ABOUT THE CONGRESS
A triennial gathering of the global land conservation community.
Running for over a decade, the Global Congress of the Interntational Land Conservation Network connects practitioners, leaders, funders, researchers, and communities working to scale practical, on-ground conservation impact. Each Congress strengthens an international community of practice, showcases host-country leadership in private and community-led land conservation, and accelerates the ideas, investment, and collaboration needed to protect healthy ecosystems – which underpin cultural and social wellbeing, economic prosperity, and climate resilience.
Join us in 2027 for four days of world-class speakers, dynamic programming, expert-led workshops and immersive field trips across iconic landscapes.
Image: Rod Long
Image: Annette Ruzicka
ABOUT THE THEME
People. Nature. Action. Delivering a global conservation agenda.
Countries around the world have made ambitious commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. With the deadline fast approaching, meeting this challenge requires land conservation at anunprecedented scale and level of collaboration.
Private and community-led conservation is one of the most powerful pathways to safeguard our natural systems and wildlife, adapt to climate change, build resilient communities and economies, and deliver durable conservation impact. The challenge now is how we can enable, connect, and strengthen what is already working.
The Congress brings together those who are leading these efforts, across sectors and boundaries.
Image: Andrew Watson/ALCA
ABOUT THE HOSTS
The Congress hosts are leading national and international organisations driving and advancing land conservation.
The Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA) is Australia’s peak body for nature conservation and exists to scale up the protection, stewardship and restoration of nature.
The International Land Conservation Network (ILCN) serves as the global network for organisations advancing private and civic land conservation across seven continents. The ILCN is a project of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
ALCA and the ILCN are united in our shared agenda to create and amplify the enabling conditions for land conservation.
ABOUT THE LOCATION
This will be the first time the Congress has been held in Oceania.
Australia is one of the most biodiverse continents on Earth. It is on the frontline of nature loss, but it is also a place where land conservation is delivering results that bring bold hope. Across the continent, species are being brought back from the brink, innovative, cross-sector partnerships are proving that everyone has a role to play in conservation, and emerging finance models are redefining how we value and invest in nature.
Australia’s vast landscapes, ancient ecosystems and iconic wildlife are a living expression of what the global conservation community is working to protect. With Country expertly cared for by the world’s oldest living culture, alongside landholders and a skilled land conservation sector, Australia is a powerful setting for the Global Congress.
Australia is also recognised globally as a leader in land conservation, with innovative models of stewardship, partnership, and long-term protection helping to shape conservation practice around the world – while also demonstrating the scale of ambition and collaboration still needed to meet the challenges ahead.
Image: Annette Ruzicka
Image: Jacques Boissinot
JOIN US IN 2027
Connect. Collaborate. Accelerate.
Congress delegates can expect to leave more connected, more capable, and more committed, and with the relationships, knowledge and shared purpose to accelerate a land conservation agenda locally and globally.
Gain practical insights into the tools, approaches and innovations being used around the world to protect and care for land for the long term.
Connect with conservation leaders and practitioners across countries and sectors, and build relationships that continue well beyond the Congress.
Explore strategies to strengthen private and community-led conservation in different political, cultural and environmental contexts, while learning from Australia’s leadership in caring for Country, nature stewardship and land protection.
2024 Congress wrap video
What PAST ATTENDEES SAY
"On the way back to Europe, I look back on an incredibly inspiring Global Congress 2024. I don't think I have had the opportunity to experience such an international congress before where there was so much inspiration, ceremony, organisational talent, group dynamics and depth. The most important thing I take back with me… is literally a suitcase full of ideas and contacts."
— Harm Schoten, Director, Eurosite- European Land Conservation Network
“The Congress ... offered an opportunity for many [government] members, NGO and Indigenous partners to learn and share on current conservation endeavours, get inspired and elevate their ambitions. I believe this could be a game changer in all the relationships we are building up here in the province, to foster greater collaborations in the conservation domain.”
— Hubert Pelletier, Québec Director of Partnerships, Nature Conservancy of Canada
“The breadth of private land conservation practice from across the globe that was on display at the Congress was very [impressive]. To have gained insights into PLC practice across all continents–all of which was presented in such an accessible way by–was just incredible.”
— Sarah Brugler, Lawyer and PhD Student, University of Tasmania