Pacific Islands Forum

On Friday, the second day of the IUCN WCC, participants attended the first day of the Forum, during which they focused on exploring solutions to some of the planet’s most pressing conservation and sustainability challenges. During the opening ceremony, Prince Charles, via video, shared a Hawaiian proverb, “Pupukahi i holomua – we must unite to move forward.” Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General, said the IUCN’s role is to raise awareness about the planet being at a crossroads. Tom Friedman, the New York Times, highlighted that “later is officially over, we can remove it from the dictionary as later will now be too late.” Brooke Runnette, National Geographic Society, shared efforts to empower people and create a community of change. Hong Youngpyo, Republic of Korea, reviewed progress since the 2012 WCC, saying that “we can choose a path of co-existence or no existence at all.” In a high-level event on championing nature-based solutions, panelists discussed economic and security risks posed by climate change, the valuable role of ecosystems and biodiversity to combat climate change, and other co-benefits of protecting nature and empowering women. In another high-level event on leveraging private sector finance for public good, Naoko Ishii, the GEF CEO and Chairperson, said "the way to transform the economic system is to change the way the private sector sees the value of nature." Events continued into the evening, when IUCN and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) launched "Protected Planet Report 2016." IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has produced daily reports, daily web coverage, summary videos from the Forum and the Members Assembly, as well as a summary report from the IUCN Congress 2016, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth and Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Forum Opening Ceremony A Hawai‘ian Blessing Ceremony the opening of the Forum Welcome video from Prince Charles Alison Sudol, Goodwill Ambassador, IUCN Tom Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, the New York Times Brooke Runnette, Executive Vice President, Chief Program and Impact Officer, National Geographic Society US President Barack Obama and Sylvia Earle, Oceanographer, during his visit to Hawai‘i prior to the start of the Congress Panelists applaud during the session Inger Andersen, Director General, IUCN Hong Youngpyo, Representative of the 2012 World Conservation Congress host, Republic of Korea Panel discussion entitled 'Move into Action: The ecosystems that underpin our economies, well-being and survival are collapsing' Sally Jewell, US Secretary of the Interior Peter Bakker, President and CEO, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Irina Bokova, Director General, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UNEP Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Alejandro Del Mazo Maza, National Commissioner for Natural Protected Areas, Mexico Edward Osborne Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University Climate Change: Championing Nature-Based Solutions Panel speakers during the session Inger Andersen, Director General, IUCN Moderator Tom Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, the New York Times Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga, Tuvalu Xavier Sticker, Ambassador for the Environment, France Peter Seligmann, Chairman and CEO, Conservation International Martha Rojas-Urrego, Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Tom Butler, President and CEO, International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) Participants during the session Islands at Risk: Meeting the Global Challenge of Invasive Alien Species Panelists of the event Braulio Dias, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Executive Secretary Kevin Smith, Invasive Species Programme Officer, IUCN Moderator Anna Tira‘a, IUCN Piero Genovesi, Chair, Invasive Species Specialist Group, IUCN A slide shown during the presentation Participants discuss matters in breakout groups A graphic recording of the proceedings done by Leah Silverman Youth participants during the session Private Finance for Public Good Panel speakers for the session Christy Goldfuss, Managing Director, White House Council on Environmental Quality Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, the GEF Camilla Seth, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance, JPMorgan Chase Fabian Huwyler, Vice President, Global Sustainability Group, Credit Suisse Julia Bucknall, Director for Environment and Natural Resources, World Bank Dale Galvin, Managing Director of Sustainable Markets and Finance, Rare Terry Tamminen, CEO, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation John Tobin, Cornell College of Business and Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, Cornell University Stephan Opitz, Director General for Policy and Latin American Region, KfW Development Bank Lynn Scarlett, Global Managing Director for Public Policy, the Nature Conservancy Members of the Coalition for Private Investment in Conservation, which was launched during the event The Road Ahead: Toyota and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - Driving Private Sector Engagement for Biodiversity Conservation Panelists during the session Jane Smart, Global Director, Biodiversity Conservation Group, IUCN Braulio Dias, CBD Executive Secretary Tom Stricker, Toyota Motor North America Judith Garber, US Department of State Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, Director General, International Cooperation and Implementation, CONABIO, Mexico Participants attend a reception in the evening Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Consultative Forum: Exchanging Experience on Application of the KBA Standard at the National Level Panel speakers for the event Annabelle Cuttelod, KBA Project Coordinator Moderator Simon Stuart, Chair, IUCN Species Survival Commission Saw Htun, Wildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar Paul Matiku,Director, Nature Kenya Zoltan Waliczky, Birdlife International Olivier Langrand, Executive Director, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) Mark Zimsky, the GEF Participants discuss KBA standards in breakout groups Natural Capital Protocol and Sector Guides Hawai‘i Launch Participants gather for the launch event Mark Gough, Natural Capital Coalition Holly Dublin, IUCN Peter Bakker, WBCSD Peter Seligmann, Chairman and CEO, Conservation International A participant writes the ingredients of the “cocktail” needed for getting the Protocol widely adopted Conservation Case - High Seas Participants engage on how to build coalitions and input into international processes David Freestone, Executive Secretary, Sargasso Sea Commission Carl Gustaf Lundin, IUCN David VanderZwaag, Dalhousie University, Canada Antonio Claparols, Ecological Society of the Philippines Marine Seismic Surveys: Management Guidelines Moderator Carl Gustaf Lundin, IUCN Douglas Nowacek, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Participants during the event Ecosystems and Society in a Changing World: Experience, Exchange, and Learning about Ecosystem-Based Adaptation and Eco-Disaster Risk Reduction that Works! Paul Schumacher, Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Udo Nehren, University of Applied Sciences Cologne Jaruwan Enright, Mangrove Action Project Participants engage during the session L-R: Udo Nehren, University of Applied Science Cologne; Paul Schumacher, GIZ; Karen Sudmeier-Rieux, IUCN; Adam Whelchel, the Nature Conservancy; Shaun Martin, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Launch of IUCN/UNEP-WCMC Protected Planet 2016 Report Neville Ash, Director, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) Nina Bhola, UNEP WCMC Marina Von Weissenberg, Ministerial Advisor, Finland Kathy MacKinnon, Chair, WCPA Norbert Bärlocher, Office of Environment, Switzerland Braulio Dias, CBD Executive Secretary Participants during the event Press Conferences Throughout the Day Press conference on elephant conservation initiatives Press Conference with Edward Osborne Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University Around the Venue Delegates around the venue Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, speaks with Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, Tuvalu Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), being interviewed by Nicole de Paula and Hernán Aguilar, Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Jane Goodall, UN Messenger of Peace Meg Taylor, Secretary General to the Pacific Islands Forum, speaks with participants Exhibits on display throughout the venue With backgrounds painted by an elephant, this 'inter-species' art from the Rama Exhibition aims at raising awareness about the plight of endangered species

Following the opening of the Ministerial Segment on Monday, participants at the 2016 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) discussed “Main messages from first HLPF week: our starting point.” This was followed by keynote speeches and panel discussions related to the meeting’s theme of “Ensuring that no one is left behind,” on: “Reaching the most vulnerable;” “Challenges of countries in special situations;” and “Unlocking means of implementation (MOI) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and creating an enabling environment.” A general debate took place at the end of the day. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily reports, daily web coverage and a summary and analysis from HLPF 2016, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening of the Ministerial Segment Delegates gather for the opening of the Ministerial Segment Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Oh Joon, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN and President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN and Vice President of ECOSOC Héctor Alejandro Palma Cerna, Deputy Permanent Representative of Honduras to the UN and Vice President of ECOSOC Mogens Lykketoft, President of the UN General Assembly Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, Vice President of Viet Nam Ensuring that no one is left behind: reaching the most vulnerable Panel speakers during the session Hugo Roger Martínez Bonilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs, El Salvador Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO) Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Md. Shahidul Haque, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Christian Friis Bach, Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Delegates watch proceedings from the gallery Ensuring that no one is left behind: challenges of countries in special situations View of the dais during the session Álvaro García, Office of Planning and Budget of the Presidency, Uruguay Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Dame Meg Taylor, Secretary-General, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Helen Clark, Administrator, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Karina Gould, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development, Canada Ricardo Cardona, Minister of Social Development, Honduras Shamshad Akhtar, Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Daniel Mensinga, Major Group for Children and Youth Ensuring that no one is left behind: unlocking the means of implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals and creating an enabling environment View of the dais during the session  Michelle Muschett, Vice Minister of Social Development, Panama Ardalan Shekarabi, Minister for Public Administration, Sweden Axel Bertuch-Samuels, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Vaughan Turekian, Advisor to the US Secretary of State Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Douglas Frantz, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank Group Representatives from the Women's Major Group hold up pictures of environmental and human rights activists who have been killed, demonstrating the need to create an enabling environment for stakeholder participation General Debate Delegates participate in a general debate Virachai Plasai, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Juan Temístocles Montás, Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Dominician Republic, speaking on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Bernard Kamphasa, Zambia, speaking on behalf of the LLDCs Eden Charles, Deputy Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Jiko Fatafehi Luveni, Fiji, speaking on behalf of the Group of Pacific SIDS Mohammed Khaled Khiari, Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the UN, speaking on behalf of the African Group Mohammed Maziad Al Tuwaijri, Vice-Minister of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia Celebrating Nelson Mandela Day A special event is held in the ECOSOC Chamber to commemorate "Mandela Day" Delegates stand to observe a moment of silence to honor Nelson Mandela and his contribution to freedom and justice in the world Stevie Wonder, UN Messenger of Peace Around the Venue Delegates gather for the start of the Ministerial Segment Delegates greet each other before the start of plenary Delegates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo Delegates from South Africa Delegates speak informally Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, and Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, Vice-President of Viet Nam, participate in an event "Scream from Nature" that emphasized the importance of environmental protection Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, and Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, Vice-President of Viet Nam, stand with children during the event Musical performance by fifth graders from the Special Music School, New York Around the UN Headquarters