Leading conservation on the world stage
Clayoquot Island Preserve (Photo by Jocelyn Wood)
As co-host of the 2024 Global Congress of the International Land Conservation Network, NCC is building relationships for a resilient world
When Catherine Grenier, NCC president and CEO, delivers the opening remarks at the 2024 Global Congress of the International Land Conservation Network (ILCN) in Beaupré, Quebec, in October, nature’s biggest movers and shakers will be listening.
The global event will draw together conservation practitioners and partners from across six continents and 60 countries to build a collaborative vision for a resilient world in the face of biodiversity loss and climate change. NCC was invited to co-host the congress as Canada’s leading national land conservation organization with a successful track record of bringing people and organizations together to protect nature.
“We’re the pacesetter of NGOs that do this kind of work in Canada,” says Dawn Carr, NCC’s director of strategic conservation. “This is both a validation of our national leadership and an opportunity to provide a window to the world into how Canada and NCC deliver biodiversity outcomes collaboratively.”
The congress will feature 25 workshops in areas including conservation finance; organization and governance; law and policy; land stewardship and management; and landscape-scale conservation and restoration. Each session will include a panel discussion, followed by facilitated dialogue where participants will work to advance understanding toward specific actions.
NCC’s leaders will play key roles over the two days, including keynote addresses by Janice Wattis, chair of NCC’s board of directors, and David Blair, chair of the Quebec regional board.
“NCC is one of our strongest partners and a role model for Indigenous engagement and large landscape conservation,” says Chandni Navalkha, associate director of sustainably managed land and water resources at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, which operates the ILCN. “They are modelling the whole-of-society approach to achieving 30X30, which is what we want to bring to the fore.”
In showcasing NCC’s work to hundreds of invited decision makers on the world stage, Dawn also hopes the congress will open the door to new funding opportunities, policy changes and partnerships within Canada and internationally. “It’s always about finding innovative ways to do more of the good work we do,” Dawn says. “And good conservation always begins with relationships where people make magic happen at congresses like the ILCN, in the hallways over lunch, and in the spirit of making the world a better place."
