I am writing this from the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii, a gathering of several thousand conservation and environmental organizations and individuals, convened every four years under the auspices of IUCN. A packed program of interactive events over the first five days included a session hosted by EAAFP and Birdlife on conservation of intertidal habitats and migratory waterbirds, globally and focusing on the Yellow Sea. The session was very well-attended and productive and we will report in detail in the near future. Many EAAFP Partners are represented at the Congress and will vote on Motions and recommendations. Our motion on conservation of intertidal habitats, with particular attention on the Yellow Sea moves forward resolutions from the last Congress, held in Jeju, Korea in 2012 and was approved by electronic vote with all governments supporting. The general theme of the meeting has been how to significantly scale up the efforts needed to move to a nature-based economy that fully embraces the limits of the planet and our dependence on nature. The Paris Climate Change agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals are significant moves forward in this direction. If we can harness the political will and business support generated in Paris and extend this to make the case for biodiversity conservation to bring other sectors on board, then there is hope. And as conservationists, we have to be optimistic! But the conversation needs to extend beyond those already committed to bring in others to a vision where nature and people can live together is a sustainable way.
