France to host 70 years anniversary celebration of IUCN
France will on Thursday and Friday 30th and 31st of August host the 70th anniversary of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the place where it was founded in Fontainebleau, France.
The IUCN is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN’s mission is to “influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable”.
Established on 5 October 1948, in Fontainebleau, France, when representatives of governments and conservation organizations signed a formal act constituting the International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUPN). The initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and especially from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley.
Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. Unlike many other international environmental organisations, IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through building partnerships.
IUCN has a membership of over 1400 governmental and non-governmental organizations. Some 16,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 50 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.
The objectives of the new Union were to encourage international cooperation in the protection of nature, to promote national and international action and to compile, analyse and distribute information. At the time of its founding IUPN was the only international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation (an international organisation for the protection of birds, now BirdLife International, had been established in 1922.
With growing momentum to meet ambitious global goals, the wind toward sustainable development is finally at our backs. But there is no time to lose. Species are going extinct at alarming rates. Climate change is threatening communities, economies and the ecosystems on which they depend. No one government or organisation can correct humanity’s course alone.
The world needs IUCN’s diverse and powerful Union and its 70 years of experience, vision and impact more than ever. Join us in Fontainebleau to celebrate IUCN and discuss the future of landscapes and building a new relationship for humans and nature.
