The Environmental Law Program (ELP) at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has been a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2015. IUCN membership includes more than 1300 States and government agencies, non-governmental organizations, Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, scientific and academic institutions, and business associations.

As a member of the IUCN, ELP will be participating in the 2020 IUCN World Conservation Congress (Congress) in Marseille, France, where the IUCN Members’ Assembly will convene for four days to consider the hundreds of motions submitted by IUCN Members worldwide. The motions process is a central element of the IUCN’s unique organizational system and has influenced the adoption of several international environmental instruments, standards, agreements, and conservation best practices.

IUCN Members have the opportunity to propose and co-sponsor motions that address any matter of importance in relation to IUCN’s objectives. Over the past year, ELP has collaborated with IUCN Member Partners in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific to develop motions on new and emerging issues in the region.

In August, ELP submitted six motions to the Congress on the following topics: climate change legislation, marine pollution from sunken vessels, safeguarding coral reefs from sunscreen, the plastic pollution crisis, the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment (GJIE), and the Global Institute of Prosecutors for the Environment (GIPE).

On November 6, 2019, the IUCN accepted 120 motions from 235 submissions for debate among IUCN Members. All six ELP motions were accepted to move forward!

Additionally, ELP worked with IUCN Member Kua`aina Ulu `Auamo to develop a motion to establish a Global Indigenous Network for Aquaculture (GINA). The motion was also accepted for the next phase in the motions process.

Next ELP will take part in an online discussion of all accepted motions.