A number of leading conservationists discuss their research, current challenges and the state of local and global conservation at this year’s Cambridge Science Festival, which launched on Monday and runs until Sunday 20 March.
It may sound like a question to which we all know the answer, but what exactly is conservation? We know it is the protection of biodiversity, but at what cost? Is it active or passive? Is it to the benefit of humans or for the intrinsic beauty of nature? Not even conservationists can agree.
During the event, What is conservation? a panel of distinguished experts explore this under-defined term for a broad area of work. The panel includes Pamela Abbott, Director of Programmes at United Nations Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UN-WCMC); Rosie Travelyan, Director of the Tropical Biology Association; Chris Sandbrook, Lecturer in Conservation Leadership, University of Cambridge; Brian Eversham, Chief Executive of the BCN Wildlife Trust; and Monipher Musasa, Research student in Conservation Leadership, University of Cambridge.
Does the answer to effective conservation lie in sharing knowledge and experiences across organisations? In Knowledge for nature, a Science AAAS supported event, an expert panel discuss whether combining knowledge enables us to deliver transformational approaches to the understanding of biodiversity and the wealth of natural capital it represents. With Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director, Cambridge Conservation Initiative, University of Cambridge; Professor Bill Adams, Moran Professor of Conservation and Development, University of Cambridge; Dr Juliet Vickery, Head of International Research at RSPB; and Dr Matt Walpole, Director of Partnerships and Development, UN-WCMC.
During the event, Dr Juliet Vickery is set to discuss RSPB work centred on a single forest in West Africa threatened by agriculture logging and mining.
Speaking about the West African forest project, Dr Vickery said: “This is a 25-year journey that has taken one of the last remnants of tropical forest in West Africa, the Gola Rainforest – surrounded by a sea of slash and burn agriculture and threatened by logging and diamond mining – to become Sierra Leone’s second protected national park and the first REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) project in West Africa.
“It’s a journey in which RSPB has worked with in-country partners, scientific experts and funders around the world, combining ecological and social science field work with novel remote sensing technology. To date, we have documented almost 4,000 species of animals and plants in 70,000 ha of forest, 10 of which are new to science. In 2012, it was estimated that its protection equates to around 1.19 million tonnes of avoided carbon dioxide emissions (equivalent to a car circumnavigating the globe from Sierra Leone 190,000 times) and helped improve local livelihoods of 24,000 people through activities such as farmer field schools and savings and loans schemes.”
From a local perspective, a series of discussions on the past, present, and future of conservation in Cambridgeshire, including the latest research and practice on the ground, is explored during the event Conservation now. Discussions will be led by speakers from the Local Nature Partnership, The Wildlife Trust, The RSPB, and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust. Topics explored include the state of nature in Cambridgeshire, a vision for Cambridgeshire, and how the wildlife bodies are bringing habitats and species back to the County to benefit both nature and people. With John Torlesse (Natural England); Joan Childs (National Trust); Oliver Burke (Wildlife Trust); Gemma Wells (RSPB); and Roger Mitchell (Amphibian and Reptile Conservation).
Image credit: Rick Mester
For further events related to conservation, including workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions, visit: www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk
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