Hawaii is vying with Istanbul, Turkey, to host the 2016 World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature after securing last-minute bid support from the U.S. State Department.
Hawaii applied in September to host the congress, which is being dubbed as the state’s most important international meeting since the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. However, it wasn’t until the Nov. 8 deadline that the State Department endorsed Hawaii’s application so that it could move forward.
"It didn’t look like it was going to happen because of sequestration and other funding issues. However, a lot of very powerful people went to bat for Hawaii, including (U.S. Rep.) Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and our (congressional) delegation," said Chipper Wichman, who chairs the IUCN 2016 Steering Committee and has been working on Hawaii’s bid since 2008.
"The breakthrough on Friday (Nov. 8) was huge because it was our drop-dead deadline. IUCN was getting on a plane to visit Istanbul on Saturday."
Now, Wichman is leading the charge to get Hawaii ready for a January visit from the IUCN selection committee, which whittled its list of international contenders to two from eight earlier this year. The committee is expected to announce its final selection in April at its spring council meeting, he said.
"We look forward to hosting a site inspection by the International Union for Conservation of Nature delegation and are hopeful that Hawaii will be selected once they see firsthand what we have to offer in terms of facilities, ambience and business meetings expertise," said Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
If Hawaii wins the bid, it will mark the United States’ first time hosting the global conference since the organization’s creation in 1948. Dates for the event, which would coincide with the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service, are yet to be determined.
Wichman said the state has a good chance at securing the 2016 event.
"Istanbul is attractive to a lot of the European members of the IUCN, which is based in Geneva. Having said that, when you get beyond the logistics, Hawaii is a hands-down winner," Wichman said. "We’ve just been given a level playing field by the State Department, but we’ll have to make a strong financial proposal or Istanbul may get it."
To date, Wichman and others involved in the grass-roots effort to bring the congress to Hawaii have raised more than $220,000 to promote the isles to IUCN decision-makers. Promoters made trips to Barcelona, Spain, to meet with the host of the last congress; to Washington, D.C., to meet with State Department officials and Hawaii’s congressional delegation; and to the IUCN’s Switzerland headquarters. Also, last year a Hawaii delegation including U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and 39 other leaders in education, government, meetings, tourism, culture and conservation traveled to the 2012 World Conservation Congress held in South Korea.
If Hawaii is selected, Wichman said the state and private sector would have to raise some $8 million, or about two-thirds of the meeting costs, which could top $12 million. However, the event would bring 10,000 delegates from 160 countries to Hawaii for about 10 days to discuss urgent global issues including energy security, food security, invasive species, climate change and impacts to marine systems.
Participating government officials, business leaders, conservation organizations, academics and those who accompany them would likely generate more than $80 million in economic impacts for the state, not counting pre- and post-visitor arrivals, said Mark McGuffie, managing director for Enterprise Honolulu.
"Is it worth it? It’s fairly easy math. This isn’t just a meeting, its the ‘Olympics of conservation.’ It will have long-term economic impacts," McGuffie said. "It will help grow our economy beyond tourism, eventually creating jobs."
Hosting the event also would build on the success of APEC, said Schatz, who worked in collaboration with Abercrombie’s office to resolve the State Department’s financial concerns.
"I can think of no better place than Hawaii to convene world leaders to work towards solving the most pressing global conservation and energy security challenges for a better future," Schatz said.
He added, "This event would also help reinforce Hawaii’s reputation as an ideal host location to high-level international forums."
