1 September 2014 - In just over two months the CIC will be participating in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress. Since our last update in the CIC Magazine 2014/1, we are now delighted to announce the exciting final schedule of events which the CIC is involved with.
The IUCN Work Parks Congress will take place from November 12–19, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. This congress is the landmark global forum on protected areas, a hugely important topic for the CIC and indeed the hunting community in general. Hunting and fishing in and around protected areas may be a controversial subject for some protectionists, but as hunter-conservationists we know better and have excellent pro-use arguments. The CIC team are more than ready to co-host the session on November 15th “Protected Areas and Sustainable Hunting and Fishing” with the Food and Agricultural Organization on the United Nations (FAO). This event promises to be an engaging, challenging, and lively gathering. The session will serve to highlight not only how the ecosystems and the associated fauna within and surrounding protected areas can benefit from regulated sustainable use, but equally important how the local communities in and around these areas reap economic and socio-cultural benefits from sustainable use. Indeed, a win-win situation is achievable for ecosystems and rural populations based on these triple benefits. The CIC is pleased to announce the planned expert panel discussion on this topic, to be held during the session. The participants are not only experts at the forefront of their respective fields of expertise, but they will represent views from all over the world: Africa, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North and South America.
In order to further highlight these synergies, and gain some hands-on experience on both the hunting and fishing aspects of this topic, the CIC, together with the IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULi) have planned two field trips, which are sure to enhance understanding of the topic on many levels. These field trips, each one-day, will provide participants with practical experience of the relationship between protected area management and the sustainable use of resources, all in a relaxed setting