The largest international event for biodiversity

In 2021, France is hosting the World Conservation Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Marseille.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the French government have agreed to organize the 2020 IUCN World Conservation Congress from 3 to 11 September 2021 in Marseille. The event, originally scheduled for June 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organized every four years, this unique event is the largest international event on biodiversity. It mobilizes experts in the protection of nature from all sectors: politics, research, NGOs and major international organizations, but also companies and private actors.

The Congress is a crucial step in supporting the negotiations expected at the ^15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will define an international framework that will stop the erosion of biodiversity by 2030.

The world is increasingly recognizing the inextricable link between biodiversity conservation and economic and human well-being, a connection that the COVID-19 pandemic has made all the more visible. The IUCN Congress will be a key step for the conservation of nature and the development of a new global framework for biodiversity. The French Government and IUCN remain firmly committed to these goals.

The various components of the Congress will take place on the following days:

• The Forum will take place from September 4 to 7
• The Exhibition will be held from September 4 to 9
• The IUCN Members' Assembly will meet from 8 to 10 September
• The Nature Generations Spaces will be open from September 4 to 11

10,000 participants in 2016

From 192 countries, 10,000 participants attended the previous IUCN World Conservation Congress, held in 2016 in Hawaii, United States. On this occasion, major commitments to the conservation of biodiversity were announced and a road map was defined for the implementation of the historic agreements adopted in 2015 - the Paris Agreement on climate change and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Spaces dedicated to mobilization

The IUCN World Conservation Congress will include several spaces dedicated to mobilization that will take place

Open to the general public

Nature Generation Spaces: biodiversity within everyone's reach
Imagined as a biodiversity village, these spaces welcome the general public and highlight the projects of French actors and citizens committed to the preservation of biodiversity.

The Exhibition Hall: the diversity of the world and cultures are on display A
place for meetings and exchanges for the public, conference participants and invited personalities, the Exhibition Hall brings together pavilions and stands of actors and countries, including the France Pavilion. Before 10:00 a.m. and after 5:30 p.m., events will be exclusively reserved for conference attendees.

For conference attendees only

The Forum
Dedicated to public debates, it allows actors from all walks of life - governments, civil society, indigenous peoples, the economic world, academia - to discuss the most pressing issues.

The Assembly of Members The highest decision-making
body of IUCN, it brings together states and government agencies, NGOs, organizations of indigenous peoples, economic development agencies, scientific and academic institutions, and business associations. These members make joint decisions on conservation and sustainable development issues.