Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine A. Novelli will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, September 1–5. She will participate as a member of the U.S. delegation at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress.

On September 2, Under Secretary Novelli will meet with the U.S. Pacific Command to discuss interagency efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. She will also speak with local high school students about ocean issues, and will host a tech-integrated event to promote the Zoohackathon with high-level representatives from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and other U.S. and international zoos.

Additionally, Under Secretary Novelli will participate in the Panel on Combating Wildlife Trafficking with Daniel Ashe, the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, John Cruden, the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Christy Goldfuss, the Managing Director at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. This panel will highlight U.S. government successes in combating wildlife trafficking and the U.S. whole of government approach to combatting wildlife trafficking.

On September 3, she will deliver remarks on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and participate in a panel discussion titled, “The SDGs Journey: Achieving the conservation imperative for sustainable development.”

Under Secretary Novelli will also participate in the World Conservation Congress High Level Dialogue, “Everybody’s Business: Ending Wildlife Trafficking” on September 3. The Dialogue will focus on developing solutions to combat illegal wildlife trade and what the private sector, civil society, and non-governmental organizations can do to turn commitments into action.

On September 4, she will discuss how sustainable ocean policies support economic growth in the IUCN High-Level Dialogue, “Actions for a Sustainable Ocean” with officials from the European Union and Marshall Islands.

For further information on Under Secretary Novelli’s travel, please follow @CathyNovelli or contact Ana Himelic at HimelicA@state.gov.