From 3- 11 September 2021, the IUCN World Conservation Congress took place in Marseille, France.

Held once every four years, this meeting brings together several thousand leaders and decision-makers from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia, with the goal of conserving the environment and harnessing the solutions nature offers to global challenges.

Representatives from organizations and countries from around the world came together for critical discussions about protecting and enhancing biodiversity in the face of climate change. For the first time at the WCC, restoring ocean health was one of the central discussion themes.

During the congress, the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action. IUCN’s 1400+ government, civil society, and indigenous peoples’ Member organizations vote on major issues, action which guides humanity’s relationship with our planet for the decades ahead. IUCN’s membership gives the Congress a powerful mandate as it is not solely government or non-government, but both together.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) explains why the WCC is so important. “We know that ocean biodiversity is in deep crisis. Collapsing fish populations, coral reef die-offs, and disappearing ocean wildlife are evidence of the escalating damage caused by overfishing, ocean warming, acidification, habitat loss, pollution, and multiple other stressors. Taken together, these threats are eroding the ocean’s ability to function as a planetary life support system, including providing food security, jobs, and poverty alleviation for millions of people around the world. Read more here.