IUCN Members elect new leadership for next four years

Today, Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) elected the President, Treasurer, Commission Chairs and Regional Councillors across eight global regions for 2016 – 2020 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawai‘i.  

president iucn Photo: Eric McNatt

“IUCN’s breadth of regional representation and scientific expertise is a major contributor to the power of this Union. IUCN’s democratic process brings together over 1,300 State and civil society Members, giving these new leaders a strong mandate,” says Enrique Lahmann, Global Director, IUCN Union Development Group

IUCN’s current standing President, Zhang Xinsheng, was re-elected for a second term.

Members also elected Chairs of IUCN’s six Commissions, which bring together 16,000 volunteer experts from around the world in a range of disciplines from species conservation to environmental law and protected area management. The Commissions assess the state of the world’s natural resources and provide the Union with expert knowledge and policy advice on conservation issues.

Twenty-eight Regional Councillors were also elected for the Africa, Meso and South America, North America and the Caribbean, South and East Asia, West Asia, Oceania, East Europe, North and Central Asia and West Europe regions. Regional Councillors act as IUCN ambassadors, working to serve the interests and mission of IUCN, and inform Council on the interests, priorities and needs of IUCN Members in their regions.

The IUCN Congress is the world’s largest and most democratic conservation forum – where IUCN Members vote on key conservation and environmental issues as well as electing leaders.

The new IUCN Council will now move forward to guide the strategic direction of the Union over the next four years.  

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