Director General of DG Environment, EU; Prof. Edward O. Wilson,
Founder of E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation; Dr Sylvia Earle, Ocean
Elder and Founder of Mission Blue and Dr Jane Goodall, Founder of the
Jane Goodall Institute.
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