The IUCN World Congress on Protected Areas, or IUCN World Parks Congress as it has become known, is a 10 yearly event which provides the major global forum for setting the agenda for protected areas.

Previous Congresses have had a tremendous impact in assisting national governments to create new protected areas, and direct more resources towards biodiversity conservation.

The Vth IUCN World Parks Congress will be held in Durban, South Africa, from 8 to 17 September, 2003. Both Patrons of the Congress, former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mr Nelson Mandela and Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan strongly endorse the theme of the Congress, "Benefits Beyond Boundaries".

The Vth IUCN World Parks Congress is organised by IUCN - The World Conservation Union, its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), South African National Parks and the Government of South Africa

WPC Final Press Release
September 17, 2003
Vth WORLD PARKS CONGRESS SETS AGENDA FOR NEXT DECADE, SPURS CONSERVATION INITIATIVES FOR AFRICA

Durban, South Africa, 17 September 2003 (IUCN) - The Vth IUCN World Parks Congress closes today in Durban, South Africa with participants agreeing on new commitments and policy guidance for protected areas worldwide. “Tomorrow 3000 delegates will return to their home countries armed with the Durban Accord, Action Plan and Recommendations, as well as new knowledge and contacts. For the past ten days, parks were centre stage and at the front of people’s minds, and we hope they will remain so beyond Durban,” says Achim Steiner, Director General of IUCN – The World Conservation Union. (...)

Full Press Release // More information

Comunicado de Prensa final del CMP
Septiembre 17, 2003
EL V° CONGRESO MUNDIAL DE PARQUES DEFINE LA AGENDA PARA LA SIGUIENTE DECADA, MOTIVADO POR LAS INICIATIVAS DE CONSERVACION EN AFRICA

Durban, Africa del Sur, 17 de Septiembre 2003 (UICN) - El Quinto Congreso Mundial de Parques finaliza hoy en Durban, Sudáfrica, con el acuerdo común de los participantes acerca de los nuevos compromisos y la orientación política para las áreas protegidas en todo el mundo. “Mañana tres mil delegados regresarán a sus países de origen armados con el Acuerdo de Durban, el Plan de Acción y la lista de Recomendaciones, así como con nuevos conocimientos y contactos. Durante los últimos diez días, los parques fueron el centro de atención de quienes participaron durante el Congreso y esperamos que lo continuen siendo más allá de Durban” - dijo Achim Steiner, Director General de la Unión Mundial para la Naturaleza (UICN).(...)

Comunicado completo // Mas informacion

Communiqué de Presse du CMP
Septembre 17, 2003
LE Vème CONGRESS MONDIAL SUR LES PARCS DE L'UICN FIXE LE PROGRAMME POUR LES 10 PROCHAINES ANNEES, ET ENCOURAGE A DES NOUVELLES INITIATIVES DE CONSERVATION POUR L'AFRIQUE

Durban, Afrique du Sud, 17 septembre 2003 (UICN) - Le Ve Congrès mondial sur les parcs de l’UICN clôt ses travaux aujourd’hui à Durban en Afrique du Sud avec un accord des participants sur de nouveaux engagements et des orientations politiques pour les aires protégées dans le monde. « Demain 3000 délégués rentreront chez eux armés de l’Accord de Durban, du Plan d’action et des recommandations, de nouvelles connaissances et de nouveaux contacts. Pendant les dix derniers jours, les parcs ont été au centre de l’attention et présent dans l’esprit des gens et nous espérons que cela continuera après Durban », dit Achim Steiner, Directeur général de l’UICN-Union mondiale pour la nature. (...)

Communique complet // Plus d'information

September 12, 2003
CLOSER COLLABORATION TO SAVE THE WORLD'S WETLANDS

Durban, South Africa, 12 September 2003 (IUCN) - The World Conservation Union and the Ramsar Convention Bureau today sign an agreement of cooperation to save wetland ecosystems. “The result of this agreement will be more effective international policy and local action to conserve some of the world’s most valuable and beautiful wetlands”, says Dr. Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.(...)

Full Press Release // More information

September 12, 2003
IUCN TAKES PART IN THE GLOBAL "GAP ANALYSIS"

Durban, South Africa, 12 September 2003 (IUCN) - IUCN’s Species Survival Commission is contributing to an assessment of gaps in the existing global protected area system – terrestrial, freshwater and marine - which must be filled to ensure coverage of as many species as possible, particularly those included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and their habitats. The Commission, through its 7,000 expert members, can help design protected areas using the best available science and is developing criteria and procedures to identify and select the most important sites for biodiversity conservation. (...)

Full Press Release // More information

Septiembre 12, 2003
GENERO Y EQUIDAD LEVANTAN BANDERA EN EL CONGRESO MUNDIAL DE PARQUES

Durban, Surafrica, 12 Septiembre 2003 (IUCN) - Por primera vez desde el 1º Congreso en 1962. "La relación que las mujeres y hombres tienen con el medio ambiente y las áreas protegidas es crucial para la supervivencia de estos hábitat naturales” –dijo la Viceministra de Ambiente y Turismo de Sudáfrica, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, cuando presentó el miércoles un video titulado “El Género Cuenta” (Gender Matters), durante el V Congreso Mundial de Áreas Protegidas organizado por UICN en Durban, Sudáfrica, del 8 al 17 de este mes. (...)

Más información

September 12, 2003
VIGOROUS DEBATE ON EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY & PROTECTED AREAS

Durban, South Africa, 12 September 2003 (IUCN) - Around 70 people from the conservation community, mining industry, governments, and indigenous peoples’ groups gathered at a Vth IUCN World Parks Congress meeting and took part in a lively discussion on extractive industries and protected areas. The aim of the meeting was to strengthen the industries’ commitment to protected areas and biodiversity. Interim results were presented on the biodiversity assessment and management “best practice” guidelines being developed under the IUCN-International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) Dialogue. (...)

Full Press Release

September 10, 2003
GLOBAL FIRE PARTNERSHIP ESTABLISHED TO COMBAT ESCALATING FOREST FIRES ISSUES

Durban, South Africa, 10 September 2003 - The World Conservation Union, The Nature Conservancy and WWF International today announced that they are joining efforts to establish a Global Fire Partnership that will help prevent the kind of destructive forest fires currently raging throughout North America, Europe and other parts of the world. The Partnership was launched at the World Parks Congress, highlighting the three organizations’ commitment to finding solutions to unwanted wildfires which impact human lives, degrade the environment and threaten the success of conservation activities worldwide. (...)

Full Press Release // More information

September 9, 2003
PLANET'S LIST OF PROTECTED AREAS TOPS 100,000 MARK

Durban, South Africa/Nairobi, 9 September 2003 - Crucial progress is being made towards conserving the world’s most spectacular habitats and wildlife, a report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the IUCN-World Conservation Union shows. More than 100,000 protected areas, some 90 per cent of which have been listed over the past 40 years, have been established across the developed and developing world.

Full Press Release // More information on the 2003 UN List // UNEP // UNEP WCMC // Version en castellan

September 8, 2003
CURTAIN RAISES ON AN ONCE-DECADE EVENT

Durban, South Africa, Monday 8 September 2003 - More than 2,500 dignitaries, government officials, indigenous leaders, businessmen and conservationists from over 170 countries are converging on Durban for a once-in-a decade event that will take stock of the world’s protected areas and set priorities to safeguard them. For the next 10 days, the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress will tackle a broad spectrum of issues relating to protected areas - the national parks, World Heritage sites, nature reserves, and marine sanctuaries. (...)

Full Press Release

August 27, 2003
SHELL’S COMMITMENT TO BIODIVERSITY

World Heritage sites announced as “no go” areas for its oil and gas exploration and development – Following an announcement made today at a roundtable discussion at the IUCN Headquarters, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (Shell) became the first group in the oil and gas sector to declare natural World Heritage sites ‘no go’ areas. (...)

Full press release

August 11, 2003
12% OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE UNDER DEBATE

One Month Countdown to the Global Forum to Tackle the Future of Protected Areas - “Protected areas are essential for safeguarding our future,” – say Nelson R. Mandela and Her Majesty Queen Noor, Patrons of the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress, who will open this major forum in the South African city of Durban on 8 September 2003. The Congress is a once in a decade opportunity to take stock of the global protected area estate and define priorities for future action. (...)

Full press release

July 21, 2003
AFRICA ADOPTS FIRST COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL TREATY ON NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

African nations have received a ‘road map’ to manage their natural resources more sustainably with the recent adoption of a landmark treaty by the Heads of States of the Members of the African Union. The revised African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources was approved by the Assembly of the African Union on July 11, 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique. The revision of the 1968 Convention, first called for in 1980, brings the treaty up to date with the latest developments in international law, and the move towards sustainable development.

Full press release // IUCN in Africa // IUCN Environmental Law Programme

July 02, 2003
LEADING CONSERVATIONISTS ON THE VTH IUCN WORLD PARKS CONGRESS

In their previous lives they were academics, prosecuting lawyers, economists, and even loggers. Today, they lead the world’s largest independent conservation organisations, working in an international arena as well as in the most fascinating places around the world, and shaping the future of conservation in the 21st century. What do they think is the most important message that the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress should convey?

Full Story / More Interviews

May 22, 2003
CARPATHIANS SHOULD SET AN EXAMPLE OF BENEFITS BEYOND BOUNDARIES IN EUROPE

Kyiv, Ukaraine, (IUCN) - One of Europe’s largest mountain ranges has received a major boost with the signing of the Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians at the Fifth Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” in Kyiv, Ukraine. Covering an area of some 206,000 square kilometres, and stretching across eight countries (Ukraine, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Serbia & Montenegro), the Carpathians harbour unique biodiversity, are the headwaters of major rivers, and offer an essential habitat and refuge for many endangered plant and animal species, including the continent’s largest mountain populations of brown bear, wolf, and lynx.

Full News Release

May 12, 2003
THE EMPIRES OF THE FUTURE ARE THE EMPIRES OF THE MIND

Gland, Switzerland, (IUCN) - Scenarios are possible alternative futures, and scenario planning is a tool to describe possible futures depending on how a limited number of uncertainties evolve. Imagining the future can help take wise decisions today. During a “Scenarios for Protected Areas” workshop recently held at IUCN Headquarters, some 25 experts developed a number of options that describe the situation of protected areas twenty years from now.

Full News Release

Mayo 7, 2003
NEW TRANSBOUNDARY INITIATIVE LAUNCHED TODAY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Harare, Zimbabwe, (IUCN) - Zimbabwe-Mozambique-Zambia (ZIMOZA) transboundary natural resources management initiative, the first of its kind in Southern Africa, will officially be launched today in Luangwa, Zambia. Cooperation through the ZIMOZA project will secure the long term conservation of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources in the area.

Todo el Comunicado - en inglés
IUCN Regional Office for Southern Africa website

Comunicado de Prensa - Abril 24, 2003
ÁREAS PROTEGIDAS CON POCA PROTECCIÓN

Costa Rica. (IUCN) - “No hay un manejo real de áreas protegidas en Costa Rica” – con éstas palabras definió Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Ministro de Ambiente y Energía, la problemática actual que enfrenta Costa Rica en el tema de conservación ambiental, durante el Foro Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas celebrado ayer en el INBioparque, en Santo Domingo de Heredia.

Más información

Press Release - Abril 17, 2003
PROTECTING THE PROTECTORS, ADDRESSING THE INCREASSING THREATS FACED BY RANGERS

Victoria, Australia. (IUCN) - IUCN and the International Ranger Federation launch an initiative leading up to the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress (Durban, South Africa, 8-17 September 2003). The job of a park ranger is getting more and more dangerous. All over the world, people working in protected areas face increasing pressures, assaults, and physical violence from poachers, smugglers, rebels and other criminal elements. To respond to these threats, IUCN - The World Conservation Union and the International Ranger Federation (IRF) have joined forces in the "protect the protectors" initiative.

Full Press Release

Murcia (Spain), 30 March 2003
Mediterranean conference:
TOWARDS A MEDITERRANEAN INITIATIVE FOR THE RATIONAL USE OF NATURAL AREAS
Source: IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Coordination
"We need to think, work and act at Mediterranean wide level"
.- The Mediterranean region is a single ecoregion although it holds different territorial realities and necessities. During four days, 120 experts from 22 Mediterranean countries were debating initiatives, tools opportunities, constraints as well as presenting different experiences and to set the stage for defining a clear profile of Mediterranean specificities. The broad regional forum that has been presented in Murcia, along with the case studies and technical base documents, will enable the development of future trends and orientations that will be later carried from the Mediterranean to the World Parks Congress (in Durban, South Africa) in September and then back to the region.

Press release - PDF Document - 29KB
Action Plan: Overview of Mediterranean Networks and Action Plans for the Management of Protected Areas - PDF Document - 416KB
More information
IUCN Centre for Mediterranen Coordination website

18 March 2003,
ÁREAS PROTEGIDAS AYUDAN A REDUCIR LA POBREZA
Source: UICN MesoAmerica

El 70% de las áreas protegidas de Centroamérica contribuyen a sostener a las poblaciones que viven en ellas o a su alrededor, destacan en el Congreso Mesoamericano de Áreas Protegidas.

Press Release, Click here - PDF Document 93KB

18 March 2003,
MÁS APOYO PARA LAS ÁREAS PROTEGIDAS DE CENTROAMÉRICA
Source: UICN MesoAmerica

Culmina el Primer Congreso Mesoamericano de Áreas Protegidas con una Declaración de los Ministros de Ambiente de Centroamérica que vislumbra un mayor apoyo para los sistemas de áreas protegidas

Press Release Click here - PDF Document 94KB

12 March 2003, Gland, Switzerland
Vth IUCN WORLD PARKS CONGRESS:
2,500 DELEGATES TO CONVENE IN SEPTEMBER IN SOUTH AFRICA
Source: IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Coordination

Media Invited to Attend Global Forum on Protected Areas (Durban, South Africa, 8-17 September 2003)
With more than 2,500 participants from some 170 countries expected to attend, the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress will be the largest conservation event in the wake of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and a major global forum for protected areas held for the first time in Africa.

Press release - English version - PDF Document146KB
Communiqué de Presse - version française - Document PDF - 136KB
Comunicado de prensa - versión española - Documento PDF - 155KB
Media Accreditation Form - PDF Document - 71KB

4 March 2003, Gland, Switzerland and Yokohama, Japan
PRESS RELEASE: TRANSBOUNDARY PARKS
Source: IUCN/ITTO

Expanding the global network of transboundary conservation areas (TBCAs) should be a priority for conservationists and governments, according to a group of experts that met last week in Ubon Rachatani, Thailand.

Press release - PDF Document - 30KB

2 September 2002, Johannesbourg, South Africa
PARKS DAY AT WSSD WITH NELSON MANDELA
Source IUCN

Over 600 people attended a high level launch for the 2003 World Parks Congress on Monday September 2nd, 2002. Mr. Nelson Mandela Co Patron of the Congress was joined by a star studded line up of dignitaries including President Taya of Mauritania; President Cardoso of Brazil; and King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu Nation. The high profile speakers continued with other speakers including Mohamed El Ashry of the Global Environment Facility; Yolanda Kakabadse and Achim Steiner from IUCN. A very special surprise guest Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu Tum also addressed t he gathering. Apart from the speakers the launch audience included many high level WSSD delegates and South African VIPs.

More information:
Press Release
Speech of Mr Nelson Mandela, World Parks Congress Co-Patron
Speech of Queen Noor of Jordan, World Parks Congress Co-Patron (read out by Mr. Achim Steiner, IUCN Director General)
Speech of Mr Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, President of Mauritania (in French)
Speech of Mr Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil
Speech of King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu Nation

20 March 2003, Gland, Switzerland
TWO EXCEPTIONAL WORLD FIGURES BACK IUCN's 5th WORLD PARKS CONGRESS
Source: IUCN

Queen Noor of Jordan and Nelson Mandela pledge support to the world´s leading forum on protected areas
IUCN´s 2003 World Parks Congress has received a major boost with the news that Mr Nelson Mandela and Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan will become Patrons. The Congress is a unique 10-yearly event which provides the major global forum for setting the agenda for protected areas. Both Mr Mandela and HM Queen Noor strongly endorse the theme of the Congress, "Benefits Beyond Boundaries".
The World Congress on Protected Areas or World Parks Congress as it has become known will take place in Durban, South Africa, in September 2003.

Full Press Release