The world parks congress 2014: Inspiring solutions for parks, people and planet

Abstract

The largest-ever gathering of those involved with protected and conserved areas worldwide took place in Sydney, Australia in November 2014. The programme encompassed a broad scope of discussions under the headline of Inspiring Solutions for Parks, People and Planet. The event aimed to: (i) find better and fairer ways to conserve natural and cultural diversity, involving governments, businesses and citizens in establishing and managing parks; (ii) inspire people around the world and across generations to reconnect with nature; and (iii) demonstrate nature’s solutions to our planet’s challenges such as climate change, health, food and water security. More than 6,000 participants took part in a full spectrum of workshops, events, pavilions, world leaders’ dialogues, e-posters and field visits and helped craft a new vision for the role of protected areas in the decade and generations to come. This challenge, the Promise of Sydney, was handed over to the IUCN President, Mr Zhang Xinsheng and adopted by acclamation at the Closing Plenary on 19 November 2014.