IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Twenty years ago, IUCN was instrumental in voicing the needs for conservation and in drafting the conventions resulting from the 1992 Earth Summit. IUCN was central in drafting the World Conservation Strategy in 1980 which then served as the basis for subsequent international environmental policy. Following on the strategy, IUCN, along with WWF and UNEP authored “Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living” in preparation for the Earth Summit in 1992.

The Union was also active in influencing the World Summit on Sustainable Development, ten years later, in Johannesburg. It elaborated and implemented the “Greening the Summit” Initiative in collaboration with UNDP, the GEF as well as other partners. It was also active in promoting the Type 2 partnerships, and organized several events including the IUCN business day, all held at the very visible IUCN Centre near the Summit venue. The Union was active in influencing governments on specific themes to be reflected in the Johannesburg Programme of Implementation and the Declaration on Sustainable Development.

The fact that the IUCN World Conservation Congress takes place in the same year, after the conference, could be an opportunity to profile the Congress as the first international event of the implementation phase of the Rio 2012 conference.

This strategy aims to lay out those goals and activities that are also planned for the Congress and whose impacts can be multiplied if unfolded at the Rio 2012 Summit. This is also with the intention of using resources efficiently

The proposed IUCN Programme 2013-2016 should also be a source of inspiration for IUCN’s position at Rio. And, at the same time, the Rio conference is an opportunity to profile the IUCN Programme as the “practical road map” to implement, as appropriate, decisions made during the conference.

The Rio 2012 meeting would also be an occasion to make the programme known to governments, business sector, civil society and key players for the objectives described in the programme. It would also be an important forum to fundraise for its implementation.