Since then, IUCN has grown to become the world's largest and most diverse environmental network, with 1,300 member organizations and 15,000 experts in 160 countries.
Sealing this relationship of trust between France and IUCN, the IUCN World Conservation Congress will be the first to be held in France since the Union's founding General Assembly in 1948. What is more, the IUCN Congress is due to take place in a strategic year for biodiversity, with the organisation of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in October 2021 in Kunming, China.
A solid partnership between France and IUCN
In 2005, the French Government committed to establishing a genuine partnership with IUCN, based on a four-year framework agreement. This partnership strengthens France's ability to interact with global climate, biodiversity and natural resource management programmes.
This France-IUCN partnership has allowed for the funding of a large number of projects implemented by thematic programmes in several areas, in particular, the governance of biodiversity, the management of protected areas, the promotion of nature-based solutions and of overseas countries and territories.
Since Marseille was chosen to host the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2020, there has been an increase in the number of messages of convergence in favour of biodiversity. France has thus clearly demonstrated its political will to make the Congress a success just a few months before the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 in China.
The French National Committee of IUCN Members
France is the country with the second-largest number of IUCN members in the world, and these members are particularly active. They constitute the French National Committee of IUCN Members, which was founded in 1992. This Committee aims to help conserve biodiversity and ensure the sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. In order to achieve this, it works closely with these members, which include a wide variety of stakeholders, including ministries, public bodies, non-governmental organisations and experts.
The French National Committee of IUCN Members provides a unique national platform for dialogue and expertise on biodiversity issues, also involving local and regional authorities and private companies. It helps strengthen biodiversity conservation in France, notably by using IUCN’s tools (the Red List of Threatened Species, the Red List of Ecosystems, the Green List of Protected Areas, etc.) and by promoting French expertise within IUCN's global network.
