CCI Conservation Seminar, MONDAY 16th January 2023
Prof Stuart Pimm, Duke University
16 January, 4 to 5 pm, DAB Main Seminar Room
Title - The 30% solution is neither necessary nor sufficient
At COP 15, nations considered the aspirations for the next decade in terms of stemming the loss of biodiversity. The problem is easy to state: human actions are driving species to extinction 1000 times faster than species originate. Will expanding protected areas from the current 17% of the land surface to 30% help? Current protected areas are predominantly in cold, hot, or remote places, but surprisingly enough are in the right places. They protect the ranges of the most vulnerable species better than one might expect by chance, globally and in China. Expanding protected areas into more wilderness will not greatly benefit biodiversity. The details matter — we need quality, not quantity. For some places, such as the Amazon, much more than 30% will be needed. Moreover, existing protected areas are fragmented and aspirations to restore nature must reconnect those fragments — the point of what Saving Nature, https://savingnature.com/, does.
Stuart Pimm (Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University) is a world leader in the study of present-day extinctions and what can be done to prevent them. His research covers the reasons why species become extinct, how fast they do so, the global patterns of habitat loss and species extinction and, importantly, the management consequences of this research. Pimm received his BSc degree from Oxford University in 1971 and his Ph.D. from New Mexico State University in 1974. Pimm is the author of over 350 scientific papers and five books. He is one of the most highly cited environmental scientists. In 2019, he won the International Cosmos Prize, which recognised his founding and directing Saving Nature, https://savingnature.com/ is a non-profit that uses donations for carbon emissions offsets to fund local conservation groups in areas of exceptional tropical biodiversity to restore their degraded lands.
Drinks will follow in the DAB Common Room.
No need to register if you are coming in person.
Online participants need to signup on Eventbrite for a Zoom link.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cci-conservation-seminar-16th-jan-2023-st...
