Number: 2015-05
WHEREAS, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress is the world’s preeminent and largest conservation gathering, bringing together thousands of leaders and delegates every four years to discuss the world’s most pressing environment and development challenges with the goal of conserving wildlife and the environment and harnessing the solutions nature offers to society’s global challenges; and
WHEREAS, IUCN has been successful in influencing, encouraging, and assisting societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature by (1) influencing governments, business, and other stakeholders to support wildlife conservation efforts, (2) implementing several international agreements on nature conservation and biodiversity, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and (3) assessing the conservation status and conservation needs of species worldwide through the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; and
WHEREAS, the upcoming World Conservation Congress, to take place in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, September 1-10, 2016, will be the first time that a U.S. location will host the Congress; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation, a founding member of the IUCN in 1948, and its Hawai’i state affiliate, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, have worked closely with conservation leaders, Native Hawaiian cultural leaders, and the State of Hawai‘i to help bring the 2016 World Conservation Congress to the United States; and
WHEREAS, at the World Conservation Congress, IUCN member organizations are able to influence the global conservation agenda, and guide IUCN’s work plan for the four years to follow; and
WHEREAS, the 2016 World Conservation Congress offers the National Wildlife Federation, its state affiliates, and many other like-minded conservation organizations and stakeholders around the globe an unprecedented opportunity to focus attention on issues of importance to NWF and its affiliates, and to highlight on the world stage the important conservation challenges and achievements taking place across the United States, and especially in Hawai‘i;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled March 27-29, 2015 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, hereby welcomes and supports the 2016 World Conservation Congress, as well as other like-minded conservation organizations, in their efforts to promote common solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental threats, including threats to wildlife and habitat conservation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation encourages participation in the 2016 World Conservation Congress by U.S. conservation organizations and natural resource management agencies; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation urges President Obama and/or Vice President Biden to attend the 2016 World Conservation Congress for the purpose of demonstrating U.S. leadership in the international conservation arena.