Why Hawai‘i? The 2016 World Conservation Congress, Free Public Talk

Why Hawai‘i? The 2016 World Conservation Congress

NTBG – KCC ‘Balance of Nature’ lecture series

Join Chipper Wichman, Director and CEO of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) for a talk about the importance of the world’s largest conservation conference coming to Hawai‘i in September 2016. Wichman, who has been at the forefront of efforts to bring the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress (WCC) to Hawai‘i, will discuss the significance of the Congress on Tuesday, April 28 at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at the KCC Campus Center in Puhi.

In less than a year and a half environmental and climate leaders, policy makers, and scientists will convene in Hawai‘i for the IUCN WCC 2016. Considered “the Olympics of conservation,” the WCC is held every four years, most recently in 2012 on Jeju island, South Korea. In its 67 year history, the Congress has never been hosted by the United States.

In September 2016 an estimated 8-10,000 delegates from over 160 countries will travel to Hawai‘i to discuss, debate, and strategize as the WCC sets the global agenda for environmental conservation for the next four years. The September 1-10 meetings will take place at the Hawai‘i Convention Center in Honolulu but Wichman says Kaua‘i should begin to prepare now for the arrival of delegates who will visit neighbor islands before and after the meetings.

In 2012 Wichman led the steering committee from Hawai‘i to the WCC on Jeju as part of efforts to attract the Congress. In his talk at KCC Wichman will explain why the WCC 2016 is important for Hawai‘i. “All of us have the unprecedented opportunity to make this a transformational event for Hawai‘i and the world but to do that, we have to engage now.”

The “Plants for Our Planet” lecture series is one of many collaborations between the nonprofit National Tropical Botanical Garden and Kaua‘i Community College. Both NTBG and KCC share a common goal of quality education to truly change lives. NTBG is a not-for-profit institution, headquartered in Kalāheo. KCC, which is part of the University of Hawai‘i system, operates a large campus in Līhu‘e.

For questions about accessibility or to request accommodations, please contact Margaret Clark at (808) 332-7324 ext. 225 at least 10 days in advance.
For information on the institutions, visit their respective websites at www.ntbg.org and kauai.hawaii.edu

Speaker Chipper Wichman, by National Tropical Botanical Garden.