In the past, Congresses were held every two years, then every three, and now they are held every four years. Initially, the Congress only consisted of the Members’ Assembly of all IUCN member organizations. Since 1996, the Congress has grown to include the Forum, open to all, to debate major sustainable development issues, propose solutions and facilitate the sharing of information and experiences.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress has been held in all corners of the world.
Congress history
60 years of Congresses
2008 Barcelona | 1972 Banff | |
2004 Bangkok | 1969 New Delhi | |
2000 Amman | 1966 Lucerne | |
1996 Montreal | 1963 Nairobi | |
1994 Buenos Aires | 1960 Warsaw | |
1990 Perth | 1958 Athens | |
1988 San José | 1956 Edinburgh | |
1984 Madrid | 1954 Copenhagen | |
1981 Christchurch | 1952 Caracas | |
1978 Ashkhabad | 1950 Brussels | |
1977 Geneva (extra ordinary session) | 1948 Fontainebleau | |
1975 Kinshasa |
Venue Selection
Traditionally, a World Conservation Congress is hosted by one of IUCN’s State Members. Preference is given to countries and regions where Congresses have not been held in recent years.
In November 2008, IUCN officially commenced its search for the Host City to welcome the 2012 World Conservation Congress by sending an invitation letter to all State Members of IUCN, as well as countries where IUCN has government agencies as Members, inviting them to express interest in hosting the 2012 Congress. Out of the expressions of interest received, Council selected Mexico and the Republic of Korea as candidates. Based on the bidding documents submitted by the candidates as well as the evaluation report prepared after the site visits, IUCN’s Council, at its 73rd meeting in November 2009, decided to accept the offer by the Government of Korea to host the Congress in Jeju, Republic of Korea.