Anchorage hosting 8th World Wilderness Congress: the World Wilderness Congress was initiated by the WILD Foundation in 1977 and officials say it is the longest-running, public, international environmental forum.

AuthorPilkington, Steve

This month, Anchorage hosts a conference expected to include 1,000 delegates from more than 40 nations around the world, all gathering to consider the challenges facing the planet's wilderness, wildlands and marine resources but focusing on those of Alaska, Siberia, Canada and the North Pacific.

The 8th World Wilderness Congress is scheduled to begin Sept. 30 and run through Oct. 6, with associated events taking place in Kamchatka and the Russian Far East. The WWC convenes every three to four years somewhere around the globe; previous meeting locations include South Africa, Australia, Scotland, Norway and India. With more than 25 years of history, the WWC has become a high-profile platform for debates about wilderness and wildland issues.

"It should be a big event for Anchorage," said Marilyn Sigman of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies in Homer. The center is a nonprofit organization trying to foster responsible interaction with wilderness and generating knowledge of the marine and coastal ecosystems of Kachemak Bay through education, research and stewardship programs. About 6,000 students and tourists visit the center each year, she said. The center will be taking part in the congress, offering presentations about Alaska's coastal situations and marine resources.

The World Wilderness Congress was initiated by The WILD Foundation in 1977 and officials say it is the longest-running, public, international environmental forum. It includes senior representation from governments, the private sector, Native peoples, non-governmental agencies and academia, with the stated purpose of bringing together a full spectrum of views.

The theme of the 8th WWC is Wilderness, Wildlands and People--A Partnership for the Planet. According to organizers, "This congress will generate the most up-to-date and accurate information on the benefits of wilderness and wildlands to contemporary and traditional societies, and will...

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