The 3rd International Wildlife Management Congress (IWMC) was held at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch from 1 to 5 December 2003. It was the first time a wildlife management meeting of this magnitude has been held in the Southern Hemisphere. The Wildlife Society, a wildlife science & educational association based in the USA, co-hosts these Congresses every few years. Each Congress is located in a different part of the world and is run jointly with one or more local partners.
The first two Congresses were held in Costa Rica (19 to 25 September 1993) and Hungary (28 June to 2 July 1999) and attracted attendees from 66 countries. Previous International Wildlife Management Congress gatherings have attracted an average of 600 delegates involving global organizations, government officials, academics, NGOs, CBOs and other Wildlife Management practitioners. The 2012 IWMC hopes to attract 1000 delegates from around the globe.
South Africa has many examples of exemplary practice in wildlife management and human capacity building innovations ranging from adaptations of scientific developments, to community-based natural resource management and empowerment programmes to share in this global forum. Both educational and natural resource management transformation efforts in Southern Africa also stand to benefit from the international exposure and expertise. For this reason, South African National Parks (Dr. Hector Magome and Dr. Howard Hendricks) is part of the national organising committee for the Congress.
The theme of the IVth IWMC is “Cooperative Wildlife Management across Borders: Learning in the Face of Change”. Sub-themes will include:
The Congress Committee is now seeking the Southern African wildlife management community to support and participate in this event.
More information regarding the Congress available at http://iwmc2012.org/.