Coinciding with our 125th anniversary, we are hosting this year's 13th International Nature Conservation Forum, organised by the Spanish Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is to be held this Friday 10 November under the theme "Spirit of Hawaii: the IUCN in motion, challenges for membership”.

The conference is aimed primarily at members of the IUCN and heads of public administrations working in biodiversity and geodiversity. However, it is also open to NGOs, nature conservation researchers and general members of the public who are interested. So far, almost 60 people have signed up and registration, which is free, is open all week.

What is the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)?

The Internactonal Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) is the world’s largest environmental network. Created in 1948, it is made up of more than 16,000 experts and 1300 member entities that include government agencies, NGOs of all sizes, economic development agencies, academic and scientific institutions, and business associations, across 160 countries. Every four years, it holds a global congress. Its main goal is the conservation of biological and geological natural heritage. Barcelona Zoo has been a member since 1988.

The Spanish Committee of the IUCN (CeUICN) represents 36 of these organisations including government agencies and NGOs, and acts as a platform for meeting and debate, and facilitating the exchange of experiences through the IUCN's knowledge networks and promoting cooperation among its members. The Nature Conservation Forum is the CeUICN’s main annual meeting during which discussion takes place on a range of IUCN member interests and activities in IUCN programmes and initiatives.

13th International Nature Conservation Forum

Friday 10 November

Following last year’s IUCN world conservation congress in Hawaii under the theme "Planet at the crossroads", the CeUICN wishes to respond to the call that was made to "Navigate the Island Land" as part of meeting global challenges and cultivating a conservation culture.

The forum that is meeting this Friday 10 November will address various topics such as the meaning of the spirit of Hawaii, the IUCN’s European and Mediterranean programmes, the various initiatives led by Catalonia and Spain; the role of NGOs; the IUCN’s cultural and spiritual values and the so-called "nature-based solutions".

The programme will include a visit to the Zoo which will include a talk given by the head of research and conservation, Josep-Maria Alonso, on the role of zoos in conservation and their commitment to the IUCN’s latest proposals, in particular the One Plan Approach - a strategy that has already been implemented at the Zoo and which incorporates conservation into and outside of natural habitats as an effective tool for combatting the loss of biodiversity and increasingly necessary in a world where the number of threatened species keeps growing year upon year.

The evening before - Thursday 9th - will be focussed on members of the CeUICN, which will hold a Board meeting Members’ Assembly meeting.

The meetings will be held in the tent by the Zoo’s Lady with the Umbrella.

For any queries, please email comite@uicn.es

T. +34 951 19 75 86