ICOMOS & IUCN Partner on Nature-Culture Journey at the World Conservation Congress 2016

Join ICOMOS in Hawaii in 2016! ICOMOS and IUCN are partnering on a joint Nature-Culture Journey at the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii (USA).

The Journey will consist of a dedicated track of programming at the Congress' Forum from September 1-5 focusing on connecting natural and cultural heritage practice.

ICOMOS participation is being supported by US/ICOMOS with help from ICOMOS France, ICOMOS Australia and the International Scientific Committees on Pacific Heritage (Pasifika); Polar Heritage (IPHC); Cultural Landscapes (ISCCL); Archeological Heritage Management (ICAHM); Historic Cities and Villages (CIVVIH); Cultural Tourism (ICTC), and Risk Preparedness (ICORP).

The quadrennial Congress will bring together thousands of leaders from around the world to advance conservation of the environment and harnessing the solutions nature and culture offer to meeting global challenges.

Experience demonstrates that in many landscapes, natural and cultural heritage are inextricably bound together and that conservation of these places depends upon better integration. Natural and cultural heritage experts face similar conservation challenges for places with complex biocultural systems and each brings a body of complementary knowledge and capacities. The Nature-Culture Journey will bring together these experts to explore these synergies to advance good practice.

The Nature-Culture Journey features over 25 sessions planned by ICOMOS & IUCN constituencies, ICCROM, the UNESCO World Heritage Center and many others, including:

• Implementing the new UN SDGs.
• Indigenous voices on nature/culture.
• Integrating social & cultural dimensions into large-scale ocean conservation.
• The ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ of food cultivation in land and seascapes.
• How to form new partnerships across natural and cultural heritage.
• People-centered approaches to conserving natural & cultural heritage.
• Governance issues & the natural-cultural heritage distinction.
• Cultural and spiritual significance of nature in protected area management.
• Historic Urban Landscape: integrating culture and nature in urban conservation.
• Cultural tourism management planning to sustain biodiversity and communities.
• Lessons From Ancestors About Adapting to Climate Change.

To participate in the Nature-Culture Journey, you must register for the IUCN Congress HERE. Congress registration requires an IUCN account but accounts are available to all via the registration page. Register by 31 May for lowest rates. Special rates for Speakers and Hawaiian residents are available. Visit HERE for more information on the Congress.

Watch for announcements for separate registration for special Nature-Culture Journey side events including a Welcome Breakfast on September 2nd and a closing reception on September 5th. For more information and to sign up to receive updates, visit HERE.