It's time to wake up and take action to protect the planet's natural wealth, that's the message of the first part of IUCN's World Conservation Congress.

More than 8,000 specialists from the conservation community, governments, NGOs, academia, private sector, women and indigenous groups have gathered in Barcelona to discuss the most pressing issues of our time.

"In the last four days the call to protect the planet has been heard from both government leaders and the NGO community," says Valli Moosa, President of IUCN. "Environmental concerns are now at the top of the decision-makers priority list."

"Absolutely everyone now agrees that we can’t postpone decisive action if we are to avoid major disruptions in all spheres of human and natural activities" says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. "Business as usual is simply not an option."

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