ReNature at the IUCN World Conservation Congress

This Sunday, the 5th of September, ReNature is going to participate at the The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, where international scientists come together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action. IUCN’s 1400+ government, civil society and indigenous peoples’ Member organisations vote on major issues, action which guides humanity’s relationship with our planet for the decades ahead. IUCN’s unique and inclusive membership gives the Congress a powerful mandate as it is not solely government or non-government, but both together. This year's congress is going to be in hybrid form - both physical (in Marseille, France), and virtual. 

ReNature is going to take part in the congress with 2 joint sessions. The project coordinator, Mario Balzan (MCAST), will be the speaker for both of them. The topic for the first one is "Nature‐based solutions for innovation, sustainable economic growth and human well‐being in Malta. The ReNature project in Malta." and starts on Sunday 5th of September at 14:00 (CEST). This session will also showcase successful examples and initiatives of nature-based solutions (NbS) in place applied in different natural ecosystems and urban areas.

The second joint session will be presenting the ReNature nature‐based solutions compendium and its new feature - the interactive NbS Toolkit, from 16:00 (CEST) on the same day.

NbS offers an unprecedented opportunity to increase the resilience of Mediterranean society faced with climate change and other societal challenges. 

During the first session, there will be showcased 4 more examples of nature-based solutions from different speakers:

  1. NbS to improve resilience of Mediterranean coastal cities. Case studies: Tanger-Tétouan Region (Morocco), Venice lagoon (Italy), Aix-Marseille Métropole (France) - MÉLIMED Project (Marie Baduel, AVITEM);
  2. NbS experiences to reduce the coastal risks. Case studies: Delta du Golo, Petit and Grand Travers and Vieux Salins d'Hyères (France) - Life Adapto project (Marion Croquet, Conservatoire du Littoral);
  3. Tools for a Green Recovery: Planning and Delivering Nature-based Solutions in Mediterranean cities. (Lourdes Lazaro – IUCN);
  4. Adeje’s productive forest: environment, employment and opportunities. (José Antonio Valbuena Alonso,  regional  Minister  for  Ecological  Transition,  Climate  Change  and  Spatial  Planning, Regional Government of Canary Islands).

For the second session, there are 4 more topics to be presented from other speakers. They are:

  1. The Mediterranean Consortium to protect Biodiversity. (Maher Mahjoub, IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation); 

  2. Presentation of the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands. (Lorena Segura, Tour du Valat); 

  3. Presentation of the Mediterranean Biodiversity Protection Community. (Dania Abdul Malak, European Topic Centre, University of Málaga (Spain));  

  4. NbS in North Africa Countries. (Emad Adly, Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE)). 

Lessons learned from an assessment of the IUCN Standard using 18 NbS interventions in Mediterranean cities has allowed the identification of both the Standard’s potential in Mediterranean cities and challenges in its use that must be resolved.