Panama will share it with the world,” he stressed, reaffirming the country's role as a global meeting point for vital issues. Currently, Panama has 122 legally protected areas, which are part of the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP). These areas are being reinforced with new park rangers to ensure their protection and conservation, just as the world sets its sights on the country. Real solutions will be discussed there to halt biodiversity loss, tackle climate change, and strengthen the management of national parks and protected areas. Panama's designation as host country was announced at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, held in October 2025 in Abu Dhabi. The country was chosen to host the 2027 World Congress on Protected and Conserved Areas, the planet's most important event on conservation issues, held only once every ten years and gathering up to 10,000 delegates from more than 170 countries. The event, organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Ministry of the Environment (MiAMBIENTE), will be held for the first time in Panama, a direct recognition of its biodiversity, its position as a natural bridge between continents, and the progress made in protecting terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The meeting will be centered at the Panama Convention Center, where ministers, scientists, environmentalists, indigenous communities, social organizations, and companies from around the world will arrive. For Ursula Parrilla, IUCN's regional director, the congress will be “a decisive space to defend the social, economic, and environmental value of protected areas in an increasingly battered world.” In turn, Minister of the Environment Juan Carlos Navarro highlighted that conservation is a strategic foundation for the country. With this, the country positions itself as a regional and global leader in environmental matters, promotes ecotourism, attracts international cooperation, and opens economic opportunities linked to sustainable tourism. The congress will take place at a crucial time, just three years before the 2030 horizon of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, placing Panama at the table where environmental decisions for the coming decades will be defined. During the event, the country will showcase its experiences in protected area management, conservation with community participation, nature tourism, and regional alliances. There will also be field visits to national parks before, during, and after the congress, taking delegates directly to the heart of green Panama. A Steering Committee, composed of the host country, the IUCN Secretariat, and the World Commission on Protected Areas, will be responsible for setting the program's direction. “Our natural heritage supports the Canal, the economy, and the energy of the country. Panama is back on the world map, this time for its natural wealth.”
