The IUCN Spanish National Committee and the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation jointly organized, on June 7th in Madrid, a meeting with the Spanish Association of Environmental journalists (APIA) focused on the major aspects of the next IUCN World Conservation Congress to be held from 6 to 15 September 2012 in Jeju (Republic of Korea).

With more than 400 journalists expected, at least 500 events and over 6000 participants - including more than 100 Member States and leading NGOs such as WWF, Conservation International and National Geographic - make this Congress the world’s largest and most important conservation event.

The President of the IUCN Spanish National Committee, Carlos Sanchez, explained the motions that Members will present at the V World Conservation Congress. In total, 20 proposals to improve conservation in key areas such as responsible renewable energy, green jobs, protecting endangered species, geological heritage and ecological connectivity. The full text of these motions can be found at this link.

He also referred to the events organized by the Spanish Members who will attend the Congress. Consult Spanish Member events at this link.

Meanwhile, Andrés Alcántara on behalf of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, presented the activities planned during the Congress, including a high-level meeting to discuss the theme: "Towards a Mediterranean resilience: a model of adaptive governance". There will also be presentations of IUCN-Med publications and reports in the pavillions of Protected Planet, and Marine Species.

In relation to North Africa, IUCN-Med will organize a meeting to discuss and approve the IUCN North Africa Programme 2013-2016.

Agreement with the IUCN Spanish National Committee 

In the framework in this media briefing, a cooperation agreement between the IUCN Spanish National Committee and IUCN-Med was formally signed as to join efforts in management and nature conservation in priority areas of the Mediterranean. In addition, both institutions will collaborate in designing the methodology for the implementation of the Spanish Red List of threatened species and ecosystems, with the support of the IUCN constituency, as well as strengthening other National Committees in the Mediterranean.