Join the Tour du Valat during this major event for biodiversity, organised by the Ministry of the Ecological Transition and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), from 3 to 11 September, at the Parc Chanot in Marseille. You will find the programme of the events in which the Tour du Valat will participate in at the bottom of this article.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress, normally organised every 4 years, is the main international forum for exchanging experiences and setting priorities for biodiversity conservation. It has three components: (1) the IUCN Members’ Assembly where the members vote on priority actions (motions); (2) the Forum, a more informal area dedicated to innovation and conservation science; and (3) the Exposition, where various actors can present their work to Congress participants and the general public.
“The 2021 Congress, which opens in Marseille on the 3rd of September, is part of the big international events that were supposed to mark the 2020 “super year for biodiversity”, all postponed due to the pandemic. It will be the first hybrid event (in-person and virtual) of this size since the start of the health crisis. Although constrained by sanitary restrictions, with a more limited presence of international partners than usual, the event remains an important opportunity to promote the cause of Mediterranean wetlands.” emphasises Raphaël Billé, Program Director of the Tour du Valat.
The Tour du Valat will be present on multiple levels. As a member of the IUCN and with Jean Jalbert being vice-president of the French IUCN Committee, the TDV will participate in the discussions and formal votes of the Assembly. Along with some twenty “cosponsors”, the TDV has submitted a motion on the implementation of nature-based solutions in the Mediterranean Basin. The Tour du Valat will also be present in several informal arenas where innovations and lessons learned will be shared, and where partnerships and mobilisations will be shaped or strengthened. On the menu, there will be numerous presentations and discussions on Nature-Based Solutions, the support to civil society through the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands, the rise in power of the Mediterranean Consortium for Biodiversity, the release of the Living Mediterranean Report – an unprecedented data source on Mediterranean biodiversity, and the increased mobilisation of key players such as politicians and business owners.
The Tour du Valat, partner of the World Conservation Congress
The Tour du Valat is a partner of the Ministry of Ecological Transition for the organisation of the IUCN Congress. Created more than 65 years ago by Luc Hoffmann, the Tour du Valat has since then developed its research activities for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands with the constant desire to achieve: better understanding for better management. Convinced that it will only be possible to preserve wetlands if human activities and the protection of the natural heritage can be reconciled, Tour du Valat has for many years been developing programmes of research and integrated management that favour interchanges between wetland users and scientists, and promote wetlands benefit to decision makers.
The general public is invited to take part in the Nature Generation Areas. This friendly and lively biodiversity village will be held from 4 to 11 September for free and with no registration needed.
We look forward to seeing you there!
