World Wilderness Congresses (WWC)
The World Wilderness Congresses (WWC) are a series of international gatherings established to address and promote the preservation of wilderness areas globally. The inaugural congress took place in 1977 in Johannesburg, South Africa, initiated by conservationist Ian Player, who sought to broaden the focus on wilderness conservation beyond Western perspectives. The congresses serve as a platform for diverse stakeholders—from artists and scientists to indigenous peoples and government officials—to engage in discussions and collaborations aimed at protecting wilderness spaces.
Held every three to five years in various global locations, the WWCs have sparked significant initiatives and partnerships in wilderness preservation. Each congress emphasizes the importance of cultural expression through art, which is integrated into the events to highlight the connection between humanity and nature. Outcomes from the congresses include the establishment of new conservation organizations, the formulation of international agreements, and the development of initiatives addressing climate change and the interests of indigenous communities. Overall, the WWCs underscore the need for collective action and a global commitment to safeguarding wilderness areas as vital components of our shared environment.
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World Wilderness Congresses (WWC)
Identification: International assemblies devoted to the preservation of wilderness on a global scale
Date: Inaugurated in October, 1977
The World Wilderness Congresses have played a major role in wilderness preservation by providing a forum where international participants from diverse cultures and disciplines can address the implementation of global initiatives aimed at preserving the world’s biodiversity and its remaining wilderness areas.
The first World Wilderness Congress began as one of the initiatives undertaken by Ian Player, a South African conservationist, to promote wilderness conservation on a global scale and to ensure wilderness preservation. In 1974, convinced that wilderness conservation must be a concern of every nation and every individual, not just a preoccupation of Western culture, Player resigned from the South African Wildlife Service to pursue efforts to make wilderness conservation a global issue. He established the Wilderness Leadership School to introduce individuals from all walks of life to the wilderness by taking them on foot into the African wilderness. Shortly thereafter he founded the WILD Foundation, the Wilderness Trust, and the Magqubu Ntombela Foundation, which honors his friend and colleague Qumbu Magqubu Ntombela, a Zulu chief.
In October, 1977, working with colleagues in conservation, Player and the WILD Foundation convened the first World Wilderness Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa. The congress provided a forum for discussion and implementation of programs and projects targeting wilderness preservation. The focus of the congress was wilderness preservation on an international, multicultural, multiprofessional, and multi-interest scale. Participants in the congress addressed wilderness preservation from many different viewpoints, including artistic, cultural, governmental, environmental, economic, and academic. The organizers emphasized the congress’s importance as an opportunity for the exchange of information—not only among the various groups engaged in wilderness preservation but also among those involved in activities affecting wilderness. The congress introduced programs for involving native peoples in wilderness conservation and addressed banking and economic development as wilderness preservation issues. It also recognized the importance of art and creativity in the fight to preserve wilderness by presenting an extensive exhibition of conservation art.
In keeping with its concept of wilderness as a global issue, the WILD Foundation cohosts a World Wilderness Congress every three to five years to provide opportunities for face-to-face discussion and networking among conservation groups from all over the world. The congresses have been held in many different locations, including in Australia, Scotland, Norway, Mexico, India, and Alaska. Significant contributions to wilderness preservation have come out of the congresses, among them a strengthening of the concept that preservation of wilderness is a task for the global community.
Projects and Initiatives
At the second World Wilderness Congress, the issue of the impact of hydroelectric dams on wilderness conservation in Tasmania received international attention for the first time, and participants formulated a global overview of definitions relating to wilderness. At the third congress participants witnessed the effectiveness of gaining global attention for wilderness preservation as it was announced that the government of Tasmania had opted to protect the Southwest Tasmanian Wilderness rather than to build dams. In addition, two new wilderness preservation organizations, Wilderness Association Italiana and the South African Wilderness Action Group, were formed as a result of the third congress.
Two proposals for programs affecting conservation and preservation were made at the fourth congress in 1987; they called for a world conservation bank and a world conservation corps. In 1991 the Global Environment Facility was jointly established by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Bank as an independent organization that would give financial assistance in the form of grants to developing countries for projects beneficial to the global environment.
The fifth World Wilderness Congress, held in Norway in 1993, focused on preservation of the Arctic in harmony with sustainable use by the indigenous peoples of the region. The sixth congress established the Asian Wilderness Initiative and gathered support for a joint plan of India and Namibia to return cheetahs to India. The seventh congress concentrated on projects and initiatives to increase protected areas of wilderness on both public and private lands and to implement additional legislation and training programs to guarantee wilderness preservation.
The eighth congress, held in Alaska in 2005, gave priority to issues of global warming and to the topic of the petroleum industry’s efforts to gain permission to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The congress also saw the creation of the WILD Planet Fund to maintain wilderness and two new organizations: the Native Lands and Wilderness Council, focusing on the participation of indigenous tribes in wilderness preservation through sound land use and management practices; and the International League of Conservation Photographers, an organization of photographers dedicated to increasing appreciation of wilderness and its preservation through photography.
The ninth World Wilderness Congress was held in Mérida, Mexico, in 2009. Participants in the congress addressed the interrelatedness of human activity, wilderness, and climate change. One outcome of the congress was the Message of Mérida, a plan for making the preservation of wilderness and biodiversity a part of the global strategies used to address climate change and its effects. During the congress the WILD Foundation instigated an international agreement for wilderness preservation that was signed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In addition, the first Corporate Commitment to Wilderness was formulated and signed by fifteen corporations, with the expectation of more corporations signing in the near future. The ninth congress also produced the Marine Wilderness Collaborative and established a special program for California’s marine wilderness.
At each congress, exhibitions of local art, dance, and music are integrated into the programs and recognized as an essential part of wilderness preservation. From the exhibition of conservation art at the first congress to the nature-related aboriginal art presented in Australia, to the twenty life-size jaguar sculptures displayed and the body painting offered at Mérida, the World Wilderness Congresses use art to reiterate the interrelatedness of all peoples and the necessity of wilderness preservation as part of protecting the earth that they share.
Bibliography
Chester, Charles C. Conservation Across Borders: Biodiversity in an Interdependent World. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2006.
Martin, Vance, and Andrew Muir, eds. Wilderness and Human Communities: The Spirit of the Twenty-first Century. Golden, Colo.: Fulcrum, 2004.
Martin, Vance, and Partha Sarathy, eds. Wilderness and Humanity: The Global Issue. Golden, Colo.: Fulcrum, 2001.
Player, Ian. Zulu Wilderness: Shadow and Soul. Golden, Colo.: Fulcrum, 1998.