One of the opportunities during the World Conservation Congress is to meet with colleagues and partners to discuss critical issues outside of the main agenda of the Congress.

A few days ago, we had lunch with the delegation from the southern Caucasus.  The Transboundary Joint Secretariat, supported by the German KfW, has made it possible for a delegation of two members each from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to attend the IUCN Congress.  In addition, we have several of our own Members from the Region present.  Georgia is a State Member and we have strong NGOs Members in the Southern Caucasus.  Our office in Tbilisi, the Caucasus Cooperation Centre, coordinates our work in the area.

We had a very nice lunch, which was an opportunity to talk about common issues and exchange business cards.  It was an event that typifies what IUCN is good at: bringing people from different backgrounds together around natural resources management issues.

Experiences from our work in the southern Caucasus will feature at the Protected Area Pavilion, today, during a session about Regional Platforms for Enhanced Conservation.  The photo below was taken during a junior rangers training course last year