The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) (French: Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation du Gibier, German: Internationaler Rat zur Erhaltung des Wildes und der Jagd) is a politically independent not-for-profit international organisation, aiming to preserve wildlife through the promotion of sustainable use of wildlife resources. The initialism "CIC" comes from the organisation's original French name Conseil International de la Chasse.
The idea to establish an international hunting organization stemmed from an international conference in the small southern Slovak town of Palárikovo in November, 1928. Building on this idea, the CIC was subsequently registered and founded in Paris two years later during its inaugural general assembly in November, 1930. Until 1999, the Administrative Office of the CIC was in Paris. Today, the CIC has its Administrative Office in Hungary. The organisation is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. The organisation unites 27 state members (represented by ministries responsible for wildlife management and conservation, or the delegated institution), a wide range of organisations engaged in hunting and conservation, as well as individuals such as private members and scientific experts from over 80 countries. The organisation has diplomatic status in Hungary, and observer status at the United Nations.
The official languages of the CIC are English, French, and German.
History
The idea of establishing an international organisation dealing with sustainable hunting and wildlife management was first brought up in 1910 at the occasion of an international hunting exhibition in Vienna. The concept was however translated into concrete action in 1928 only, by French lawyer Maxime Ducrocq and Count Louis Károlyi, who organised an international conference in Nové Zámky, Slovakia, in view of establishing an international hunting organisation, where Poland, Romania, France and Czechoslovakia signed the agreement at the Zlatý Lev Hotel in Nové Chávez. Many of the discussions took place in the manor of Count Károlyi in Palárikovo, which now serves as the CIC Museum. The conference resulted in the "Declaration of Nové Zámky" calling for the foundation of an international hunting council named "Conseil International de la Chasse" and the formation of a commission which was to work out the Statutes of the CIC. This was the basis for the first general assembly and the official registration of the CIC in November 1930 in Paris.
From the beginning, the CIC has promoted ideals for sustainable and ethical hunting, stressing that hunting and the conservation of wildlife go hand in hand, and gaining global recognition as an independent advisor in the field of wildlife conservation.
Organisational structure
The organs of the CIC are the: General Assembly Executive Committee Council (Executive Committee members + Heads of National Delegations) National Delegations
Divisions The activities of the CIC are streamlined into three Divisions:
Policy & Law The main activity of this division consists in developing hunting and wildlife management policy and advocating globally for the sustainable use of wildlife.
Core Working Fields: Hunting Laws and Policies Multilateral Agreements Weapons, Ammunition and Cross-border Movement Applied Science This division aims to provide scientific data and facts on wildlife conservation and hunting issues, and to support scientific research on wildlife management and conservation.
Core Working Fields: Big Game Small Game Migratory Birds Wildlife Diseases Wildlife Resource Economics Crop and Livestock Production Systems and Wildlife Trophy Evaluation CultureThe Culture Division aims to maintain the cultural heritage derived from hunting.
Core Working Fields: Traditional Hunting Bowhunting Falconry Hunting in Art Way of Life Hunting and Gastronomy CIC Museum Palárikovo CIC Library
Members The CIC has over 1700 members in over 80 countries. Its membership consists of states, national and international organisations, individual members, as well as experts and sponsors, advocates of the CIC and sustainable use around the world. The CIC also has some 40 National Delegations, which are responsible for coordinating activities in their respective countries. State Members are representatives of states, government agencies or national public institutions. Association Members are representatives of national or international non-governmental organisations. Individual Members form the majority of CIC membership. Experts in the field of wildlife conservation and hunting contribute to the goals and objectives of the CIC through their special expertise. Young Opinion Members are less than 40 years old and promote the voice and opinions of the next generation. Sponsor members are representatives of the private sector committed to wildlife conservation and sustainable use.
Headquarters The current President of the CIC is Luis de la Peña. The current Director-General is Sebastian Winkler.
++ Previous Presidents: Name Years Maxime Ducrocq 1930–49 Claude Hettier de Boislambert 1950–59 H.H. Berthold von Zähringen 1959–62 Georg Graf Thurn-Valsassina 1962–65 Comte Enrico Marone Cinzano 1965–68 Dr. Johann Gerhard van Maasdijk 1969–72 Pál Vallus 1972–75 H.I.H. Abdul Reza Pahlavi 1975–81 Alfonso de Urquijo y Landecho Real Academia de la Historia - Biografías: Alfonso Urquijo y Landecho 1981–84 Marco Bulć 1984–87 Dr. Luigi Musy 1987–90 Dr. Heinrich von Reuss-Köstritz 1990–93 Dr. Nicolás Franco y Pascual de PobilMaría J. Pintor, "Un sobrino del dictador Franco controla el principal portal online de caza" in Diario16, 30 September 2019 1993–99 Dieter Schramm 1999–2010 Bernard Lozé 2010–2016 George Aman 2016–2021 Dr. Philipp Harmer 2021–2026 Luis de la Peña Fernández-Nespral2026–present Director Generals (previously: General Administrators (1930-1999) M. Villenave 1930–39 Claude Hettier de Boislambert 1950–59 Claude Chavane 1965–71 François Edmond-Blanc 1971–81 Jean Servat 1981–99 Previous Director-Generals: Gábor Rácz-Fodor 1999–2001 Kai-Uwe Wollscheid 2002–2010 Tamás Marghescu 2010–2022 Previous Secretary-General: Werner Trense 1972–99
Working Groups Young Opinion (YO) The CIC Working Group – Young Opinion focuses on creating a global network of young conservationists under the age of 40 who are enthusiastic about wildlife and its sustainable management, in line with the views of the CIC.
The YO was launched at the 48th General Assembly of the CIC in 2000. Today, under the guidance of Krzysztof Kowalewski, President of the YO, the working group is promoting the values of the CIC through regular activities and events mainly focused on youth education and promoting game meat as a positive example of sustainable hunting.
Several international events have been held since the foundation of the Young Opinion Working Group. An example is the annual assembly the "Global Youth for Sustainable Use" (GYSU) – a multiple day event including scientific symposia and cultural exchange. The first GYSU event took place in 2005, and has since been organised by delegations from various countries every year.
One of the projects under the working group is the CIC Young Opinion Research Award – aimed at supporting researchers whose projects contribute to the sustainable use of wildlife for the benefit of natural heritage conservation. Thereby, the goal of the award is to promote scientific research in accordance with the spirit of the CIC's convictions.
Artemis Recognising and advocating the role of women in the field of hunting, the CIC Artemis Working Group (WG) was founded in 2011 with the aim of uniting huntresses and women dedicated to sustainable use issues. Members of the Artemis WG are active in the field of environmental education, hunting culture and gastronomy, and in general as advocates for the role of women in wildlife management around the globe. The President is Soňa Chovanová Supeková.
Partnerships The CIC maintains alliances for promoting sustainable use as well as furthering wildlife policy and law development worldwide. Its main partners are:
United Nations Institutions: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
Environmental Conventions: CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity); CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora); CMS (Convention on Migratory Species), with which a partnership agreement was signed in 2005; AEWA (Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds); Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Berne Convention); Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
International Non-Governmental Organisations: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature); Wetlands International; IAF (International Association for Falconry); FACE (Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the European Union); IUGB (International Union of Game Biologists).Euro News // Shooting and Conservation - 2012 - November/December
National Non-Governmental Organisations: The National Delegations of the CIC are also working together with NGOs of relevance to national or regional aspects of hunting and wildlife conservation.
The partnership originated in 2011 as an idea from the former Vice-chair of the CPW and past President of the Policy & Law Division of the CIC, Mr. Jan Heino. The inaugural Chair of the partnership was Mr. Braulio F. de Souza Dias, former Executive Secretary of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) holding the secretariat.
The CPW is a voluntary partnership of international organisations with substantive mandates and programs for the sustainable use and conservation of wildlife resources. The Mission of the CPW is: to promote conservation through the sustainable management of terrestrial vertebrate wildlife in all biomes and geographic areas and to increase cooperation and coordination on sustainable wildlife management issues among its members and partners.
Today, the CPW unites fourteen international organisations, including the CIC, aiming to allow for a holistic and integrated approach to wildlife issues globally.Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management // Country Side - 2013 - №146 - p. 14
The first 1st Meeting of the CPW took place in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2013 at the occasion of the 16th CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP).
Members Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Secretariat Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) International Trade Centre (ITC) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) TRAFFIC – The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
CIC - FAO