They were 10,000 delegates in Hawaii in 2016 at the last World Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2016. Heads of State, political leaders, economic actors, scientists, NGOs… Five years later, what constitutes the largest world forum for decision-making in matters of environment sets its suitcases in Marseilles for a new edition, from September 3 to 11.
And if the Covid-19 pandemic will necessarily lower the number of participants, this new World Conservation Congress – the first hosted by France since the creation of the IUCN in Fontainebleau in 1948 – promises to be crucial, in particular because ‘it precedes by a few weeks the COP15 15 biodiversity in Kunming, China, from October 11, and even the COP26 on climate change in Glasgow (Scotland), from November 1. For 20 minutes, Maud Lelièvre, at the head of the French committee of the IUCN, deciphers the stakes.
Can we already recall what IUCN is, and how it works?
It is an international non-governmental organization whose role is to promote and coordinate actions for the protection of nature at the global level. Without a doubt the largest organization in the field. The IUCN has 1,400 members from 165 countries. They are divided into two rooms. The first is made up of states. They are 120 today up to date with contributions. The second brings together the rest of the members, namely NGOs, organizations of indigenous peoples, economic development agencies, scientific and university institutes, business associations … In the French committee of the IUCN, we find the National Biodiversity Office (OFB), the National Forestry Office (ONF), the National Museum of Natural History …
But IUCN is not just about these two chambers. It also includes a committee of experts, with 18,000 members and divided into six commissions. These experts produce work and organize conferences with the aim of consolidating scientific knowledge on biodiversity and conservation issues and helping the IUCN to make the right decisions.
We know the IUCN for the red list of threatened species that it is developing… Does its work go far beyond?
This red list is indeed one of the pillars of the IUCN. It is the most comprehensive global inventory of the state of global conservation of plant and animal species. In other words, a kind of barometer of the state of biodiversity in the world and on which conservation policies can then be based. But no, this red list is not the only contribution of the IUCN. In 2014, it also launched green lists. They identify the protected areas whose management is effective for the conservation of species and whose governance and management respect the standards that the IUCN has established. These lists become a precious tool when we talk about this need to protect 30% of the surface of our planet by 2030. It is not necessary that “these 30%” are only a quantitative objective, but also qualitative.
Finally, through the positions it takes, the IUCN then influences the development of major international treaties. It thus played a central role in the creation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) which, since 1975, has strongly regulated the border crossing of some 35,000 animal and plant species. . And this is just one example.
In all this, what is the World Conservation Congress for?
It’s a bit like our Olympic Games. That is to say, a great gathering moment that comes back every four years and where we will be able to make concrete progress on many subjects. The general assembly of the IUCN is already taking place there, during which its 1,400 members will be able to put to the vote motions which, if validated, will give the main orientations of the organization for the four years to come. A central place for these conferences is also the forum, a space for public debate where researchers discuss the progress of their work, present joint studies, etc. This forum is also the perfect place to advance coalitions of actors. Within the French committee, for example, in Marseille, we would like to launch a French-speaking network of green lists.
Finally, these congresses have a third function, which is to address the general public. This is essential because the preservation of biodiversity also requires education. There will thus be in Marseille the Espaces Générations Nature, in which the public will be able to live innovative experiences that raise awareness of biodiversity while giving access to the right actions to preserve it.
But what is the difference between the World Conservation Congress in Marseille and the COP15 in Kunming?
Kunming COP 15 is the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This is the equivalent of COPs on climate change. The Kunming COP15 is therefore a conference under a UN mandate. The members are only States and it should theoretically lead to binding agreements for them. This is not the case with a World Conservation Congress. Otherwise, in fact, the two events are closely linked on the themes they address. France pushed for the IUCN congress to precede COP15, so that what will happen in Marseille gets the Kunming meeting off to a good start. [annoncée comme capitale car devant fixer
la trajectoire mondiale en termes de biodiversité pour les dix prochaines années].
What should we expect from this congress in Marseille?
Crucial topics will be on the agenda. Starting with this objective of 30% of the planet in protected areas by 2030. Countries have already made good progress, in particular France, which recently announced the creation of new nature reserves. [l’archipel des Glorieuses, les forêts de Mayotte…] and intends to reach this objective of 30% in its territory by 2022. We hope that the congress will be the occasion of new announcements in this matter among our members.
It would also be good if this congress made it possible to make progress on the protection of populations of endangered marine mammals. France is concerned, in particular by the significant strandings of dolphins on the Atlantic coast. Several provisions should be addressed during the congress: the creation of enhanced protection zones (ZPR), the seasonal closure of fishing and / or the reduction of vessel speed in certain areas, new regional fisheries management organizations, etc.
We are also pushing, in the French committee, for the creation of a third chamber within the IUCN bringing together, this time, the local communities as full and voting members. An effective conservation of nature is also and even above all at stake at this scale and not only at that of the States. We also hope for strong voices to demand that the trafficking of wild species, which is not weakening, be integrated into the United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime, as human trafficking and human trafficking already are. ‘weapons. Strong words also to demand that States place the protection of biodiversity at the heart of the post-Covid recovery.
Is this issue of protecting biodiversity still today in the shadow of the other great challenge of the 21st century, which is climate change?
The good news is that these two challenges – climate change and protecting biodiversity – are increasingly being considered together. The most striking example is this joint report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Ipbes [son équivalent sur la biodiversité] on June 10, following a four-day workshop that brought together experts from the two institutions last December. A first, and this report clearly emphasizes the fact that climate crises and biodiversity loss are closely linked and even mutually reinforcing. We can see this through the wave of forest fires this summer. Drought favors these fires which impact biodiversity but also release CO2 into the atmosphere which helps to amplify climate change and therefore create conditions conducive to an increase in future forest fires. Hence, once again, the importance of promoting nature-based solutions to resolve the climate crisis. That is to say both good for the climate and the preservation of biodiversity.