Written By: CPAWS The World Conservation Congress (WCC), organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is the largest conservation meeting in the world…and it starts today! Held every four years, the WCC is considered by some to be the Olympics of conservation thinking. From September 1 to 10th, the Congress will bring together thousands of leaders and decision-makers from across governments, the public sector, non-governmental organizations, academia, business, UN agencies and indigenous organizations to discuss and design solutions for the challenges our planet faces in protecting and maintain its biodiversity through conservation initiatives. This year’s Congress theme is “Planet at the Crossroads”, highlighting the enormous challenges and opportunities we face in sustaining nature – the very life support system of the planet. A CPAWS delegation is attending the WCC – several national and chapter staff, and current and past Trustees.  Our team will be giving presentations, organizing and participating in workshops, receiving awards (more to come later on this one), and taking advantage of a remarkable opportunity to learn about and share experiences about our collective effort to conserve nature with colleagues from around the world.  Our team will be reporting on the Congress over the next 10 days. You can follow CPAWS on Twitter for updates, or use #IUCNCongress to join the WCC conversation.