JEJU, KOREA — With environmental sustainability receiving increasing attention as one of the most pressing issues on the shared global agenda, leading experts and policymakers are set to gather in Korea’s southern island of Jeju for the world’s largest environmental conservation event.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) 2012 World Conservation Congress (WCC), long referred to by organizers and participants as “Nature’s Olympics,” will open on September 6 at the International Convention Center on Jeju Island. Over 8,000 delegates from the governmental, non-governmental, and private sectors of 180 countries are expected to attend.
Sharing the responsibility and benefits of conservation
The theme of this year’s congress is Nature+, a slogan that embodies an understanding of nature as resilient, adaptive, and possessing within itself the capacity to provide creative solutions for some of modern civilization’s biggest, albeit self-made, challenges. Accordingly, the programs scheduled for the ten-day event will focus on the close links between nature and five current issues, namely, climate change, food security, social and economic development, good governance, and biodiversity.
For the first time this year, the congress will unfold in two parts, with a public forum running from September 7 to 11 and the Members’ Assembly taking place from September 8 to 15.
A highlight of the forum, which includes free workshops, training courses, and cultural programs, will be the ongoing “World Leaders Dialogues” event, at which major names in academia, politics, and business will debate possible solutions for the above issues.
Notable panelists will include former Korean Minister of Environment and current chairman of Korea’s LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability Forum) Maan-ee Lee, former President of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo, President Marvin Odum of Shell Oil Company, and United Nations Environmental Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner. The debate, which will be made available online via a live webstreaming service, will also address questions submitted by the public beforehand.
At the Members’ Assembly, delegates of IUCN member states and organizations will convene as a kind of global environmental parliament to discuss and establish policies, hold congressional elections, and review various member reports and motions. The main conclusions set forth at each session of the assembly will be presented during forum sessions, and vice versa, to encourage coherence across events.
Celebrating the environment on “Natural Wonder” Jeju Island
Outside of the International Convention Center, opportunities to better appreciate the value as well as the beauty of nature will be in no short supply.
“All Together Now,” a month-long island-wide festival extravaganza hosted by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, will run throughout the duration of the congress in eleven locations across the island. The event got off to a lively start on August 16 with an opening ceremony attended by over 3,000 people at Geomun Oreum, one of the island’s most beautiful volcanic rock formations,. The first weekend of the festival also included a fireworks and laser show over the beach town of Seogwipo.
The reception was equally enthusiastic at the first installments of the weekly events that will take place until September 15, including the Green Film Festival which offers beachside screenings of films depicting environmental issues, the Cycling Festival which leads cyclists around the perimeter of the island, and the Eco Flea Market where visitors and vendors can share and recycle their goods.
The weekend of August 24 saw a lineup of fun activities and events for locals and visiting families, including a folk games carnival and traditional cultural performance complete with jultagi demonstration as well as a kite-flying event, a launching ceremony for WCC supporters and volunteers, and a festival for multicultural families that included a cultural bazaar.
Unfortunately, due to the August 27 onset of Typhoon Bolaven and the subsequent arrival of Typhoon Tembin, the festivities have been temporarily placed on hold. At present, they have been scheduled to resume on September 4, after which exciting programs such as the Jeju Live Music Festival (featuring popular acts such as Cherry Filter, Gangsanae, and contestants from the hit TV show Top Band), the World Hansik Festival, the Healing Music Festival featuring a performance by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and a haenyeo festival will each take their turns in the spotlight.
With free eco-tours also offered for all congress participants with advance registration, the wealth of natural wonders and diverse landscapes that is Jeju Island will likely be one of the most memorable parts of this year’s event.
Green growth model Korea, the first Northeast Asian WCC host
While the World Conservation Congress has been held every four years since the founding of the IUCN in 1948, Korea is the first Northeast Asian country to host the event. This fact, together with the increasing attention being given to Korea’s low-carbon, green growth policy initiatives, make the upcoming congress a significant milestone in both IUCN history as well as the more recent history of Korea’s growing leadership role in the international arena.
"The world is currently facing a host of environmental challenges," said Lee Hong-koo, chairman of the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2012 World Conservation Congress. "Climate change, water shortages, energy crises, and a decline in natural resources are issues from which none of us can be free.
"Against this backdrop, it is especially meaningful that Jeju, with its beautiful natural environment and high value with regards to both resources and research, should host the upcoming congress," continued Lee. "We hope this congress will lay the foundation for lively discussions and for substantive progress in a new era of conservation efforts."
The World Conservation Congress has been organized by the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. At the end of the Congress, the host organizations, in partnership with the IUCN Secretariat, will be presenting a draft of the Jeju Declaration, which will outline the major outcomes of the event for ratification by the assembly.
Source: Korea.net
