The #IUCNcongress will meet from September 1-10 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to address the most pressing challenges we face as our planet struggles to meet human needs. Held every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress gathers thousands of people who work on conservation issues from around the world and provides a forum for them to work together to protect the species, ecosystems and biodiversity upon which humans depend. This is the first time the WCC will be held in the United States. #WeNeedNaturehttp://goo.gl/q5BXSr.
● Under President Obama, the United States has protected more land and water than any other administration in U.S. history
● Under President Obama, the United States created one of the largest marine protected areas in the world! #WeNeedNature
● The United States is committed to the Bonn Challenge. Through efforts by the Federal Government and a broad coalition of partners, the United States has restored 9.5 million ha of lost or degraded forest land since 2011 – more than halfway to meeting our Bonn Challenge Commitment of restoring 15 million ha by 2020. Learn more: http://goo.gl/7FRrLF
● An unprecedented, landscape-scale conservation effort across the western United States has significantly reduced threats to the greater sage-grouse across 90% of the species’ breeding habitat and enabled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conclude that the charismatic rangeland bird does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. #WeNeedNaturehttps://goo.gl/XTPh4H
● In early August, three subspecies of the island fox, native to the California’s Channel Islands, were de-listed from the Endangered Species Act. This is a great conservation success story because in the late 1990’s, island fox populations has rapidly decreased by over 90%. Conservation efforts have helped Island Fox populations grow and this species has had the fastest recovery periods of any Endangered Species Act-Listed Mammal. https://goo.gl/Ojs8tB
● Louisiana, long known as the “pelican state,” risked losing its iconic brown pelican population in 1970 after the species was devastated by the pesticide DDT and from widespread coastal habitat loss. Thanks to a 1972 ban on DDT and collaborative efforts by states, conservation organizations and private citizens, the bird has fully recovered. More than 650,000 pelicans can now be found across Florida and the Gulf and Pacific coasts. https://goo.gl/Mb9UhZ
