The IUCN Spanish National Committee and the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation organized, on 7 June in Madrid, a joint meeting with the Spanish Association of Environmental Journalists (APIA) to discuss major aspects of the next IUCN World Conservation Congress, 6 - 15 September 2012 in Jeju (Republic of Korea). A cooperation agreement between IUCN-Med and the Spanish National Committee was signed on this occasion.

With more than 400 journalists expected, at least 500 events and over 6000 participants - including more than 100 Member States and leading NGOs such as WWF, Conservation International and National Geographic - the Congress is the world’s largest and most important conservation event, where future priorities are decided.

The President of the IUCN Spanish Committee, Carlos Sanchez, presented the journalists with the motions to be submitted by Spanish Members to the V World Conservation Congress. In total, 20 proposals have been prepared to improve conservation in key areas such as responsible renewable energy, green jobs, protecting endangered species, geological heritage and ecological connectivity. The full text of these motions can be found here. A list of events led by Spanish Members attending the Congress can also be consulted here.

Andrés Alcántara, on behalf of IUCN-Med, introduced at the briefing the activities planned during the Congress, including a Mediterranean high-level meeting entitled: "Towards a Mediterranean resilience: a model of adaptive governance". This will be complemented by presentations of IUCN-Med publications and reports in the pavillions for Protected Planet, Marine and Species.

IUCN-Med is also organizing a meeting to discuss and approve the IUCN North Africa Programme 2013-2016.

Agreement with the IUCN Spanish National Committee 

The cooperation agreement between the IUCN Spanish National Committee and IUCN-Med was formally signed during the Congress media briefing mentioned above, to unite efforts for the management and nature conservation in priority areas of the Mediterranean. In addition, both institutions will collaborate in designing the methodology for the implementation of the Spanish Red List of threatened species and ecosystems, with the support of the IUCN constituency, as well as strengthening other National Committees in the Mediterranean.