The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will hold its 2016 World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Hawaii, from September 1 to 10. The IUCN WCC is the Olympics of conservation, an event happening every four years that draws heads of state and leaders from government, non-profits, and private industry together to discuss global and regional conservation issues. The 2016 WCC is the first time that the Congress has been held in the US, and is a great opportunity for Hawaii to showcase its unique conservation challenges and successes to the world.
One of the central themes of the WCC will be invasive species and biosecurity. The Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) and the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS) are the co-leads for the Biosecurity Journey, a thematic congress track that provides resources for participants who are interested in biosecurity and invasive species issues. The Biosecurity Journey includes a broad spectrum of workshops, conservation campuses, knowledge cafes, and posters from the WCC Forum, as well as three biosecurity-related motions that will be voted upon during the IUCN Members’ Assembly.
The Biosecurity Journey is available on the IUCN website, as are other thematic journeys that may be of interest to participants.