More than 2,400 political and business representatives and experts from over 30 countries and regions participated in the Eco Global Forum Annual Conference, held 6-8 July in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province in southwest China.
San Marcos de Guatemala
Photo: UICN ORMACC/ Paul Aragón
Guiyang, China, 9 June 2018. Titled ‘Embracing a new era of eco-civilization: Green development with high priority to ecology,’ the three-day conference brought together business, governmental and academic leaders from different parts of the world and involved main international organisations specialising in environmental protection and green development.
Eco Forum Global, established in 2009, is committed to improving the world ecological environment. This year the conference included forums on 10 different topics, along with five international workshops and consultation sessions fostering international cooperation.
The Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (ORMACC), Dr Grethel Aguilar, participated in four of the forums scheduled, speaking about the IUCN Green List of Protected Areas, cities and forests, world heritage and eco-civilization opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean to address poverty.
“There is a growing interest in contributing and incorporating trees and forests into cities. Several initiatives aim to create frameworks and evidence on the benefits of green infrastructure,” she explained during her first intervention in the event focusing on forest cities.
On the topic of eco-civilization and poverty, the Regional Director said “we need joint efforts at local, national, regional and international levels in order to build a green economy, one that improves human well-being and builds social equity while reducing environmental risks and scarcities.”
She also explained that opportunities for Latin America centre on rural revitalisation through linking inclusive business and nature-based solutions, along with access to and sharing of benefits from the use of resources. Others include water as vital link between urban-rural development, the generation of sustainable cities and the promotion of global and regional initiatives for good governance.
During their stay in Guiyang, IUCN representatives Zhang Xinsheng, President of IUCN; Malik Amin Aslam and Peter Micheal Cochran, Council Members; Marcus Hockings of the World Commission on Protected Areas; Aban Kabraji, Regional Director of the Asia Office and Grethel Aguilar of ORMACC shared experiences with the Vice Governor of Guizhou Province, Lu Yongzhen.
Eco Forum Global is a high-level, non-profit, international platform whose objective is to promote the concept of ecological civilization by convening world leaders in government, business, academia and civil society to build a bridge for intergovernmental and intersectoral cooperation.
