Conservation Optimism Summit: Full Schedule

09:00 BST

Registration

Participants

William Arlidge

DPhil (PhD) student, University of Oxford

I am a PhD student with ICCS and one of the organisers of the summit. My working background is mainly in the corporate world, but my research looks at how we use indicators to measure complex socio-ecological systems. I'm a geographer at heart and enjoy thinking and working at larger... Read More →

Cheli Cresswell

DPhil Candidate, University of Oxford

I'm a DPhil (PhD) candidate at University of Oxford, working on the futures for citizen science in conservation and looking at how fully taking advantage of the capacities of everyday technology can facilitate more effective, localized, and democratized conservation policy and practice.I... Read More →

Emiel de Lange

PhD Student, University of Edinburgh

PhD student at Edinburgh & ICCS. Interested in using network approaches to get communities on board with conservation. Work with WCS in Cambodia.

Lucas Ruzo

Director, Citizen Zoo

Carlyn Samuel

Research Coordinator for ICCS, University of Oxford

After spending 15 years working in PR I decided to change career and start over. After my finishing my masters in Conservation Science at Imperial College I began working with ICCS and am lucky enough to work with an inspiring group of people, across a range of projects. In-between... Read More →

Sofia Castello y Tickell

DPhil Student, University of Oxford

As a first year PhD student at the University of Oxford, I am interested in how people understand, use and protect the marine environment. Through my work on organisms ranging from sea stars to eels, and on enforcement in Marine Protected Areas, I have been amazed by the ocean’s... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 09:00 - 09:30 BST
Lower Hall Barry Building, Ground Floor

Registration

09:30 BST

Official Welcome

Participants

E.J. Milner-Gulland

Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, Oxford University

My website is at www.iccs.org.uk and my twitter account is @EJMilnerGulland

Thursday April 20, 2017 09:30 - 09:45 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

Official Welcome

09:45 BST

Plenary 1: Dr. Niki Harré, Department of Psychology, University of Auckland

Plenaries

Niki Harré

The University of Auckland

Niki Harré is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. She is also the leader of a Sustainability Network within the university’s Faculty of Science.

Thursday April 20, 2017 09:45 - 10:30 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

Plenary

10:30 BST

Mid-morning Break

Thursday April 20, 2017 10:30 - 11:00 BST
North Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Tea & Coffee

11:00 BST

[Session 1] Brain hacks for powerful conservation messages | [Session 2] Does time spent in nature improve our mental health?

Limited Capacity seats available

This 2 hour slot contains two 1 hour sessions, which must be booked together.

11:00-12:00 The art of connecting to nature with purpose, a view from behavioural sciences & positive psychology
Laurie Parma

Ever wondered how we know so much about protecting our environment and yet so few people change their behaviors as a result? How is it that reading, watching and learning about environmental damage and available solutions is not enough?
If the gap between knowledge and actual excecution generates some degree of frustration within you: this session is for you.

To change the discourse, and overcome the obstables that conservation faces, we need to take into account the large contribution of human brains and behaviour in the equation. We need to understand what pulls the strings of behaviour in order to become change makers and use this knowledge for the greater good.

In this session we will learn and experiment with:

Why information does not work to trigger change
Why threat does not do the job either
How to use neuroscience and behavioural science when engaging and communicating
How to develop a meaningful connection to nature and conservation wired in positive psychology
How to foster effective engagement

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12:00-13:00 Does time spent in nature improve our mental health?
What benefits can time in nature bring? Why does it have an effect? What is the role, if any, of biodiversity in this? Do conservation and mental health practitioners have a common interest? Join us to discuss our relationship to nature and the impact that spending time outdoors has on us.
Mental ill health is a growing problem in the UK. Also growing is the body of evidence showing that time in nature can help with this. Many of us instinctively know this, yet it is sitll not a mainstream response by policy makers, health pracctioners or ourselves.
This 'TV talk show' sees Will Ashley Cantello (WWF-UK Chief Adviser - Forests and founder of the mindulness in nature blog "Rooted to the moment") hosting a panel of experts including practioners who use parks and countryside as sites for therapy and voluntary organisations who use nature as a tool to engage young people in education.
Hear from and ask questions to our sofa guests who will be highlighting the shared interests of mental health and conservation stakeholders and what might be needed to make the most of this in an optimistic vision of the future.

Jo Roberts, the CEO of Wilderness Foundation UK who use wilderness therapy to help young people and adults struggling to reach their potential
Beth Collier, an experienced psychotherapist who uses the public parks in London as her therapy room
Hendrikus van Hensbergen, the young Director of Action for Conservation whose mission is 'to bring the magic of nature into UK schools, inspiring a youth movement committed to conservation and to the earth'

Participants

Will Ashley-Cantello

Chief Adviser - Forests, WWF-UK

For WWF-UK I advise and support our programmes around the world to create a positive future for forests and the people who benefit from them. A growing area of interest is how time in nature, and woodland is a good example, benefits our health. You can find a short bio and my blogs... Read More →

Hendrikus van Hensbergen

Chief Executive, Action for Conservation

Hendrikus is the Chief Executive of Action for Conservation. Action for Conservation aims to create the next generation of conservationists. 79% of children in the UK lack adequate connection to nature, making them less likely to fight to protect it as adults. Action for Conservation... Read More →

Laurie Parma

Behavioural scientist, University of Cambridge

I am a well-being researcher. I strive to understand what makes human beings happy and ways to trigger positive change for a healthier and more joyful life. I have a particular interest in positive interventions for well-being and health, particularly for yoga and engaging with nature... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 11:00 - 12:00 BST
Old Library Old Library, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 1: Changing the discourse

11:00 BST

A new generation of environmental leaders embrace Whole Earth conservation

Limited Capacity seats available

Even as prominent conservationists propose a Half Earth initiative to set aside 50% of the world for nature conservation, a new generation of environmentalists is succeeding with a different point of view. They base their research and actions on a Whole Earth concept that recognizes the central role that people play in conserving genetic diversity, cultivated and wild species and cultural landscapes, whether rural or urban. Since 2011, Global Diversity Foundation (www.global-diversity.org) has brought together academics and visionaries, activists and practitioners who explore this and other perspectives through events organised through its Global Environments Network (GEN; www.globalenvironments.org). In our session, we propose to change the discourse (or make the change) from Half Earth to Whole Earth by meeting and hearing the stories of GEN members from diverse countries, disciplines and sectors. They fit the bill of ‘budding and perennial conservationists’ who celebrate positive thinking and collaborate in new ways to create a roadmap for transformation. Our broad-ranging, interactive and we hope entertaining dialogue will weave in urban-rural biocultural diversity exchanges, foodways, art-for-social-change and community conservation, among other themes.

For this session, we have the following practical requirements:

- Cabaret-style seating arrangement for 40+ people
- AV, good internet connection, adaptors and multi-outlets

Special considerations: We will be Skyping individuals in from Asia and the Pacific for a panel discussion, so we need excellent internet connection. We will also be videoing the session, so need space to set up our kit, including multiple cords and adaptors.

Participants

Emily Caruso

Ugo D'Ambrosio

Global Diversity Foundation

Ugo’s most recent post-doctoral work, in close collaboration with the Botanical Institute of Barcelona, the Botany Laboratory of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Barcelona and the Global Diversity Foundation, has revolved around Mediterranean ethnobotany and cultural... Read More →

Ruth Krause

Journalist, Global Environments Network

I am an environmental journalist, Visual Anthropologist and keen member of the Global Environments Network. I am particularly interested in positive storytelling and new environmental narratives. For DW, Germany’s international TV station, I travel around to cover best-practice... Read More →

Aili Pyhälä

Senior Lecturer in Development and International Cooperation, University of Jyväskylä

Aili has specialized in participatory processes, human-nature relations, cross-cultural perceptions of wellbeing, traditional and indigenous knowledge and rights, ecological footprints, and permaculture. She has extensive grassroots-level experience working with multiple indigenous... Read More →

Nessie Reid

Creator, The Milking Parlour

Nessie Reid is a political ecologist and a performance artist with a focus on agroecology and organic farming in the South West of England, proposing the need for radical systemic change within our current food and farming system.As part of her studies, Nessie researched the role... Read More →

Inanc Tekguc

Global Diversity Foundation

Coming from Cyprus, Inanc works as a photographer and videographer for Global Diversity Foundation, complementing his perspective with an MA in Visual Anthropology, which he studied at the University of Kent (UK), focusing on community-based conservation and biocultural diversity... Read More →

Anna Varga

assistant research fellow, MTA Centre for Ecological Research

I am an ecologist, ethnobiologist researcher at Centre for Ecological Research of the Hungarian Science Academy in Hungary. I am assistant research fellow at the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Research Group. My work focus on silvopastoral systems, wood pastures, traditional ecological... Read More →

anna gastronomy london2017 docx

Ugo DP Cities conserve biodiversity too pdf

Thursday April 20, 2017 11:00 - 13:00 BST
The George Farha Auditorium The Laboratory, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 1: Changing the discourse

11:00 BST

Are you optimistic? Understanding how optimism affects conservation decision-making

Limited Capacity filling up

This workshop will look at the psychology of optimism, and how this might impact decision-making in conservation. The aim of the session is for participants to understand what optimism is from a psychological perspective, and how optimism can affect the way we interact with the world and the decisions we make. Participants will take a simple psychometric test for optimism, the LOT-R, and reflect on how their levels of optimism might affect any conservation decisions they make.

For the workshop to run effectively, all participants will need an electronic device with internet access (e.g. smart phone/iPad).
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AV, internet access / wifi

Participants

Sarah Papworth

Lecture in Conservation Biology, Royal Holloway University of London

Thursday April 20, 2017 11:00 - 13:00 BST
Informatics Suite 5 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 1: Changing the discourse

11:00 BST

Going wild in London; 35 years of successful conservation?

Limited Capacity seats available

London has been a place of conservation action for over 120 years, but the pressures upon the wildlife we share our city with is facing acute pressures. London Wildlife Trust has operated in the UK's capital since 1981, and has delivered a broad range of conservation successes utilising a growing palette of mechanisms to secure biodiversity gains. Whether it’s influencing planning policy or working with developers, engaging thousands of volunteers or developing housing estate enhancements with resident communities, or creating nature reserves from scratch or designing green infrastructure for new buildings, the Trust has adopted a positive, pragmatic and inclusive approach to conservation.
We will explore some of the successes of the Trust’s community based conservation, with a mixture of presentation and interactive discussion. We will showcase

long-standing enhancements in the local Dulwich woods
the challenges of creating inner city nature reserves from scratch
enhancing the biodiversity of where most people live – close to their homes
public wildife surveys.

We will demonstrate a variety of tools we have used to engender people in conservation action at various places around London, especially citizen science, such as our currwent Water for Wildlife programme. The session will also aim to challenge participants through engaging debate to look at the future conservation issues we face in London, and seek to identify key threads for delivering net biodiversity gains.
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List any special room needs (AV, whiteboards, etc) you have for your session here or completely delete this text.
AV - definitelyprojector, laptop and screen; flipsheets or similar if possible.

Participants

Petra Sovic Davies

Water for Wildlife Project Manager, London Wildlife Trust

Mathew Frith

Director of Conservation, London Wildlife Trust

I've worked on promoting nature conservation in London for almost 30 years, helping to enhance the habitats for the capital's wildlife, and help to reduce the growing disconnection between people and nature in the city. I am passionate about how nature adapts to urban environments... Read More →

Tony Wileman

Conservation Ecologist, London Wildlife Trust

I am an ecologist with 25 years of experience in nature conservation. I am an experienced ornithologist and botanist plus general naturalist and understand the ecological importance of habitats and individual species on a local and landscape scale. My overall knowledge in London’s... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 11:00 - 13:00 BST
Informatics Suite 2 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 1: Changing the discourse

11:00 BST

Selling Success: Marketing a Better World with Conservation Optimism

Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.

Effective marketing is a vital tool for re-framing perceptions of conservation, spreading messages of positivity and hope, and for celebrating our successes. Join us to play a part in the new, positive communications movement. With experts from Ogilvy Change, the leading behavioural interventions agency, and PHD Worldwide, Media Network of the Year 2016, we'll explore the importance of positive messaging and how we can change the negative discourse, not only to change attitudes, but to change human behaviour. The session will take the form of an interactive ‘speed marketing challenge’, bringing together inspirational conservationists and a team of expert marketing and behaviour-change professionals to share creative ideas and develop an industry-wide, positive communications campaign framework. No prior communications experience needed!

Session chair: Rosie Hancock Pook, Communications professional and Conservation Science postgraduate student - Imperial College London

Strategy leads:
Lindsey Harris - Marketing Insight Expert

Pete Dyson, ‎Senior Behavioural Strategist - Ogilvy Change

Julia Stainforth, Choice Architect - Ogilvy Change

Richard Wright, ‎Strategy Director - PHD Worldwide

Lindsey Hoyle - Freelance Strategic Marketing Consultant

Participants

Lucy Archer

UK Fundraising and Communications Officer, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

My name is Lucy and I’m the UK Fundraising and Communications Officer for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. From a young age, I have always known that I wanted to work to protect our natural world. However, something that has always intrigued me is how we, the conservation... Read More →

Lianne Concannon

Conservation Scientist, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

I am responsible for managing the Durrell Index, which is our conservation monitoring & evaluation framework. Additionally, I coordinate how we communicate our impact – the difference Durrell makes – to a range of audiences. Durrell and our key partners have worked together for... Read More →

Selling Success Presentation Final pdf

Thursday April 20, 2017 11:00 - 13:00 BST
Informatics Suite 4 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 1: Changing the discourse

11:00 BST

[Session 1] Is Optimism Enough? Engaging Values and Virtues in Mobilising Communities for Conservation. | [Session 2] Edutainment as Strategic Marketing for Conservation

Limited Capacity seats available

This 2 hour slot contains two 1 hour sessions, which must be booked together.

11:00-12:00 Is Optimism Enough? Engaging Values and Virtues in Mobilising Communities for Conservation.
David Bookless and Chris Naylor

In one of this poems, the American agrarian philosopher Wendell Berry says "Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts." This workshop accepts the premise that positive approaches to conservation are required but questions whether optimism is sufficient in engaging whole sectors, cultures and worldviews. Rather, building on 30+ years experience of community-based conservation in 20+ countries from the faith-based A Rocha movement (www.arocha.org), this workshop will look at engaging deeply held values as a motivating force for conservation. Where key sectors share common values based on faith, culture or ideology, this can promote virtue-based attitudes towards nature (such as joy, hope, and love) and shared stories which reinforce behavioural change and support conservation. The workshop will be led by Dave Bookless and Chris Naylor. Dave is A Rocha International's Director of Theology, has 20+ years experience of faith-based conservation work in multfaith urban communities and is completing a PhD comparing secular and faith-based approaches to the value of nonhuman animals. Chris is Executive Director of A Rocha International and formerly founded and led a conservation project engaging faith communities in the Bekaa valley, Lebanon.

AV needed for PowerPoint
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12:00-13:00 Edutainment as Strategic Marketing for Conservation
Rebecca Goldstone, Avra Lorrimer & Michael Stern
Since 2006, the New Nature Foundation has employed “edutainment” to facilitate learning and love of the environment. After a brief review of our methods and those being used by one of the world’s top marketing firms, we’d like to hear how others are doing this in various settings and facilitate a discussion for symposium attendees from the field, academia and business to brainstorm and help one another improve this aspect of the work. Can modern marketing tactics be used both on the front lines of conservation and while publicizing results? Capitalizing on humankind’s innate desire to play and have fun and associating positive experiences with environmental protection will help transform conservation into a more optimistic endeavor - - in the field, in the classroom and in the office. Many NGOs and for-profit institutions are making positive differences in the world. How can successes be better shared with the public at large, inspiring them to embrace conservation into their everyday lives while also drawing attention to immediate needs around the world?
Rebecca Goldstone is the Founder & President of New Nature Foundation; Avra Lorrimer is a Managing Director at Hill + Knowlton Strategies; Michael Stern is the co-Founder of New Nature Foundation

Participants

David Bookless

Director of Theology, A Rocha International

Born and brought up in India, and now living in 'Little India' - Southall - for over 25 years, so urban conservation / wildlife in cities run deep. I'm a bird ringer, a part-time vicar, a part-time PhD student (looking at now we value nonhuman creatures), and work for an amazing organisation... Read More →

Rebecca Goldstone

Founder/President, New Nature Foundation

Chris Naylor

Executive Director, A Rocha International

I have been Executive Director since April 2010 but I joined A Rocha in 1997 working, until 2009, as Lebanon Director where, amongst other things, I was involved in the habitat restoration programme at the Aammiq marsh, the development of the environmental education project and the... Read More →

Michael Stern

Thursday April 20, 2017 11:00 - 13:00 BST
Informatics Suite 1 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 1: Changing the discourse

12:40 BST

Planet Ocean - with Kerstin Forsberg

Thursday April 20, 2017 12:40 - 13:10 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL

13:00 BST

Lunch & Not-A-Poster Sessions

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
North Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Meal

13:00 BST

#OneLess

#OneLess is a positive approach to conservation that encourages our audiences to connect more directly with the ocean.

It's a collaborative campaign, involving nine NGOs, that aims to stop the use of single-use plastic water bottles in London.

Plastic bottles are one of the most common items of marine litter, threatening the health of the ocean and marine wildlife. #OneLess is a positive statement of action, intended to convey optimism about our collective ability to reduce single-use plastic pollution in our ocean by promoting a culture of refillable drinking vessels.

Come and talk to members of the #OneLess team about how to get involved!

Participants

Rachel Shairp

ZSL

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Conservation Optimism Photography

Photography is an integral tool in documenting conservation in action and in creating an engaging and inspiring visual narrative.

This slideshow of imagery was collected during a recent undergraduate field trip to the Galapagos Islands, made by students of marine and natural history photography. Their project, entitled 'Conservation Optimism Photography', was an opportunity to capture through stills and moving image, both underwater and topside, the work of conservationists from the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park Directorate, to bring back and share visual stories of optimism from this iconic conservation location.

Participants

Dr Joanna Henley

Senior Lecturer, Falmouth University

Marine scientist, educator and lecturer in marine and natural history photography.

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
Lower Hall Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Conservation Risk Management - Essential Travel Survival Skills

Risk Management and Travel Safety are an essential part of conservation and fieldwork. In this interactive session, Lloyd will teach the skills necessary to make sure your expedition is memorable for all the right reasons. Using his background as a former police officer, soldier, expedition leader and wilderness medic, Lloyd will teach some essential tricks of the trade which will help allow you to stay safe whilst working on your conservation project.

Participants

Lloyd Figgins

CEO, LFL Global Risk Mitigation

Lloyd Figgins is a Travel Risk Expert, Author and Speaker. He’s a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and internationally respected authority on the subject of risk and crisis management, Lloyd often provides commentary in the media and has made regular appearances on the BBC... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Eco-Trips with Impact

Launch your eco-trips from baseline imortant to wildly IMPACTFUL!
When you bring people into the wild to experience animals and conservation using planning, know-how and intention, your eco-trips can create a shift for the better for your participants, projects and ultimately wildlife. The deeper and more connected, the more opportunity to align travelers with issues, animals, actions, solutions and a lifetime of dedication to the projects you are visiting. These four easy and enjoyable tips will kick your trip into life-changing mode.
Inspiration awaits!
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List any special room needs (AV, whiteboards, etc) you have for your session here or completely delete this text.

Participants

Amy Gotliffe

Conservation Director, Oakland Zoo

Creating a reality where people are aware of the wildlife issues around them and throughout the planet, and inspired by the work of conservationists and organizations that are acting on those issues. The solutionary generation is upon us, and a growing number of people want to be... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Framing the oceans: Why the words we use matter

A brief overview of cognitive linguistic research by Greenpeace and the Common Cause Foundation Australia into the language to use (and not use!) when communicating an ocean conservation message.

Participants

Elisabeth Whitebread

Campaigner, Greenpeace

I'm a nature-lover and campaigner. In 2014 I was one of the co-founders of the Ocean Optimism movement, which aims to encourage the marine conservation community to share stories of success and hope, rather than the usual doom and gloom. Last year I ran Greenpeace's microbeads campaign... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Living Together: African Wild Dogs in a Human-Dominated Landscape

African wild dogs are one of Africa's most threatened carnivore species. They are an extremely wide-ranging species which puts them at particular risk from the negative effects of habitat loss and fragmentation. It also means that having populations surviving outside of protected areas is likely to be key to the conservation of the species.
One such example is the wild dog population of Laikipia county in Kenya, where wild dogs live outside of protected areas and successfully coexist with local communities. After being locally extirpated in the 1980s wild dogs naturally recolonised Laikipia in the early 2000s. Laikipia is a very human-dominated landscape but since wild dogs returned to the area their population has grown to become one of the largest left in the world, with surprisingly low levels of conflict with local communities. A real conservation success story.

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TV with HDMI port and cable, a power socket and a small table

Participants

Helen O'Neill

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Net-Works: Empowering communities, replenishing the ocean

http://net-works.com/

Net-Works is an innovative business that empowers people in coastal communities in the developing world to collect and sell discarded nylon fishing nets, thereby removing these nets from the ocean where they wreak havoc with marine life. The nets are then sold into a global supply chain and recycled into yarn to make carpet tile.

At the heart of Net-Works are the local community banks it sets up. Run by community members, they provide access to finance in a way that is convenient and local, enabling people to save money, including their earnings from net sales, and take out small loans. The banks also manage the local net supply chain: they organize coastal clean-ups, facilitate sales transactions and create “environment funds” to help finance local conservation projects.

Come and talk to members of the Net-Works team from both Interface and ZSL about what makes Net-Works successful, including:
- empowering coastal communities through a community-based supply chain,
- providing access to financial services,
- the use of social marketing,
- operating a sustainable business model that provides communities with immediate benefits and long-term support,
- encouraging participation in local marine management to protect marine ecosystems under pressure,
- learning by doing to adapt the model to different contexts,
- scaling up to other locations.

Participants

Farinoz Daneshpay

Project Manager, Net-Works TM, Zoological Society of London

Community-based conservation, inclusive business, NGO-business partnerships, scaling-up.

John Koo

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
Lower Hall Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Safeguarding space for nature, securing our future: half-earth, whole-earth or a different earth?

With the signing of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate in 2015, the world’s governments have made strong commitments to conserve biodiversity, develop sustainably and address climate change. The next few years will be critical for putting in place a new global post-2020 strategy to replace the current Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 to ensure these goals are achieved. Currently, governments have pledged to protect 17% of the world’s land and 10% of its ocean by 2020. But are conventional protected areas working, is this enough, and, if not, what space do we need to conserve and how in order to sustain both humans and the rest of life on earth?

The first-ever global public opinion survey on space for nature, targeting 7 countries across all inhabited continents, suggested that people feel around 50% of the world’s land and ocean should be protected (see), and recent scientific research and expert opinion suggests something in the region of 25-75% - both far higher than the current targets. At the 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress, many delegates argued for protected area coverage of "around 30% of the planet for no take reserves, 50% overall protection, and 100% of the land and water managed sustainably". To address this, in 2016 IUCN Members passed Resolution WCC-2016-Res-096-EN, on ‘Safeguarding space for nature and securing our future: developing a post-2020 strategy’, which, “Invites the Parties to the CBD and other stakeholders to initiate a process towards the development of an ambitious post-2020 strategy, including concrete targets to safeguard space for nature…”.

There have been increasingly loud calls for ‘Half-Earth’, or that ‘Nature Needs Half’, with a focus on protection, with an Avaaz petition for world leaders to protect half the planet now signed by nearly 1 million people. These calls have recently been countered by advocates for a ‘Whole Earth’ approach, with a focus more on sustainable use. These different options will be considered in a major new public symposium on space for nature being held at ZSL in spring 2018, to help deliver the above IUCN Resolution. This #ConservationOptimism session will review and encourage discussion on the various options, ask participants to vote for their preferred one, and invite feedback and involvement in our 2018 symposium!

See www.zsl.org/spacefornature for more information on the public opinion survey and to watch our film on space for nature. This topic will be covered on both Thursday 20 April and at ZSL on Saturday 22 April, so hope to see you on both days!

Participants

Noelle Kumpel

Conservation Policy Programme Manager, Zoological Society of London

Noelle has 18 years’ experience in conservation, research, project management and policy, including 5 years’ in the field in Africa and Asia, specialising in tropical forest conservation, in particular wildlife hunting/trade, protected areas, business and biodiversity, monitoring... Read More →

ZSL space for nature print version final pdf

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
Lower Hall Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Saving Africa's Vultures

African Vultures population is plummeting at a devastating rate! This was affirmed in 2015 when the global threat status of six species were up listed by IUCN Red List to Critically Endangered. Which is an extinction alert!

Vultures play a crucial ecological role of cleaning up after death, this means they halt spread of diseases and keep the ecosystem clean- a service they dutifully perform without any credits. By so doing, vultures are universally detested as they are associated with death, drought and dirt.

In the discussion, we first take a quiz and find out out our vulture personality match, we familiarise ourselves with the six magnifient African vultures. Understand their complex web of threats, which include unintentional poisoning, belief based use and whats being done about them in Kenya, Botswana and Nigeria. Eventualy we explore how strategic communication can influence positive behaviour change and attitude towards vultures.

Understand vultures, be a vulture ambassador!

Keep Vultures Soaring!!

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Plasma screen

Participants

Mercy Waithira

CLP Intern- Africa Vulture Program, BirdLife International

I am a conservation enthusiast. Currently, my work is contributing to Save African Vultures in ongoing projects in 5 countries. Feel free to talk to me about Vultures, Community engagement and awareness creation.

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

STAYING OPTIMISTIC: the challenges of being a local conservation organization in Bolivia

Being a scientists and working in the field of wildlife conservation is a real challenge in Bolivia. By not being considered a real career and a very low local investment, we need to be really optimitic.

The Natural History Museum Alcide d'Orbigny is a local institution in Cochabamba, the heart of Bolivia, that has been working for wildlife conservation for the past 14 years.

With the help of a short video produced by young Bolivian filmmakers, and using images of our affiliated researchers we want to share our histories.

You are more than welcome to visit us and I will be happy to give you more information!

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A table, a plasma screen and the cable to connect it to the laptop

Participants

Carmen Julia Quiroga Pacheco

Project Developer, Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d'Orbigny

I am a young Bolivian conservationist and I am currently part of the Natural History Museum (MHNC) of my home town Cochabamba. Despite being a small institution, the MHNC has a wide array of wildlife conservation projects involving all sorts of taxa. The summit will help us show how... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

The Galapagos giant tortoise: Delivering outreach to inspire tomorrow’s conservation ambassadors

Tortoise and turtles have a unique way of engaging people and the Galapagos giant tortoises are one of the most popular animals at London Zoo. We will showcase how we use the amazing Galapagos giant tortoise, a true keystone species, to engage different audiences with conservation in the Galapagos Islands, here in the UK via our partnership with ZSL London Zoo and internationally through our partnership network and educational bilingual website ‘Discovering Galapagos’.

From engaging the local farming community in new research on potential tortoise-human conflicts to working with teachers, students and youth clubs to study tortoise migrations and their role in seed dispersal, we have many lessons to share for others looking to maximise their impact of conservation outreach and look forward to chatting with you soon!

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Equipment: Table for activities, screen for looping presentation/ animation, boards (+ pins/ velcro) for resource examples

Participants

Jen Jones

Projects Manager, Galapagos Conservation Trust

Clare Simm

Communications and Marketing Officer, Galapagos Conservation Trust

I'm responsible for the Galapagos Conservation Trust's (GCT) communications and marketing. GCT is the only charity in the UK that solely raises awareness and funds for conservation in the Galapagos Islands, focusing on science, conservation, education and sustainability. We work with... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

Training the next generation of conservation professionals in Peru.

A new generation of trained biologists is urgently needed to study ecological processes in nature and apply lessons learned to conservation action. If today’s undergraduate and graduate students do not gain this important experience, where will the next generation of conservation professionals come from? This talk will highlight one initiative in the Peruvian Amazon that sets out to respond to this fundamental need.
With a 40-year research legacy, the Cocha Cashu Biological Station (CCBS) in Peru’s UNESCO Manu National Park is a tropical ecology field station of international renown and importance for understanding and preserving biodiversity. The CCBS provides unrivalled opportunities to study the processes of nature largely undisturbed by modern human impacts, serving as a reference landscape for understanding biodiversity and the ecological processes that support it.
San Diego Zoo Global Peru has been entrusted the responsibility of managing and operating the CCBS by the Peruvian Service for Protected Natural Areas. One of the mandates of our agreement is to help train the conservationists of the future, especially Peruvian students in the natural sciences.
To this end, the Station’s signature capacity building program is our annual, three-month, boots-on-the-ground Tropical Ecology and Field Techniques Course. This course aims to provide Peruvian undergraduate and graduate students with the modern tools and theoretical basis on tropical ecology that are key to managing forests and protected areas in tropical lowlands.

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This is a Prezi presentation for which I will need a projector, screen, table, cable to connect to laptop, speakers for video

Participants

Jessica Groenendijk

Communications Coordinator, Cocha Cashu Biological Station, San Diego Zoo Global Peru

Hello!I'll be wearing two hats at this event, one as Communications Coordinator for the Cocha Cashu Biological Station, in Manu National Park, Peru, and the other as nature writer at Words from the Wild. Here you can find out more about me: https://www.jessicagroenendijk.com/about... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

13:00 BST

What drives orangutan conservation? / Introducing Malaysian Primatological Society

During my first Not-So-Poster session, I would focus on describing the motivation of conservation of orangutans in Malaysia. As Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) has declined and downgraded to Critically Endangered, more protection of habitat and comprehensive rehabilitation would be necessary to protect this charismatic and endemic species. Efforts would require collaboration from wider perspective, from non- scientist to manager to researchers.

My youtube link to the presentation: https://youtu.be/UBIiF3JBvgc

If it possible, I would need a LCD screen/ projector/plasma screen to be connected to my laptop and a powerpoint source for my laptop for my presentation.

Participants

Aini Hasanah Abd Mutalib

Secretary General, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Malaysian Primatological Society

Hi! I am a PhD candidate at Universiti Sains Malaysia. I would be presenting during Not-So-Poster session for my studies regarding orangutan. I would also exhibit my team's effort on Malaysian Primatological Society, the very first society in Malaysia that promotes the conservation... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 13:00 - 14:00 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Not-A-Poster Session

14:00 BST

Plenary 2: Ms Anna Oposa, Save Philippine Seas

Plenaries

Anna Oposa

Chief Mermaid and Executive Director, Save Philippine Seas

Anna R. Oposa is a multi-hyphenated changemaker who is best known for being the Co-Founder and Chief Mermaid of Save Philippine Seas (SPS), a movement to conserve and restore the Philippines’ coastal and marine resources.

Thursday April 20, 2017 14:00 - 14:45 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

Plenary

14:45 BST

[Session 1] Celebrating Conservation Heroes | [Session 2] Conservation Storytelling: How to Share Your Success through Compelling Images and Videos

Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.

14:45-15:15 Celebrating Conservation Heroes
Danni Parks
The talk will provide an introduction to the Whitley Fund for Nature and the charity's flagship grants programme, the Whitley Awards. The Awards celebrate the success of grassroots conservation leaders, demonstrate that conservation efforts are achieving results and provide a reason for optimism. Winning one of these prestigious international prizes (or 'Green Oscars' as they are often known) can be a game changer for local conservationists – elevating their projects under an international Public Relations spotlight and helping to give them a voice when it comes to dealing with policy makers on the local, national or international stage. Many of the Whitley alumni have gone on to hold important positions in their own countries, with several obtaining Ministerial portfolios and gaining leadership roles in the internal conservation arena. The Award also helps to open fundraising doors and leverage further support for winners' work, by funding at the right time. Short Awardee films will be shown to illustrate the variety of projects and leaders recognised. The session will be closed by a discussion of 'What we mean by a Conservation Hero' and how the sector can pull together to reverse the public perception of conservation being a 'doom and gloom' subject; looking to the future with a sense of optimism, whilst retaining urgency and a clear need for public action and support.

Special room needs
Digital Projector
Sound
Access to internert for online streaming of films
Whiteboard
Markers
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15:15 - 16:15 Conservation Storytelling: How to Share Your Success through Compelling Images and Videos
Rose Hancock-Pook and Gabby Salazar

Photography plays an irreplaceable role in conservation storytelling and, when used effectively, can help share your conservation success story with the world. Anyone can generate insightful and powerful content, if just a few golden rules are followed. This workshop provides practical tips and tricks to help conservation professionals create compelling multimedia stories, even on a shoe-string budget. After exploring the latest research and case-studies in effective storytelling formats and image-led conservation marketing, we'll provide practical tips for using any camera (from a smartphone to a DSLR) to create interesting images in the field. Bring your smartphone or camera with you!

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Special room needs
Digital Projector
Whiteboard
Markers
Room set up: 30 chairs. Access to outside space or break out space would be great as we will be photographing

Participants

Danni Parks

Deputy Director, Whitley Fund for Nature

The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a charity offering funding, training and recognition to support the work of proven grassroots conservation leaders working in biodiversity-rich, resource-poor countries. At WFN I lead on delivery of the annual Whitley Awards Ceremony and oversee... Read More →

Rose Hancock Pook

Communications Professional & Conservation Science Postgraduate Student, Imperial College London

Talk to me about conservation marketing and communications! I'm a communications professional with ten years’ experience of advising some of the country’s best-loved brands, from the BBC to the Natural History Museum. For the last three years, I was part of the management team... Read More →

Gabby Salazar

MSc Conservation Science Student, Imperial College London

Gabby Salazar is a conservation photojournalist and a current MSc student in Conservation Science at Imperial College London. A U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Photography and a National Geographic Young Explorer Grantee, Gabby has worked on environmental photography projects across the... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 14:45 - 15:15 BST
Informatics Suite 5 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 2: Celebrating success

14:45 BST

Fin Fighters - Progressive conservation and public engagement in positive change making.

Limited Capacity seats available

Exploring changemaking, the need for pregressive conservation, and how to engage the public and stimulate social change for conservation issues.

This session will be part interactive discussion and part presentation.

There will be an open dialouge about Change making and conservation - and if there is a need for a paradigm shift within conservation to encorporate more progressive methods.

There will also be an overview of the work of UK conservation organisation Fin Fighters, and how this organisation has employed progressive conservation techniques and created change in a fast and effective way.

Participants

Lou Ruddell

Founder/Director, Fin Fighters

Thursday April 20, 2017 14:45 - 16:15 BST
Informatics Suite 4 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 2: Celebrating success

14:45 BST

Five reasons to be cheerful: showcasing conservation success in decision making

Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.

WWF will present five reasons to be cheerful - conversation successes from around the world that have lead to a change in decision making.

Each of our experts will introduce a different project, from dams on the Yangzte, oil exploration in the Virunga National Park to implementing the Water Framework Directive in the UK. We'll explore what brought about change, how decision makers were persuaded to act, through a chat show hosted by our WWF-UK Ambassador Will Day.

We look forward to you joining us for a fun and stimulating discussion!

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Participants

William Day

Chris Gee

Campaigns Manager, WWF-UK

Jamie Gordon

Emma Keller

Agricultural Commodities Manager, WWF

Come and talk to me about deforestation, particularly deforestation and habitat conversion related to agricultural commodities like palm oil, soy and cattle products like beef and leather. I spend my time talking to UK companies to try and influence and shape their supply chain and... Read More →

Catherine Moncrieff

Debbie Tripley

Thursday April 20, 2017 14:45 - 16:15 BST
Old Library Old Library, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 2: Celebrating success

14:45 BST

Knowledge is the Key for Preparing Future Stewards: A Necessary Change

Limited Capacity seats available

Session Description:
Join us to explore ways to get children and youth excited about conservation and the world around them. Too many children have limited contact or understanding of the natural world, which hinders their ability to connect with and care for the environment. Designed as a hands-on, participatory workshop, we will provide an array of activities to strengthen observational skills, teach specific environmental facts and concepts, and encourage biophilia! And don't worry about expensive supplies -- these activities need no or minimal, easy-to-find props.

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special room needs: tables to seat all participants for hands-on activities

Participants

Liza Hawley

Youth and Visitor Education, Morris Arboretum of Upenn

I develop and implement educational curriculum tours and programs for children. I recruit, train and retain volunteers who lead tours and interact with visitors. I develop digital and printed garden interpretation.

Bette Perlman

volunteer, Morris Arboretum

I am a retired Professor of Education and have been volunteering at the Morris Arboretum for 20 years. I also act as a steward for woodlands preserved by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. I try to find the best possible teaching strategies to connect children and youth positively... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 14:45 - 16:15 BST
Informatics Suite 2 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 2: Celebrating success

14:45 BST

[Session 1] Inspiring and empowering local communities to conserve lions in northern Kenya | [Session 2] Elephants, ethnicities, war and peace: exploring conservation through the “desert elephants” of Mali

Limited Capacity filling up

2:45-3:15 PM Inspiring and empowering local communities to conserve lions in northern Kenya
Shivani Bhalla

Ewaso Lions conserves Kenya’s lions and other large carnivores by promoting co-existence between people and wildlife. We firmly believe that the success of lion conservation hinges on the involvement of the local people who live alongside lions. In this talk, I will discuss the decline in the lion population across Africa before focusing on the unique conservation and research methods Ewaso Lions uses to promote human-carnivore coexistence, reduce human-lion conflict, and ensure a future for Kenya’s lions. Learn how, as a result of engaging local people, lions have started to make a comeback in the community areas where Ewaso Lions operates.
I will present details on how we have engaged a previously neglected demographic – warriors - in conservation, a first in northern Kenya. Through this flagship programme, Warrior Watch, we have not only been able to significantly improve local attitudes and tolerance towards large carnivores and prevent lions being killed on hundreds of occasions, but also contributed towards the social and political empowerment the warrior demographic.
I will go on to talk about how our Mama Simba (“Mother of lions”) programme has given marginalized Samburu women a voice in conservation; equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to reduce their environmental impact and effectively conserve and coexist with wildlife, whilst also supporting local livelihoods.
Both Warrior Watch and Mama Simba epitomize community-driven conservation. They are hopeful stories of empowerment and success and how it all contributes to a safer place for lions.
I will end my talk with an overview of our Lion Kids Camps – a story of inspiration and how we work with children across the region, encouraging them to become the conservation leaders of tomorrow.

Projector, Clicker, Speakers (for video sound), portable microphone.
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3:15 - 4:15 PM Elephants, ethnicities, war and peace: exploring conservation through the “desert elephants” of Mali
Susan Canney

The iconic and enigmatic desert-adapted elephants of Mali live alongside multiple ethnicities in a vast arid landscape in the centre of Mali just south of Timbuktu. The harsh nature of their environment means they make the longest annual migration of any elephant population to find the resources they need, ranging over an area of over 32,000km2 (larger than Belgium and one and a half times the size of Wales!). In 2007 it became clear that the elephants would only survive the challenges of increased human impact if elephant conservation was the result of the day-to-day decisions made by local people for their own benefit.
The Mali Elephant Project developed a model of community engagement, empowerment, and stabilisation based on natural resource management that improves local livelihoods and protects elephants. It includes all sectors of the community including providing employment for youth and empowering women in income generating activities based on regenerative natural resource management.
The resilience of the model has been demonstrated by having survived five years of lawlessness, rebellion and Islamic insurgency; while at the same time straddling international trafficking routes coupled with a resurgent ivory trade.
This session will use the story of the Mali Elephant Project as an entry-point to tease out the key ingredients for conservation success and failure, with a particular focus on the different perspectives of local, national and international actors.

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Projector, Remote control, Speakers, portable microphone

Participants

Shivani Bhalla

Executive Director, Ewaso Lions

I am a fourth generation Kenyan who believes the key to lion conservation is working in partnership with local communities. I founded the Ewaso Lions Project in 2007 and am based in Westgate Community Conservancy, where I work with Samburu communities to reduce livestock loss to carnivores... Read More →

Susan Canney

Director, Mali Elephant Project

I currently direct the Mali Elephant Project, having worked on a variety of nature conservation projects in Africa, Asia and Europe, and as a research officer at the Green College Centre for Environmental Policy & Understanding. I am particularly interested in using systems perspectives... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 14:45 - 16:15 BST
Informatics Suite 1 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 2: Celebrating success

14:45 BST

[Session 1] Rebuilding tropical fisheries village by village | [Session 2] Managing (Turtle) Conservation Program in Developing Countries

Limited Capacity seats available

2:45 - 3:15 PM Rebuilding tropical fisheries village by village
Steve Rocliffe

For many years, the Vezo – traditional fishers in southwest Madagascar – saw marine conservation as a threat, a way of preventing them from accessing their fishing grounds. In these coastal communities, where seafood is the sole source of protein and income is less than US $2 per day, waiting years for the uncertain benefits of a protected area to spillover represented too high a risk − and too severe an economic sacrifice − to be a workable solution. A decade ago, Blue Ventures set about trying to overcome this issue, working with these communities to understand their concerns and develop a low-risk approach to marine protection that would return meaningful economic benefits in timeframes that worked for them. This talk uses powerful imagery and voices from the field to help tell the story of how some of the poorest coastal communities are helping their seas to recover.

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I'll be presenting from my Mac, but need the usual projector screen set up

3:15-4:15 PM Managing (Turtle) Conservation Program in Developing Countries
Shailendra Singh PhD & Kalyar Platt PhD
Session will discuss the management of long-term conservation projects in developing countries using non-marine turtle conservation as a model. We will share the positive learnings of the organisation (TSA) and local partners, while implementing the recommendations of regional (Asian) and national conservation action plans targeting threatened freshwater turtles in response to crisis especially in asian countries located along Indo-Burma chelonian Biodiversity Hotspot in last 10 years. Global conservation status of threatened species, strategic conservation planning,implementation and success stories will be added as examples. Moreover session will include tested methods of conservation linkages and approach, campaigning, networking, stakeholder participation, capacity building, culture and sustainability issues, which are essential for establishing and managing any long-term project to conserve “less" magnificent species in developing countries. The session would be useful for donors, conservationists, organisations and students, who may be willing to conduct, associate and/or support similar conservation project in the region.
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Project Screens and White- board will be required

Participants

Kalyar Platt

Director, Myanmar Program, Turtle Survival Alliance

Steve Rocliffe

Research & Learning Manager, Blue Ventures

Steve provides broad support to Blue Ventures’ research programme, working with colleagues to build rigorous, high-quality evidence and learning around our work, and packaging this learning into training and outreach resources.Working within the UK-based conservation team, Steve... Read More →

Shailendra Singh

Program Director, Turtle Survival Alliance

Shai is a north-India based aquatic (freshwater) wildlife biologist. Under aegis of TSA, he has been managing a long term program in five non-marine turtle priority areas of the country for 15 years, which also addresses some of the conservation needs of sympatric species such as... Read More →

Conservation Optimism London Shailendra Singh April2017 pdf

Thursday April 20, 2017 14:45 - 16:15 BST
The George Farha Auditorium The Laboratory, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 2: Celebrating success

16:15 BST

Meet the Plenary Speakers: Niki Harré, Anna Oposa

Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.

This session is intended to enable early-career participants (and shy people!) to meet the plenary speakers in an informal and friendly environment, and ask them any questions that they weren't able to ask in the main session.

Participants

Niki Harré

The University of Auckland

Niki Harré is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. She is also the leader of a Sustainability Network within the university’s Faculty of Science.

Anna Oposa

Chief Mermaid and Executive Director, Save Philippine Seas

Oposa, Anna OptimismSummit pdf

Thursday April 20, 2017 16:15 - 16:45 BST
Masters Library Barry Building, First Floor

Meet the Plenary Speakers

16:15 BST

Afternoon Break

Thursday April 20, 2017 16:15 - 16:45 BST
North Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Tea & Coffee

16:45 BST

Plenary 3: Ms Lisel Alamilla, Chair, Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission, Belize. Belize: The experience of Conservation Optimism at a Local NGO vs. National Government.

Plenaries

Lisel Alamilla

Chair, Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission

Lisel Alamilla is a conservationist and politician from Belize. She currently serves as the Chair of the Commission at Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission. She has 20+ years of experience in conservation, sustainable development, community development, protected areas management, participatory... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 16:45 - 17:30 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

Plenary

17:30 BST

Art and Conservation Science: Creative Communication

Alice White presents a pop-up exhibition of her original paintings and drawings, together with a short slide-show and talk.
The speaker will describe how the artwork on show was created as a direct result of working with marine conservation scientists, and will discuss the tangible benefits that art/science collaborations can have for practitioners working within both fields. Using her own experience as an example, and the exhibition itself to illustrate the points being made, the artist will touch on the following topics:
-Why have an artist: The ways in which artists and their artwork can contribute to science research and practice.
-How to install an artist: Encouraging thinking about artists as a key part of the presentation and communication of scientific knowledge.
-When to use art: How creative reasoning techniques and visual research methods commonly used by artists can be useful to scientists.
-What will my artist do?: A call for better integration of local and international artists into current conservation practices, to become better contributors as well as observers.
-Assembly instructions: Artists can be seen as key social interventionists, spreading positive conservation messages to a more diverse audience. How and why it is important to tap into the creative networks.
Attendees will be encouraged to comment and ask questions as part of the session.
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Room Needs: (laptop and projector screen, together with all cables. Laser pointer. Table to put said equipment on. Walls suitable for hanging artwork PLEASE email me to discuss this in detail.)

Participants

Alice White

Associate Lecturer, Central St Martins College of Art and Design, Artist

Alice White's artwork aims to provide a new perspective on the traditionally inaccessible field of marine conservation, with particular emphasis on rare species which are indigenous to UK waters. During her year as the Artist for Animals at ZSL London Zoo, her project ‘A New Wave... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Arts-science collaboration for conservation conflicts

We will have examples of our work with artists, film makers, musicians, scientists and social scientists - exploring the potential for collaborations in understanding conservation conflicts.

Participants

Nils Bunnefeld

Associate Professor, University of Stirling

Conservation conflicts, social-ecological systems

Sera James Irvine

Artist

Alongside her work as an artist, Sera has been working with multi-disciplinary groups involved with environmental and conservation conflicts for over six years, both as an artist and as a project leader.Initial projects were funded by Creative Scotland, The University of Aberdeen... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Collaborative Conservation – Creating Connections to Enhance Conservation Capacity in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

A participatory space will be created to learn about North Sulawesi wildlife conservation successes and challenges based on our different programmes (Selamatkan Yaki, Tangkoko Conservation Education, Macaca NIgra Project, Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue and Education Centre). Participant engagement is intended to be maximised through creative hands-on presentation of materials.
The messages of the intended session are planned to unfold against a bright and vibrant backdrop, a jungle-theme around a tree which will form the centre-point of the setting, a place where examples and exhibition style materials appear.

Our team will be present to present the materials and describe in full the various features of the set, including providing sufficient background information to the accompanied text within the hanging imagery/exhibit panels.

This session will present:
-          Images and exhibit panels (4 portrait panels, size: 1m50 X 1m) of collaborative conservation activities emerging from foliage and hanging from a tree, as well as art work representing cthe majestic yaki (macaques)
-          Accompanying information about each organisation’s activities, key successes and positive outcomes to be revealed by pulling at the images upon investigation.
-          A continuous display of videos (short documentary about the crested macaques) and clips about our different organisations
-          Background music and sounds of Sulawesi animals to aid in the sensory immersion
-          Several quizzes, games and booklets provided by the presenters throughout the day to make the session as interactive as possible with the public
-          Audio-visual presentation of the traditional “kabasaran” and “maengket” dances, to further set the scene of the local Minahasan socio-cultural conditions.

Participants

Mathilde Chanvin

Project manager, Tangkoko Conservation Education

I am the founder and manager of the Tangkoko Conservation Education programme based in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. I am very passionate about conservation education, and what works or need improvement in terms of educational methods and project's evaluation to inspire young people... Read More →

Harry Hilser

Programme Manager, Selamatkan Yaki - The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust

Particular interest in behaviour change strategies, particularly regarding environmental values and frames;Conservation education;Anything related to seeing the positive in our collective actions for saving the planet!

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Conservation comedy and technology

We are moved to save the species and places that make us happy.

But we are becoming increasing disconnected from wildlife. We look at our smartphones 60 times a day, and can name more Pokémon species than real ones.

But what if instead, digital technology could re-connect us to nature. What if our smartphones could bring us closer to the species and places that we care about? What if wildlife made us laugh on a daily basis?

Come and discover how to bring conservation into the digital age. How our newest technology can help protect our oldest living wonders. And how we can save wildlife by making people happy.

Participants

Zac Baynham-Herd

University of Edinburgh

PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, studying conservation conflicts (in Northern Tanzania). Likes telling jokes and exploring how digital technology can re-connect people to nature.

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Conservation News Clips

Conservation news clips is a way of storytelling by conservationists through making short video clips of either their study or a conservation project they manage. The aim of the activity is to encourage conservation practitioners and researchers to film their daily activities to easily communicate their findings to the broader community.
By using a short film of the project I manage as a case study. I will be presenting successes and challenges as an early career conservationist in the field in a very remote corner of my country where I work with my fellow youth in a bid to mitigate environmental challenges. I believe for conservationists to reach the wider community and personnel from other disciplines we need to use the right media and me from experience the use of film not only encourages them to share the story but it also introduces them to diversity in pouring wildlife that they may not have a chance to see anywhere else.

The activity will involve a 4 minutes’ presentation of what is news clip. It will be followed by a 6 minutes film that I did for my project. then 10 minutes of why it’s important for conservation practitioners to film their work in the field and how they can do it. And allow for any Q and A session.

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Plasma screen

Participants

NGOTEYA Hans Cosmas

Co-Founder & Project Manager, Landscape and Conservation Mentors Organization (LCMO)

I am a conservationist from Tanzania, East Africa, a National Geographic Young Explorer, and a co-founder of the Landscape and Conservation Mentors Organization- LCMO, an organization that focuses on promoting, supporting, and improving community livelihoods, sustainable environmental... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Creative Conservation

My session will be very informal - drop by and have a go at making a simple greetings card or add a feature to a bigger art piece and have a chat about the role of creativity in engagement. My session will draw inspiration from recent art visits to Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. https://vimeo.com/169440532

Participants

Rory McCann

Rory McCann Art

My background is in Zoology and Conservation. I now work as an artist primarily on large scale public mural projects. I have worked all of the UK and abroad, in such places as Japan, Oman, Uzbekistan, Russia, and the Seychelles, all the with aim of using art to enrich peoples lives... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
Lower Hall Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Naturewatch: Talk on the Wild Side

NatureWatch is a short online wildlife documentary series, produced by students from the University of Exeter and Falmouth University. Usually, we showcase Cornish wildlife, but in our interactive session we invite you to channel your inner Attenborough and share your thoughts, ideas and experiences relating to Conservation Optimism. We will film presenters, and share the film on our social media to add to the #ConservationOptimism movement. We will also be showing our recent work, including our latest episode, and there will be other activities relating to photography and film for you to try out. If you want to share your stories, or just want to find out more, drop by!
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Screens, plug sockets.

Participants

Peter Cooper

Ecologist/Researcher, Derek Gow Consultancy

Pete is an ecologist working on various species recovery projects for the Derek Gow Consultancy, including reintroductions for harvest mice, wildcats and grassland water voles.

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Stop motion: Bring science & conservation to life through film

Stop motion films can be a creative and budget-friendly way of putting across your science to an audience of all ages. Simplify and illustrate your message: this is one mode of communication where the charm is in the imperfections!

I will be playing and discussing the creation of two award-winning stop motion animations and carrying out a demonstration, in which delegates can create their own characters using craft materials and perhaps even play out a scene on screen...

The Amazing Life Cycle of the European Eel (2015, ZSL, co-created with Chris Doble). Winner of "Best Short" at the SCINEMA International Film Festival. Screened at the Factual Animation Film Fuss, Ekofilm Festival and Llanberis Adventure & Mountain Film Festival.

A Tale of Two Urchins (2014, The New York Times, co-created with Robert Lamb and Jon Witman). Winner of "Best Scientific Message" at the Beneath the Waves film festival and screened at the Halifax Ocean Film Festival.

Participants

Sofia Castello y Tickell

DPhil Student, University of Oxford

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
Lower Hall Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Success story - Falconers and conservation of Peregrine, Mauritius Kestrel and other species

We will present a success story of conservation of Peregrine, Mauritius Kestrel and other species using falconry techniques.
We would like to discuss what can be learnt from these cases for conservation in general or for other species conservation.
One idea is the falconry techniques remodeled for conservation - how to manage birds in captivity, make them more productive in captivity, methods of release and management of wild populations, "birds for nests" project in Mongolia as a case study for conservation trough use and local community involvement in conservation.
Second is how this experience can be used for other species management and conservation, what can be learnt from this.
FALCONRY AND FALCONERS AS PIONEERS IN SUSTAINABLE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AS A CONSERVATION TOOL
Sustainable use of wild raptors has been at the core of the basic practice of falconry for millennia
Falconry is the hunting of wild quarry in their natural habitat with trained raptors - by definition it requires sustainable, intact healthy ecosystems
Falconry contributes to Biological Diversity
Falconers have been pioneers in Sustainable Use
Successful falconer-led Peregrine breeding and reintroduction projects in USA, Germany, Poland and other countries, have proved the falconer’s expertise and commitment to sustainable wild populations
Falconers and their methods have been used to save many other bird species worldwide
Since 1970 the Peregrine Fund, the biggest falconer led organization in the world, has hatched and raised 20 species of rare birds, pioneering propagation and release techniques to restore wild populations
The German falconry club, the DFO, has even been afforded government recognition as an official conservation organisation
Falconry techniques ensure birds released can hunt for themselves and survive to breed
California Condor was extint, now being released.
Aplomado Falcon – studied, released monitored.
Species systematically released to restore wild populations include Bald Eagle, Bat Falcon, Harpy Eagle, Madagascar Fish Eagle, Mauritius Kestrel, Orange-breasted Falcon, etc.
Peregrine Fund funded also studies on reasons of vulture decline in India and prooved the reason was diclofenac
The Saker ranges across 80 range states, with varying population stabilityThe Saker is widely used in falconry, and is important for traditional falconers in Central Asia and in the Arabic world
IAF is an active member of the Saker Task Force created at 11th CMS COP
The Saker GAP recognizes sustainable use as one of the key elements in Saker conservation. In Mongolia the UAE funded “A thousand nest” project showed the numbers of breeding birds can be increased significantly The IAF funded first of three flagship projects - the Online Information Portal - this involves monitoring and measurement of the use of Sakers by falconers and is in cooperation with UNEP, BirdLife and IUCN.
The research conducted in Mongolia showed that the mortality caused by electrocution might be a key factor in Saker decline.
IAF Proposed a Resolution against electrocution adopted at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

Falconry methods proved to be safe for birds and effective in their taming. They are widely used also for other birds and animals. Falconers started to breed Peregrines and these methods are also widely used for many other species. Falconers pioneered in reintroduction of Peregrines and those methods are widely used for many other species.

We are sure there is still a lot that conservationists can learn from falconry.

Participants

Janusz Sielicki

Vicepresident for Europe, Africa and Oceania, International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
Lower Hall Barry Building, Ground Floor

Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

17:30 BST

Drinks reception & Creative session: Celebrating people in nature

Thursday April 20, 2017 17:30 - 19:30 BST
South Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Drinks reception

19:30 BST

Optional Dinner

Thursday April 20, 2017 19:30 - 20:30 BST
Cafeteria Cafeteria

Meal

09:15 BST

Plenary 4: Professor Andrew Balmford, University of Cambridge

Plenaries

Andrew Balmford

Andrew Balmford is a professor of conservation science at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on planning conservation, comparing the costs and benefits of conservation and how conservation can be reconciled with other activities.

Friday April 21, 2017 09:15 - 10:00 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

Plenary

10:00 BST

How to quantify everyone's (lack of) knowledge to help make better decisions

Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.

The workshop aims to demonstrate how background knowledge from different experts, both stakeholders and scientists, can be quantified and used to complement other data sources from more formal scientific studies. In the last 20 years, as Bayesian methods have flourished, statisticians and psychologists have developed formal elicitation processes that make it possible to describe both the knowledge people have and their uncertainty about it. In statistical analyses this can then be set alongside other data sources. Where views differ the consequences or not of these different views can be easily explored. Elicitation processes are generally positive, exciting exercises that can help everyone clarify their (lack of) understanding about a problem.

This will be an interactive workshop for a very small number of people. Participants will be introduced to the general motivation and the basic concepts of elicitation and probability. Most of the workshop will be taken up by the participants carrying out a facilitated joint elicitation process to experience how such a process works.

After the elicitation process is finished the participants will then see how these results can be used in an analysis and will be able to reflect, in discussion, on the benefits and difficulties of this approach. The aim is that participants will leave with an appreciation of how knowledge from different people can be quantified and used in analyses and the pitfalls and advantages of doing so.

For more details see here: http://bit.ly/2nGIBiP

[I'll need a whiteboard, and ability to attach a laptop to a projector]

Participants

Fiona Underwood

Independent statistical researcher/consultant

As an applied statistician I have developed robust data-driven methods to provide evidence to inform decision making about the illegal wildlife trade. This includes contributing to the development of analytical methods for both global monitoring systems for elephants and leading... Read More →

Underwood Presentation Conservation Optimism pdf

Friday April 21, 2017 10:00 - 11:30 BST
Seminar Room

Interactive Session - Theme 3: Positive learning

10:00 BST

PANORAMA – Solutions for a healthy planet

Limited Capacity filling up

Update - we are happy to have colleagues from Rare and Net-Works present their inspiring solutions during our session!

Across our planet, a multitude of inspiring "solutions" exist, which successfully help overcome challenges to conservation and sustaianble development. Yet, how can we ensure successful approaches or processes can be scaled and replicated? This require inter-sectorial and cross-regional knowledge transfer as well as mutual learning.
Such an innovative approach to sharing solutions and scaling up successes is at the heart of PANORAMA: PANORAMA - Solutions for a healthy planet is a partnership initiative to document and promote examples of inspiring, replicable solutions across a range of conservation and development topics. As part of that effort, the PANORAMA partnership runs an online platform that features success stories from a broad range of stakeholders and across different themes, such as marine and coastal, protected areas or ecosystem-based adaptation - Have a look: www.panorama.solutions! Thus, PANORAMA allows practicioners to share their stories, get recognized for successful work, and learn how others have tackled problems across the globe.
In this session we will introduce the approach and highlight how YOU can contribute to and get inspired by the wealth of information shared through PANORAMA as well as understanding how these experiences can accelarate our actions towards sustaining a healthy planet and achieving international targets.
This session will be interactive and you can actively contribute to and learn from PANORAMA solutions, so bring your laptop/tablet, if possible.

Agenda

10.00 - 10.15am: Introduing the PANORAMA partnership
10.15 - 10.30am: Real-life examples of solutions, from the Philippines and Cameroon
10.30 - 11.15am: Group work - You can either share you own solution directly to the PANORAMA online platform, or browse through existing solutions and find inspiration to a current challenge from your work.
11.15 - 11.30am: Feedback, discussion and next steps

________________________________________________________________________
Projector, 1 whiteboard

Participants

Marie Fischborn

Programme Officer, Global Protected Areas Programme, IUCN

Janina Korting

Coastal and marine management advisor, GIZ

As a marine ecologist I am dedicated to sustainable management and conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity. After graduating from the Centre for Tropical Marine Ecology, Bremen, where I gained research experience on topics such as mangrove ecology and biogeochemistry, I am... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 10:00 - 11:30 BST
Informatics Suite 5 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 3: Positive learning

10:00 BST

Selling success: storyboarding to empower the next generation of conservationists

Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.

For too long, conservation organisations have relied on shock and emotional guilt tactics to communicate to the public why we need conservation. Negative language and imagery is used to convey species declining and habitats shrinking. Whilst these messages are important to highlight, they have become commonplace and dominant, resulting in people feeling disempowered to make a change. This session will look at how we can change this: how can we, as the conservation community, pass on our enthusiasm and scientific knowledge and best communicate our work to the wider public through storytelling?

The session will focus on how to tell conservation stories in the best way possible to empower and inspire audiences, and attract new attention. Led by Durrell and Wildscreen, this session will bring together professionals from the world of film, media and marketing to look at the art of storytelling. Participants will be split into small workshop groups and will each be given a pre-determined story to communicate. Our professionals will then work with each group to advise participants how they, as a creative, would develop and tell these stories. The groups will then have a go at storyboarding their ideas – a skill which participants can then take back to their own organisations to help them turn their own stories into stories of hope suitable for film. Session participants will then come back together at the end to share their ideas and the professionals will then summarise the key points that have come out of the session with some final words of advice for participants.

Participants

Lucy Archer

UK Fundraising and Communications Officer, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Hannah Mulvany

Wildscreen Exchange Executive, Wildscreen

I manage Wildscreen's Exchange project - a photo and video library for conservation organisations to use in their non-commercial communications and expertise service that helps them use imagery effectively. I work with over 250 conservation organisations in 46 different countries... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 10:00 - 11:30 BST
Informatics Suite 4 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 3: Positive learning

10:00 BST

Species conservation is not depressing – there have been successes and we can affect change

Limited Capacity seats available

This event intends to use the expertise and experience of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund's Advisory Board to highlight some of the success stories and grounds for optimism in species conservation - some of them as a result of grants from the Fund. Furthermore, they will also discuss the passion which drives them and the hope they see for the future of species conservation as an encouragement to young people around the world.

Participants

Topiltzin Contreras

Nicolas Heard

Head of Fund Management, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

William Konstant

Advisory Panel, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

I have served on the MBZSCF Advisory Panel since 2011, providing reviews and recommendations regarding Mammal grant applications. I also have served as an advisor to the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation since 1996, managing grant-making activities that focus on threatened primates... Read More →

Russ Mittermeier

Sanjay Molur

Mike Parr

Anders Rhodin

Chairman of the Board, Turtle Conservancy

Friday April 21, 2017 10:00 - 11:30 BST
Old Library Old Library, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 3: Positive learning

10:00 BST

The future of corporate biodiversity accounting and disclosure

Limited Capacity filling up

This session aims to provide a platform to share the latest research and best practice examples of business’ involvement in biodiversity conservation. This session will focus specifically on biodiversity accounting (e.g., the development of biodiversity metrics for business) and disclosure (e.g., reporting on biodiversity impacts in corporate social responsibility reports and financial reports), as many UK based businesses, academics and NGOs are undertaking world-leading work in this area.

This session will be structured as an interactive panel discussion and Q&A event. We will firstly focus on some of the positive steps businesses are currently taking to account for biodiversity in their business, and some of the scientific advances helping businesses do this. Panelist will then answer some more challenging and forward thinking questions about where businesses should be going for corporate biodiversity accounting and disclosure; and importantly what steps they can take to go above and beyond mitigating their impacts to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.

At this session you will be joined by business, NGO, and academic representatives who are undertaking world-leading work on corporate biodiversity accounting and disclosure. Our session will provide a platform to network with your peers, share current ideas and best-practice, and debate the future direction of corporate biodiversity accounting and disclosure. This session finally aims to ensure a strong and positive message from the corporate sector will be a part of the broader Conservation Optimism summit dialogue.

This session is proudly sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council, the UK's largest funder of independent environmental science, training and innovation.

Follow the conversation from this session on twitter: #ConservationOptimism #Business&Biodiversity

Session panelists include:
Prue Addison, Knowledge Exchange Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher, Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science, University of Oxford
Julia Baker, Biodiversity Technical Specialist, Balfour Beatty
Richard Barker, Professor of Accounting, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Giulia Carbone, Deputy Director, IUCN Global Business and Biodiversity Programme
Helen Crowley, Head of Sustainable Sourcing Innovation, Kering
Chris Eves, Foresty Officer, Zoological Society of London
Clément Feger, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute and Luc Hoffmann Institute
Martina di Fonzo, Postdoctoral researcher, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Camrbidge Conservation Research Institute
Mark Gough, Executive Director, Natural Capital Coalition
Pippa Howard, Programme Director, Corporate Partnerships, Fauna & Flora International
Keith Tuffley, CEO of The B Team
Bhaskar Vira, Founding Director of the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute
Francis Vorhies, Executive Director, Earthmind
________________________________________________________________________
Room requirements: >40 people, projector & screen, 2 microphones

Participants

Prue Addison

University of Oxford

I am a Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science at the University of Oxford. I work closely with businesses to help operationalise the no net loss (NNL) of biodiversity principle, where biodiversity losses should be avoided where possible... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 10:00 - 11:30 BST
The George Farha Auditorium The Laboratory, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 3: Positive learning

10:00 BST

Tigers, Tigers everywhere – What to consider when tigers in Chitwan National Park are doing so well?

Limited Capacity seats available

Dear Attendees,

You will be part of real world conservation where participation in the workshop activities will be part of a solutions document for the Living with Tigers project.

The Living with Tigers project aims to reduce poverty and human-tiger conflicts in Nepal in both Chitwan and Bardia National Parks.
Come join this workshop to learn about human-large felid conflicts in Nepal, hear about a range of people think about "How can we solve human-tiger conflict in Nepal", and have the opportunity to discuss this topic with a people from around the world attending the Summit.

Why is human-tiger conflict an important topic to discussion and solve?...... from these conflicts, both tigers and humans have lost their lives and as the human population increases and tiger population rises due to successful conservation efforts, these conflict are predicted to increase. The Living with Tigers wants to help with these problems, by helping local marginalised communities and protect tigers.
Help us achieve this by attending our workshop and sharing your knowledge.

________________________________________________________________________
List any special room needs: Projected and moveable chairs.

Participants

Amy Fitzmaurice

Conservation Scholar, Chester Zoo

I am a PhD student at WildCRU OXford University and a Conservation Scholar at Chester Zoo. I am part of a Darwin Initiative project called Living with Tigers in Nepal. I have a masters in Conservation Science from Imperial College London, where I researched the impacts of logging... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 10:00 - 11:30 BST
Informatics Suite 1 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 3: Positive learning

10:00 BST

Using art to bring hope in conservation

Limited Capacity seats available

Using art to bring hope in conservation
Presenters: Jessica Sweidan, Dr Simon Stuart & Jim Pettiward
Synchronicity Earth (SE) is a dynamic London-based charitable foundation devoted to supporting biodiversity conservation, protecting intact ecosystems and stopping the extinction crisis. Through the partners we support globally, our expert advisors and a rigorous in-house research process, we know how successful conservation can be. But we also know that much more is needed if we want to reduce biodiversity loss and begin to see ‘lines going up’ for threatened species.
From the get-go, we have been exploring new means to communicate the conservation message. Although we need good information and science to guide our actions, we also need to build much stronger emotional connections between people and nature. We need to reach new audiences if we are to have well-founded optimism in conservation.
This session will briefly outline what we believe to be the key messages in conservation and how we can make greater use of art to convey these messages to a wider audience and build a sense of hope. We will showcase some of our most successful campaigns promoting the protection of threatened and endangered species, while demonstrating how we have used art in unexpected places - and worked with amazing artists - to communicate our message to new audiences.
Our session will be led by Jessica Sweidan, Synchronicity Earth Founding Trustee, who has led on SE's experiments in the use of art to advance conservation goals. This will include a presentation of the concept and the art of the Biophilia and This is Now campaigns.
Dr Simon Stuart, SE Conservation Director, will reflect on why there is room for hope in the conservation sector and describe how Synchronicity Earth is starting to build partnerships to increase and amplify conservation success stories and bring them to a wider audience.
Jim Pettiward, SE Communications Strategist, will talk about the use of art as a communications tool, and how it can play a crucial role in understanding complex environmental issues and threats. He will also show examples of how SE's project partners are using art in the field.
There will be opportunity for discussion, suggestions and comments built into the session, with a dedicated space for questions at the end.

Participants

Jessica Sweidan

Founding Trustee, Synchronicity Earth

Talk to me about philanthropy, global biodiversity conservation and how working with art and artists can help communicate complex environmental issues.--I have been an active philanthropist for the last 20 years. In 1995 I formed a partnership with my now husband, Adam Sweidan, to... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 10:00 - 11:30 BST
Informatics Suite 2 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 3: Positive learning

11:30 BST

Mid-morning Break

Friday April 21, 2017 11:30 - 12:00 BST
North Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Tea & Coffee

12:00 BST

Plenary 5: Helen Crowley, Kering

Plenaries

Helen Crowley

Dr. Helen Crowley is the Head of Sustainable Sourcing Innovation at Kering, and actively participates in international forums such as CITES, IUCN, CBD, TEEB and SAC.

Friday April 21, 2017 12:00 - 12:45 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

Plenary

12:45 BST

Sisters in Conversation/Conservation

“Like Graham Norton meets the vagina monologues for the anthropocene” The Economist

Kat Jones works in public relations for RSPB Scotland so her daily struggles include dealing with local objections to giving goats contraceptives, farmers’ mixed attitudes to sea eagles, and how to find innovative ways to show the children of Scotland that wildlife is WAY more interesting than a play station.

Julia Jones is a professor of conservation science at Bangor University whose work focuses on conservation efforts and their impacts on local communities (mostly in Madagascar). Julia is not feeling very optimistic (and not only because she has just marked 110 undergraduate reports).

Whenever these sisters get together they find themselves incredulous about assumptions and practices in each other’s realm of conservation and, without fail, have a really good discussion (always full of sisterly good humour).

When Conservation Optimism was announced, Kat wanted to go but Julia wasn’t sure-her lack of optimism was getting in the way. Together they went on a journey, interviewing conservationists from around the world and this talk show style discussion is the result.

Warning: this event involves audience participation in the form of a song…..

________________________________________________________________________
Projector screen, computer and loud speakers (for video projection)

Participants

Julia Jones

Bangor University

REDD+Payments for Ecosystem Servicesconservation monitoringMadagascar

Friday April 21, 2017 12:45 - 13:45 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

12:45 BST

Lunch & Optional Session

Friday April 21, 2017 12:45 - 13:45 BST
North Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Meal

13:45 BST

Accessing alternative funding: what makes an investible opportunity

Limited Capacity seats available

This workshop is targetted at conservation project developers and project managers who are interested in diversifying their source of funds for conservation and sustainable development projects. The workshop will begin with a short presentation about Althelia and examples of the projects that we invest in, focusing on what makes them investable opportunities for us - economically, environmentally and socially. Following this participants, in small groups, will be asked to assess project opportunities from an investors perspective and to put together a short pitch of a project. Finally we will discuss each pitch with suggestions for how to improve the project.

The session will last 2 hours.

________________________________________________________________________
AV

Participants

Emma Knott

ESG Officer, Althelia Ecosphere

Christian del Valle

Managing Partner, Althelia Ecosphere

Our mission as platform is to finance this transition to sustainable land use, creating new environmental assets that reflect the value of natural capital. Our investments reduce deforestation, mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity and provide a fair and sustainable living... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 13:45 - 15:15 BST
The George Farha Auditorium The Laboratory, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 4: Making the change

13:45 BST

Banning Microbeads From Your Bathroom: The role individuals & businesses play in changing policy

Limited Capacity seats available

Plastic pollution in the oceans is a serious and widely reported environmental threat which affects hundreds of marine species every year. What is perhaps less well known is the extent to which our oceans are now polluted with microplastics – tiny pieces of plastic measuring less than half a centimetre in size.

Unlike many of the environmental issues facing our planet today, the solutions to this one, start much closer to home…in fact, they might even start in your bathroom!

Amazingly, microplastic ingredients have been added to a wide range of toiletries and cosmetics – products that we unsuspectingly use in our bathrooms and on our persons on a daily basis. As they flow down our sinks and drains, these tiny ingredients can make their way out into the ocean through the nation’s sewage system where they will reside for many years, attracting toxic environmental pollutants to their surfaces and breaking down (very slowly) into ever smaller fragments which can be eaten by even the smallest of plankton.

‘Microbeads’ as they have come to be known, have been firmly in the UK media spotlight for the last few years and last summer, conservationists celebrated the announcement of a UK Government ban on microbeads. In this session, we explore what microbeads are, where they might be lurking in your bathrooms and how a concerted, collaborative effort between the public, NGOs, businesses and policymakers has culminated in a conservation success story in just five years.

Participants

Tanya Cox

Marine Plastics Projects Manager, Fauna & Flora International

I joined FFI in 2012 and am responsible for the day-to-day running of our Marine Plastics programme which aims to adress the extent and impact of marine plastic pollution by improving policies and practices. I have a master’s degree in Oceanography and a keen interest in climate... Read More →

Dilyana Mihaylova

Marine Plastics Project Officer, Fauna & Flora International

Dilyana Mihaylova has a background in applied ecology and conservation, with research experience in the fields of invasive species ecology, biological oceanography and marine plastic pollution. She joined the marine team at Fauna & Flora International (FFI) in January 2015 as Project... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 13:45 - 15:15 BST
Informatics Suite 2 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 4: Making the change

13:45 BST

Expanding the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to be a positive vision for conservation

Limited Capacity filling up

***CALLING ALL OPTIMISTS!***
Are you a communicator? An artist/writer/designer? Curious about visual communication? Come brainstorm a unique visual style for the IUCN Green List!
In this session we'll be running a hackathon to collaborate intensively on how best to visualize the IUCN Green List's elements and function. We are looking for creative individuals who think outside the box - come and apply your skill set for one of conservation's most optimistic projects!
Be part of designing a new scheme to measure the success of species conservation!
We are developing a standardized, global scheme that would recognize successful conservation action, provide incentives to move species towards full conservation success, and promote an optimistic and inspirational vision of conservation.
This session summarizes the background and progress made to date in developing such a scheme, and seeks help from the audience on:
1)    BIOLOGY - The technical aspects of the scheme as designed to date;
2)    COMMUNICATIONS - Articulating categories for common understanding and high visibility;
3)    VISULIZATION - Graphically depicting the scheme and its components.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species assesses the risk of extinction faced by individual species. However, successful species conservation means that the species is thriving in ecologically significant numbers, interacting fully with the full suite of other native species and processes, as an integral part of a healthy ecosystem across significant parts of its historical range. The IUCN is therefore developing a “Green List” to form an additional dimension to the Red List, by assessing the positive impact of conservation actions on a species and progress towards achieving the desired conservation goal.
Conservation has been hugely successful for many species, but this garners very little attention. The session will begin with an uplifting reminder that we can, and do, make a difference. This will be followed by an initial presentation to introduce everyone to the concept, the positive conservation vision behind it, and progress in developing it to date.
We will then move into dynamic break-out groups, each one focusing on a particular aspect of the potential Green Listing Process; break-out groups will be designed based on the audience with some being technical in nature such as how to improve the proposed system, but some will be used to cross into the communications and art world so we can draw on the expertise at the summit to help design innovative solutions to communicating the system through visuals and language to the general public so that it inspires optimism, hope and action. [(e.g., how this applies to different taxa, how best to communicate the system and conservation outcomes to the general public.

________________________________________________________________________
List any special room needs (AV, whiteboards, etc) you have for your session here or completely delete this text.

Participants

Elizabeth Bennett

Vice President, Species Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society

Friday April 21, 2017 13:45 - 15:15 BST
Informatics Suite 1 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 4: Making the change

13:45 BST

If you build it, they will come: how positive messaging can inspire business to benefit nature

Limited Capacity seats available

Biodiversity Net Gain (NG) commitments by developers are opportunities to achieve real and long-lasting benefits for nature. We want to help you learn how businesses are seeking NG and, by exploring the biodiversity messages we all use, to be more able to develop messages that inspire developers and others to do the right thing.
Our workshop will begin with an interactive session on positive communications, then short presentations followed by a panel discussion. Our speakers are representatives from England's government nature conservation agency, London's leading wildlife charity, a multi-national contractor and one of the UK's foremost ecological consultancies.
We will share advice on how striking the right balance between positive messages and setting firm rules can result in NG that helps to achieve local and national conservation priorities. We will present examples where business - charity partnerships benefit both wildlife and local communities, and show how ecosystem service valuations can encourage decision makers to adopt NG.

AV - projector, laptop and screen required for this session.

Participants

Julia Baker

Biodiversity Technical Specialist, Balfour Beatty

Monica Barker

Environmental Scientist, Atkins

Ecosystem services assessment, natural capital valuation

Claire Wansbury

Associate Director of Ecology, Atkins Ltd

UK wildlife conservation in the context of infrastructure and other built development projects.

Nick White

Friday April 21, 2017 13:45 - 15:15 BST
Old Library Old Library, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 4: Making the change

13:45 BST

Introducing an innovative new approach to define, track, and report on conservation results

Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.

We, WildTeam, a UK charity, want to give conservationists the skills to design and deliver amazing conservation projects that help to save more wildlife.

We have developed a methodology for planning and monitoring conservation projects called Project Management for Wildlife Conservation (PMWC). This framework combines human behaviour change approaches with project management best practice from both private and public sectors. PMWC aims to increase impact of conservation organisations by building their capacity to design, implement, monitor, and report on their projects. We believe that PMWC has many benefits, including:

Increased likelihood of funding
Increased likelihood of improving biodiversity
Improved team morale
Increase learning between projects and between organisations

In our session, we would like to give you an opportunity to think about challenges you might face when managing a project and explore the positive and practical things you can do to improve your project management skills, regardless of your profession. To introduce you to PMWC to you, we have designed a game which we hope you will enjoy.

We look forward to meeting you.

Beth and Ali

________________________________________________________________________
Projector, Whiteboard

Participants

Beth Robinson

WildLearning Specialist, WildTeam

I am a WildLearning Specialist for WildTeam UK. A bit of an odd job title, I agree, but let me explain... WildTeam UK, a UK charity, works to give conservationists the skills to design and deliver amazing conservation projects that help to save more wildlife. One of our biggest... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 13:45 - 15:15 BST
Informatics Suite 5 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 4: Making the change

13:45 BST

Recognizing & encouraging conservation where we live & work

Limited Capacity seats available

The Global Footprint Network predicts that by 2020 we will be using the resources of 1.75 planets. To reduce our global footprint, we need to increase conservation far beyond protected areas. We need to encourage conservation in the areas where we live and work.

This session introduces the Verified Conservation Area (VCA) approach, a voluntary mechanism for recognizing area-based conservation. VCA offers communities, companies, and individuals the opportunity to be recognised for their conservation efforts through transparency, accountability, and verification.

The session will begin with an introduction to the VCA approach, followed by an overview of research on landowner motivations for conservation actions. It will conclude with two commentators and an open discussion.

Presenters

Francis Vorhies, Earthmind: Introduction to the VCA Approach

Jennifer Gooden, University of Oxford: Conservation Landowner Perspective

Commentators

Prue Addison, University of Oxford

Chris Naylor, A Rocha International

About the VCA approach

The VCA Approach aims to reduce our global footprint by encouraging voluntary conservation beyond legally protected areas. It is inclusive and enables communities, companies, individuals and local authorities to join a new social movement for conservation. All areas managed to conserve nature can be registered as VCAs.

Listing on the VCA Registry enables land-based conservation efforts to be visible and accountable to key stakeholders and to the broader public. Listing an area is guided by the VCA Standard and Toolkit, which are based on international best practice.

Over the next three years, the VCA partners will list 100 new VCAs covering six million hectares. Together, we will scale up a social movement for conservation by fostering a learning and sharing culture to conserve the areas where we live and work. More information is available at http://conserveareas.org/.

----------
Room needs: Projector for presentations, AV for short video

Participants

Jennifer Gooden

Francis Vorhies

Executive Director, Earthmind

I am a biodiversity economist interested in recognising conservation in the areas where we live and work and in the development of sustainable wildlife economies.

VCA Optimism Apr2017 pdf

VCA video mp4

Private Land Conservation Key Slides pdf

Friday April 21, 2017 13:45 - 15:15 BST
Informatics Suite 4 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 4: Making the change

15:15 BST

Meet the Plenary Speakers: Helen Crowley, Lisel Alamilla

Limited Capacity filling up

Participants

Helen Crowley

Dr. Helen Crowley is the Head of Sustainable Sourcing Innovation at Kering, and actively participates in international forums such as CITES, IUCN, CBD, TEEB and SAC.

Plenaries

Lisel Alamilla

Chair, Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission

Friday April 21, 2017 15:15 - 15:45 BST
Masters Library Barry Building, First Floor

Meet the Plenary Speakers

15:15 BST

Mid-Afternoon Break

Friday April 21, 2017 15:15 - 15:45 BST
North Cloister Barry Building, Ground Floor

Tea & Coffee

15:45 BST

Arts-science collaboration for conservation conflicts

Limited Capacity filling up

Through questioning the possibilities for arts-science collaborations, asking ourselves difficult questions and learning from the pitfalls as well as the successes, we hope to find tangible areas of common ground, opportunities for synergy and innovative methods for tackling conservation conflicts.
Limited seating.

Participants

Nils Bunnefeld

Associate Professor, University of Stirling

Conservation conflicts, social-ecological systems

Sera James Irvine

Artist

Friday April 21, 2017 15:45 - 17:15 BST
Informatics Suite 4 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 5: Moving forward

15:45 BST

Fisheries and biodiversity conservation: exploring 20 years of sustainability certification

Limited Capacity seats available

Sustainability standards are an important part of the growing array of market-based tools and incentives used for engaging the private sector in conservation. Sustainability certification gives market recognition to companies implementing responsible business practices, providing an economic incentive for reduction of the negative impacts of industry. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) defines global best practice for sustainable fishing practices, and fisheries can be certified against the MSC Standard.
This session will highlight the main impacts and challenges of fishery certification as a tool for conservation. Attendees will have the chance to learn from four MSC staff, each an expert in different aspects of fisheries certification, and to participate in smaller discussion groups focussing on specific topics of interest. We aim to engage the audience in an honest and constructive discussion of how certification has been implemented over the last 20 years – both the pitfalls and the success stories – and how it could contribute to conservation in the next 20.
Recognising and appreciating the wide set of interests and expertise likely to be in the room, as well as the diversity of fisheries now certified by the MSC, we have chosen 4 regions and associated challenges/opportunities to be discussed in groups of about 10 people. These are (i) Transboundary and high seas governance for tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean; (ii) Communication around controversial fisheries in New Zealand, and the role of certification in shaping public opinion; (iii) Protecting vulnerable Arctic seabed habitats; (iv) Accessibility of certification for small scale fisheries in Mexico.
No prior knowledge of any of these topics is necessary to participate in the discussion. Each group will be provided with a fact sheet summarising the key points relevant to the theme, which will provide a concrete basis for conversation, and each group will be mediated by an MSC staff member. We hope to benefit from the experience of the people in the room as much as to increase understanding of the work of the MSC.

________________________________________________________________________
Participants do not need to bring any special equipment (eg laptops) to this session.

Participants

Lucy Erickson

Science Communications Manager, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

Science, scholarships, sustainable seafood! Hi, I'm Lucy and I work as part of the Strategic Research team at the MSC. If you are looking for a fisheries-related research topic, internship, or project funding I may be able to help :) I'm also part of the communications team, so... Read More →

Jean-Charles Gordon

Taylor Gorham

Senior Research Analyst, Marine Stewardship Council

I work in monitoring and evaluation for the Marine Stewardship Council, meaning that I help to research the impacts of sustainability certification on global fisheries management. My particular interest is in benthic habitats and understanding how fisheries can manage their impacts... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 15:45 - 17:15 BST
Old Library Old Library, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 5: Moving forward

15:45 BST

Is rewilding more than just restoring nature?

Limited Capacity seats available

Is rewilding more than just restoring Nature?

This workshop will explore the different environments across the United Kingdom that can be transformed and regenerated through the employment of conservation actions that fall under the broad and somewhat controversial term of rewilding. With the guidance of three pioneers in the rewilding field, attendees of the workshop will consider rewilding in the context of urban, agricultural and remote environments. Identifying aspirations for what these environments can become in the future and the benefits that this can bring in environmental, social and economic terms.

Following an introduction from our three acclaimed guests, who each champion rewilding in their respective environments. This interactive workshop will enable attendees to work alongside our experts to identify new opportunities and actions that the rewilding movement can bring, while also discussing the challenges that need to be acknowledged and overcome.

What will our landscape look like in 2050?
Our rewilding pioneers:
Alan Watson Featherstone
Alan is the founder of the award winning charity Trees for Life; arguably the most successful rewilding charity within the UK. Over the last 28 years the team have worked towards restoring the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands. To date they have planted over a million trees and inspired thousands of volunteers. Alan himself is regarded as a true conservation champion and was awarded the ’Guardian Medal of Honour’ in 2015 and the RSPB’s ‘Outstanding Contribution Award’.
Sir Charles Burrell
Chair of the organisation Rewilding Britain, Charlie was inspired by Frans Vera rewilding work in the Netherlands. Following a visit to Oostvardesplassen he has worked to transform his underperforming 1,400-hectare agricultural estate into a ‘rewilded’ landscape. With analogue species representing the mammal fauna of the late Pleistocene. This has resulted in a profitable ecotourism industry and enhanced the ecology of the site, which is now witnessing natural re-colonisation of species including purple emperor butterflies and nightingales.
Daniel Raven Ellison
Founder of the Greater London National Park City Initiative which aims to celebrate the urban biodiversity that these areas can support. This initiative hopes to revolutionise the ways in which cities are perceived by decalring London as the World's first National Park City. Reconnecting communities with nature and encouraging green and sustainable development to safeguard London’s future. This has gained significant public and political support – with Mayor Sadiq Khan pledging that London will achieve this goal.

________________________________________________________________________
Projector and Laptop for presentations
A4 paper and pens
Flip chart paper and markers for the workshop

Participants

Elliot Newton

Creative Director, A Focus on Nature

I am young conservationist who has a passion about urban conservation, rewilding, pangolins and inspiring the next generation of conservationists. I am currently the Nature Consercation Manager for a small london based charity called the 'Environment Trust ', I am also Co-Founder... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 15:45 - 17:15 BST
Informatics Suite 2 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 5: Moving forward

15:45 BST

Nature Culture Future: the IUCN Green List and conservation success in a rapidly changing world

Limited Capacity filling up

The IUCN Green List aims to move beyond a 'crisis narrative' on the state of the world's protected and conserved areas. The Green List provides a Sustainability Standard for conservation success in the 21st Century. And that means results for nature, culture and our future! Anyone can access and use the Standard. Once there is commitment, the IUCN Green List can provide guidance and incentive for improved performance, increased investment, and greater conservation impact. The IUCN Green List team will share approaches, lessons and voices from partner conservation areas in countries across the world, including Colombia, China and Australia. Come and share your views and help us develop a Green List Sustainability Standard that will give us all cause for optimism.

Participants

James Hardcastle

Global Protected Areas Programme, IUCN

Friday April 21, 2017 15:45 - 17:15 BST
Informatics Suite 1 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 5: Moving forward

15:45 BST

Thinking Outside of Contemporary and Wildlife Conservation: Diverse Perspectives and Change

Limited Capacity seats available

The aim of our workshop is to illustrate the value of diversity in conservation discussions and efforts. Recognizing that despite differences in opinions and in the way we choose to do conservation, we are ultimately all working towards the same goal, to conserve wildlife.

Join us and join in on our interactive session where we present:

a short introduction to the new network that is Youth for Wildlife Conservation (Y4WC).
an interactive roleplay game where groups participants will assess their change in perception regarding the many players of wildlife conservation.

Case study: What is my character’s approach to conserving orangutans on Borneo?
In this interactive session, participants will be formed into groups and each group will be given a character that plays a role in wildlife conservation. The perspective of each character will be played out, leading to discussions and debates.

We will then end with some videos from Y4WC members of our network around the world, introducing their work and all the different ways they do conservation.

Youth for Wildlife Conservation is a new youth (aged 18-30) organization whose mission is to support early-career conservationists through peer-to-peer support and cooperation, professional skills development and youth empowerment in order to become future conservation leaders the world needs. We, the youth, recognize we are stronger together and by connecting and working with the experts of today as can we save the future for people and wildlife.
________________________________________________________________________
We will need a projector for the videos (+ cables), (We can provide) sheets of paper (poster size) + colored pens.

Participants

Josephine Crouch

Youth for Wildlife Conservation

Josephine is a wildlife conservationist and zoologist from the United Kingdom.She is interested in investigating the over-exploitation of endangered species. Josephine has experience in monitoring and mapping out trade routes of endangered species caught in the illegal wildlife trade... Read More →

Olya Esipova

Implementation Committee, Youth For Wildlife Conservation

My name is Olya Esipova and I'm from Uzbekistan, Central Asia. I've been involved in wildlife conservation protecting critically endangered Saiga Antelope since my childhood. I'm a part of newly established global network of early-career conservationists, Youth For Wildlife Conservation... Read More →

Mareen Esmeier

Implementation Committee, Youth for Wildlife Conservation (Y4WC)

Mareen is a Political Science graduate from Germany and has conducted research on national as well as international environmental policies. She has been working with various NGOs, e.g. Friends of the Earth Germany, IFAW and is currently employed at the Animal Welfare Federation of... Read More →

Mingyu Liu

PhD candidate, Peking University

A PhD candidate majored in conservation biology. Right now, my research concentrate on snow leopard conservation.

Razan Nimir

Youth for Wildlife Conservation

Cecile Tang

Founding Steering Committee Member, Youth for Wildlife Conservation

Cécile is a French/ Chinese/ Canadian environmentalist dedicated to advancing wildlife conservation and the Sustainable Development Goals using an interdisciplinary approach.She holds a BSc in Biology and a joint-MSc in Environmental Sciences, Management and Policy (Erasmus Mundus... Read More →

Friday April 21, 2017 15:45 - 17:15 BST
The George Farha Auditorium The Laboratory, Ground Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 5: Moving forward

15:45 BST

Youth Engagement in Conservation: Voices from the Middle East

Limited Capacity seats available

In Southwest Morocco, Dar Si Hmad promotes sustainable livelihoods through an innovative fog-harvesting system that supplies rural communities with potable water for household use as well as reforestation and community garden projects. The Environmental Youth Ambassadors programme trains urban youth in journalism and education to bridge the gap between city and countryside. ('Eya' means 'yes' in Moroccan Arabic, a sign of our optimism for environmentalism.) The Water School brings environmental education to marginalised communities. Lessons explore biology, biodiversity, and species adaptation, including a special session for World Wildlife Day (http://tinyurl.com/hv3uphc).

In the Gulf, the Kuwait Dive Team works to rehabilitate coral reef ecosystems by salvaging boats and nets, rescuing trapped marine creatures, and installing artificial reefs. Their Mobile Beach Clean-Up Unit engages 200 Kuwaiti schoolchildren weekly through experiential education on marine biodiversity, pollution prevention, and ocean conservation. The day includes an interactive lecture, beach clean-up, animal rescue simulation, and live creature release restoring fishstocks (youtube.com/watch?v=SvBWKNu12_Q).

Friday afternoon at Conservation Optimism, student representatives from both organisations will come together to lead discussions on youth engagement in environmental action. In our joint workshop, conservation divers and environmental journalists will share stories of their work and ideas from their programming. Participants will work in small groups with an activist to discuss best practices for involving youth in environmental activism and education. The session will be of special interest to educators and childworkers, those with an interest in the Middle East, and/or marine specialists.

On Saturday, the EYAs and Divers will co-host a booth in the ZSL Prince Albert Suite, where visitors can play with a model of a fog-harvesting net, challenge themselves to 'rescue' marine creatures 'stuck' in an abandoned fishing net, learn more about conservation in the Middle East, and take home materials to help them be environmental heroes. Children are especially welcome!

Session Chairs

Rebecca Farnum

PhD Researcher, King's College London

Rebecca Farnum is a 2012 EPA Marshall Scholar currently researching for a PhD in Geography at King's College London, where she explores discourses of environmental conflict and cooperation, particularly around food and water resources in the Middle East and North Africa under the... Read More →

Participants

Abdelhaq Ait Boulhous

IT Coordinator, Dar Si Hmad (NGO)

Hamad Boursi

Salma Edrif

Dar Si Hmad for Development, Education and Culture

Mahdi Lafram

Project Coordinator, Dar Si Hmad (DSH)

Friday April 21, 2017 15:45 - 17:15 BST
Informatics Suite 5 The Laboratory, First Floor

Interactive Session - Theme 5: Moving forward

17:15 BST

Panel session & Closing remarks

Panel members:
EJ Milner-Gulland as Chair,
Francis Tarla (MENTOR POP Cameroon)
Shivani Bhalla (Ewaso Lions)
Elisabeth Whitebread (Greenpeace/Ocean Optimism)
Liz Bennett (WCS)

Panel each to give a brief summary of what they came into the summit expecting, what struck them most about the Summit, and how they think we as a community should move forward (3 mins each = 15 mins) followed by an open floor for delegates to say what they think (15 mins) then a 1 min summing up by each panellist at the end (5 mins), leaving 10 mins at the end for thank yous.

Session Chairs

E.J. Milner-Gulland

Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, Oxford University

My website is at www.iccs.org.uk and my twitter account is @EJMilnerGulland

Participants

Elizabeth Bennett

Vice President, Species Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society

Shivani Bhalla

Executive Director, Ewaso Lions

Francis Tarla

MENTOR-POP Prog. Cooprdinator, ZSL Cameroon Office

I am a formator by profession and worked in capcity buildling for over 32 years. I have trained university students; NGO staff on how to work in and with local communities; with conservation staff on community conservation (how to engage local communities in conservation actions... Read More →

Elisabeth Whitebread

Campaigner, Greenpeace

Friday April 21, 2017 17:15 - 18:00 BST
Great Hall Barry Building, First Floor

Closing Session

11:00 BST

A talk on 'Saving Africa's Vultures'

African Vultures population is plummeting at a devastating rate! This was affirmed in 2015 when the global threat status of six species were up listed by IUCN Red List to Critically Endangered. Which is an extinction alert!

Vultures play a crucial ecological role of cleaning up after death, this means they halt spread of diseases and keep the ecosystem clean a service they dutifully perform but never receive any credits. By so doing, vultures are universally detested as they are associated with death, drought and dirt.

In the discussion, we first take a quiz and find out out our vulture personality match, we familiarise ourselves with the six magnifient vultures. Understand their complex web of threats, which include unintentional poisoning by herders and belief based use and whats being done about them in Kenya, Botswana and Nigeria. Eventualy we explore how strategic communication can influence positive behaviour change and attitude towards vultures.

Understand vultures, be a vulture ambassador! Keep Vultures Soaring.

Participants

Mercy Waithira

CLP Intern- Africa Vulture Program, BirdLife International

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Are you optimistic? Understanding how optimism affects conservation decision-making

The aim of the stall is for visitors to understand what optimism is from a psychological perspective, and how optimism can affect the way we interact with the world and the decisions we make. Visitors will have the opportunity to take a simple psychometric test for optimism, the LOT-R, and reflect on how their levels of optimism might affect conservation.

Participants

Sarah Papworth

Lecture in Conservation Biology, Royal Holloway University of London

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Banning Microbeads From Your Bathroom: The role individuals & businesses play in changing policy

Participants

Tanya Cox

Marine Plastics Projects Manager, Fauna & Flora International

Dilyana Mihaylova

Marine Plastics Project Officer, Fauna & Flora International

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Bicycle powered cinema

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Collaborative Conservation – Creating Connections to Enhance Conservation Capacity in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

A participatory space will be created to learn about North Sulawesi wildlife conservation successes and challenges based on our different programmes (Selamatkan Yaki, Tangkoko Conservation Education, Macaca NIgra Project, Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue and Education Centre). Participant engagement is intended to be maximised through creative hands-on presentation of materials.
The messages of the intended session are planned to unfold against a bright and vibrant backdrop, a jungle-theme around a tree which will form the centre-point of the setting, a place where examples and exhibition style materials appear.

Our team will be present to present the materials and describe in full the various features of the set, including providing sufficient background information to the accompanied text within the hanging imagery/exhibit panels.

This session will present:
-          Images and exhibit panels (4 portrait panels, size: 1m50 X 1m) of collaborative conservation activities emerging from foliage hanging from branches of a tree, as well as art work representing crested macaques
-          Accompanying information about each organisation’s activities, key successes and positive outcomes to be revealed by pulling at the images upon investigation.
-          A continuous display of videos (short documentary about the crested macaques) and clips about our different organisations
-          Background music and sounds of Sulawesi animals to aid in the sensory immersion
-          Several quizzes, games and booklets provided by the presenters throughout the day to make the session as interactive as possible with the public
-          Audio-visual presentation of the traditional “kabasaran” and “maengket” dances, to further set the scene of the local Minahasan socio-cultural conditions.

Participants

Mathilde Chanvin

Project manager, Tangkoko Conservation Education

Harry Hilser

Programme Manager, Selamatkan Yaki - The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Conservation Commerce at work - Uganda & Vietnam

"Conservation Commerce" items on display, project founders available for questions, answers, brainstorming & collaboration.

Participants

Rebecca Goldstone

Founder/President, New Nature Foundation

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Conservation News Clips

Participants

NGOTEYA Hans Cosmas

Co-Founder & Project Manager, Landscape and Conservation Mentors Organization (LCMO)

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Elephants, ethnicities, war and peace: exploring conservation through the “desert elephants” of Mali

The iconic and enigmatic desert-adapted elephants of Mali live alongside multiple ethnicities in a vast arid landscape in the centre of Mali just south of Timbuktu. The harsh nature of their environment means they make the longest annual migration of any elephant population to find the resources they need, ranging over an area of over 32,000km2 (larger than Belgium and one and a half times the size of Wales!). In 2007 it became clear that the elephants would only survive the challenges of increased human impact if elephant conservation was the result of the day-to-day decisions made by local people for their own benefit.

The Mali Elephant Project developed a model of community engagement, empowerment, and stabilisation based on natural resource management that improves local livelihoods and protects elephants. It includes all sectors of the community including providing employment for youth and empowering women in income generating activities based on regenerative natural resource management.

The resilience of the model has been demonstrated by having survived five years of lawlessness, rebellion and Islamic insurgency; while at the same time straddling international trafficking routes coupled with a resurgent ivory trade.

This session will use the story of the Mali Elephant Project as an entry-point to tease out the key ingredients for conservation success and failure, with a particular focus on the different perspectives of local, national and international actors.

Participants

Susan Canney

Director, Mali Elephant Project

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Explore Conservation in London

Alice White and Seema Manchanda present the 'Conservation Map of London'. This exctiting new work encourages visitors to think of conservation practices as being easily accessible, local, and available to them. Presented on a large scale, and illustrated by two emerging artists, the map shows the location of conservation projects throughout the city, from large to small, which actively encourage public involvement.
Visitors to the public event will be asked to find the area where they live on the map (if visitors aren't based in London, we will highlight projects on the map based on areas which they recognise, such as Regents Park , or the Thames). We will then point out the conservation projects nearby, and provide the relevant literature and contact information supplied by those initiatives. This will include details on how families, individuals and young people can get directly involved.
By showcasing this instantly accessible visual resource, along with all relevant literature, we aim to encourage people to connect with their local conservation community.

Participants

Seema Manchanda

Artist and Town Planner

I am a fine art student and qualified town planner. My art work is often about issues in urban life, urban landscapes and ecology. I primarily make prints and paint but I also frequently reference my own and others photography. This project is very exciting as it brings together my... Read More →

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Falconry and conservation

Participants

Janusz Sielicki

Vicepresident for Europe, Africa and Oceania, International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Fish for the future

This workshop will include both a presentation and smaller discussion groups, exposing attendees to a general introduction to the Marine Stewardship Council and the work that we do, and then giving them the opportunity to delve in to particular topics of interest with a group of ~10 people. Each discussion group will have an MSC staff member as mediator. We aim to engage the audience in an honest and constructive discussion of how certification has been implemented over the last 20 years – both the pitfalls and the success stories – and how it could contribute to conservation in the next 20.
Recognising and appreciating the wide set of interests and expertise likely to be in the room, as well as the diversity of fisheries now certified by the MSC, we have chosen 4 regions and associated challenges/opportunities to be discussed in groups of about 10 people. These are (i) the Indian Ocean (high seas, tuna fisheries, and transboundary governance), (ii) New Zealand (controversial fisheries, orange roughy, and maintaining balanced relationships with industry), (iii) the Arctic (protecting the last of the wild, NGO partnerships, vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs)), and (iv) Mexico (economic benefits, dolphin free labels, certification in less developed countries, equity in access to markets through certification). Each group will be provided with a fact sheet summarising the key points relevant to the theme, which will provide a concrete basis for discussion. We hope to benefit from the experience of the people in the room as much as to increase understanding of the work of the MSC.

Participants

Graham Bruford

Training & Assurance Manager, Marine Stewardship Council

I co-ordinate the online and face to face training for auditors of our sustainable fishery and supply chain standards. I'm also responsible for ensuring our certification requirements meet international norms for assurance best practice including FAO, ISO, ISEAL and GSSI.

Lucy Erickson

Science Communications Manager, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

Jean-Charles Gordon

Taylor Gorham

Senior Research Analyst, Marine Stewardship Council

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Instant Wild

Images of wild animals are sent to you directly from small automatic cameras placed in remote locations.

When you identify the wild animal by matching the photo with the relevant image in the Field Guide you save conservationist thousands of hours by helping to sort the images by species group. This enables scientist to analyze the data much faster and assess whether the threatened animals are increasing or decreasing. This knowledge is essential for effective conservation.

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

International Street Art Project in Indonesia for Sumatran Orangutans and Tropical Forests

Can orangutans do art?
Can art do orangutans?
Can art do anything for orangutans?
Thought provoking or gimmick?

Participants

Helen Buckland

Rachel Groves

Development Director, Sumatran Orangutan Society

Interested in innovative ways to fund international collaborative projects.

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Naturewatch: Talk on the Wild Side

NatureWatch wants to capture your stories of Conservation Optimism.

NatureWatch is a short online wildlife documentary series, produced by students from the University of Exeter and Falmouth University. Usually, we showcase Cornish wildlife, but in our interactive session we invite you to channel your inner Attenborough and share your thoughts, ideas and experiences relating to Conservation Optimism. We will film presenters, and share the film on our social media to add to the #ConservationOptimism movement. We will also be showing our recent work, including our latest episode, and there will be other activities relating to photography and film for you to try out. If you want to share your stories, or just want to find out more, drop by!

Participants

Peter Cooper

Ecologist/Researcher, Derek Gow Consultancy

Pete is an ecologist working on various species recovery projects for the Derek Gow Consultancy, including reintroductions for harvest mice, wildcats and grassland water voles.

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Ocean Optimism

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Optimism in Thames River

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Saving our seas with smartphones

Artisanal fisheries that support hundreds of millions of people worldwide are in danger of collapse. But by placing key data in the hands of coastal communities, smartphones can transform management, rebuild stocks, and encourage everyone to become part of the solution.

In this interactive and practical session, you'll get to play 21st century conservationists, and learn how smartphones are helping to save tropical seas. Accompanied by Blue Ventures scientists, you'll find, photograph and collect basic information about some of the zoo's animals. After you've collected your data, you'll watch as it is visualised in real-time on an interactive data dashboard. Finally, you'll also get the chance to ask Blue Ventures' scientists anything you like!

Participants

Steve Rocliffe

Research & Learning Manager, Blue Ventures

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

STAYING OPTIMISTIC: The challenges of being a local conservation organization in Bolivia

Participants

Carmen Julia Quiroga Pacheco

Project Developer, Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d'Orbigny

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

The Galapagos giant tortoise: Delivering outreach to inspire tomorrow’s conservation ambassadors

Participants

Jen Jones

Projects Manager, Galapagos Conservation Trust

Clare Simm

Communications and Marketing Officer, Galapagos Conservation Trust

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Virtual Coral Reefs

Experience beautiful and relaxing images of corals and their relatives projected inside a 360-degree science dome set up inside the Prince Albert Suite. The large indoor mobile planetarium can fit up to 40 people inside, where you can blissfully connect with the surrealistic audio/visual creation of artists' Coral Morphologic in a stunning 30-minute film. This video will be playing on loop all day so you can come in and decompress from your day and connect with what seems like an alien world. Coral biologists Dr. Vanessa Lovenburg and Colin Foord will be outside the dome to answer your burning coral questions. Look for the guy that looks like a coral head and the girl that's dressed like a coral reef.

Participants

Colin Foord

Vanessa Lovenburg

I have recently acquired my PhD, where I studied the ecology and phylogenetics of octocorals (soft corals and gorgonians) around Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras.

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

What drives orangutan conservation? Introducing Malaysian Primatological Society

My second presentation would comprise about the Introduction of Malaysian Primatological Society (MPS), Malaysian first established non-government organisation (NGO) that supports the conservation and research efforts of primates in Malaysia. During the first two years of our establishment, we managed to have few primates-based projects around Malaysia, namely Primate Watch Malaysia, Gibbons of Malaysia, Langur Project Penang and Macaca Nemestrina Project. Come over to my booth and let me know if you want to be part of the team!

Participants

Aini Hasanah Abd Mutalib

Secretary General, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Malaysian Primatological Society

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:00 BST

Youth Engagement in Conservation: Voices from the Middle East

Participants

Abdelhaq Ait Boulhous

IT Coordinator, Dar Si Hmad (NGO)

Hamad Boursi

Salma Edrif

Dar Si Hmad for Development, Education and Culture

Rebecca Farnum

PhD Researcher, King's College London

Mahdi Lafram

Project Coordinator, Dar Si Hmad (DSH)

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:00 - 16:00 BST
Prince Albert Suite

ZSL

11:10 BST

How to get conservation on to the political agenda

Limited Capacity seats available

Join us for a engaging and fascinating discussion on positive politics, with a focus on how to get conservation on to the political agenda.

Saturday April 22, 2017 11:10 - 12:00 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL

12:05 BST

The art of connecting to nature with purpose, a view from behavioural sciences & positive psychology

Limited Capacity seats available

Ever wondered how we know so much about protecting our environment and yet so few people change their behaviors as a result? How is it that reading, watching and learning about environmental damage and available solutions is not enough?
If the gap between knowledge and actual excecution in conservation generates some degree of frustration within you: this session is for you.

To change the discourse, and overcome the obstables that conservation faces, we need to take into account the large contribution of human behaviour in the equation. We need to understand what pulls the strings of human behaviour in order to become change makers and use this knowledge for the greater good.

In this session we will learn and experiment with:

Why information does not work to trigger change
Why threat does not do the job either
What nature has to offer to human well-being
How to use positive psychology when engaging, communicating and working in conservation.
How to develop a meaningful connection to nature and conservation
How to foster healthy and effective engagement

Participants

Laurie Parma

Behavioural scientist, University of Cambridge

Saturday April 22, 2017 12:05 - 12:35 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL

13:15 BST

Taking Action for Conservation - Why Young People Make us Hopeful

Limited Capacity seats available

Participants

Hendrikus van Hensbergen

Chief Executive, Action for Conservation

Saturday April 22, 2017 13:15 - 13:45 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL

13:50 BST

Is rewilding more than just restoring nature?

Limited Capacity seats available

We will be hosting an inspirational and interactive panel session, that will showcase some of the most positive and optimistic conservation projects found within Great Britain today. All our speakers are champions within the UK’s rewilding sector and we hope to share their successes to a wide audience to show how an innovative and visionary approach can transform landscapes and ecosystems.

We will pose the question: ‘Is rewilding more than just restoring nature?’ to a panel that reflects the many faces of the rewilding movement within the UK. The aim of the discussion will be to demonstrate that the term rewilding can be applied to multiple contexts and bring a whole host of benefits which can vary because of different approaches taken.

We have confirmed participation from three renowned speakers that are eminent conservation practitioners within the rewilding sector, who each reflect the ‘many faces of rewilding’ and the different landscapes that it operates within. Our speakers are each pioneering a conservation approach to benefit the landscape in which they are found; from remote sparsely populated environments to agricultural landscapes and our urban city sprawls.

Our speakers are:
Alan Watson – Featherstone:
Alan is the founder of the award-winning charity Trees for Life. Arguably the most successful rewilding charity within the UK. Over the last 28 years the team have worked towards restoring the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands. To date they have planted over a million trees and inspired thousands of volunteers. Alan himself is regarded as true conservation champion and has been awarded the ’Guardian Medal of Honour’ in 2015 and the RSPB’s ‘Outstanding Contribution Award’. Though over retirement age, Alan is showing no signs of slowing down.

Charles Burrell
Chair of the organisation Rewilding Britain, Charlie was inspired by Frans Vera’s rewilding work in Holland. Following a visit to Oostvardesplassen he has worked to transform his underperforming 1,400-hectare agricultural estate into a ‘rewilded’ landscape, introducing analogue species representing the mammal fauna of the late Pleistocene. This has resulted in a profitable ecotourism company and enhanced the ecology of the site, which is now witnessing natural re-colonisation of species, some of which include the purple emperor butterflies and nightingales.

Daniel Raven-Elison
Founder of the Greater London National Park City Initiative which aims to celebrate the urban biodiversity that these areas can support. London is 47% greenspace and has over 8 million trees. This initiative hopes to revolutionise the ways in which cities are perceived. Reconnecting communities with nature and encouraging green and sustainable development to safeguard London’s future. This has gained significant public and political support – with Mayor Sadiq Khan pledging that London will achieve this goal.

We hope that you will join us in what is set to be an exciting panel discussion at the Zoological Institute of London.
Best wishes,
Elliot and Lucas

Participants

Elliot Newton

Creative Director, A Focus on Nature

Lucas Ruzo

Director, Citizen Zoo

Saturday April 22, 2017 13:50 - 14:20 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL

14:25 BST

Talk show: does time spent in nature improve our mental health?

Limited Capacity seats available

Talk show: does time spent in nature improve our mental health?
What benefits can time in nature bring? Why does it have this effect? Can conservation and health professionals work better together to help people and nature thrive? Is it all about treatment or can we use nature to maintain positive mood, feelings and relationships?

Join us to discuss our relationship with nature and the impact that spending time outdoors has on us?

Stress, mental fatigue, depression and anxiety are increasingly common in our modern, busy lives. Thankfully, there is something we can do to help which is free and easy - time spent enjoying natural spaces can make us happier, healthier and more productive. Many of us instinctively know this, yet it is still difficult to get up off the couch and into the outdoors.
This 'TV talk show' sees WWF forest adviser and writer on mindfulness in nature blog "Rooted to the moment", Will Ashley-Cantello, hosting a panel of experts who already use nature as the tool to support the healthy mind, healthy body revolution.
Hear from and ask questions to our sofa guests about what this could mean for you.

Jo Roberts, the CEO of Wildnerness Foundation UK who use wilderness therapy to help young people and adults struggling to reach their potential
Hendrikus van Hensbergen, the young Director of Action for Conservation whose mission is 'to bring the magic of nature into UK schools, inspiring a youth movement committed to conservation and to the earth'
Mike Winstanley, the lead on an innovative ecotherapy project for young people called 'Myplace' that operates in Lancashire and is a qualified Integrative Counsellor and trained Outdoor Therapist

Participants

Will Ashley-Cantello

Chief Adviser - Forests, WWF-UK

Saturday April 22, 2017 14:25 - 14:55 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL

15:00 BST

Citizen Action for Tigers: How ordinary people are saving wild Malayan tigers

Saturday April 22, 2017 15:00 - 15:30 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL

15:35 BST

Rebuilding tropical fisheries village by village

Limited Capacity seats available

For many years, the Vezo – traditional fishers in southwest Madagascar – saw marine conservation as a threat, a way of preventing them from accessing their fishing grounds. For these communities, where seafood is the only source of protein in almost every meal, and even one meal a day is by no means assured, waiting years for the uncertain benefits of a protected area was too severe a sacrifice to be a workable solution.

A decade ago, Blue Ventures set about trying to overcome this issue, working with these communities to understand their concerns and develop a low-risk approach to marine protection that would work for them.

This upbeat, iconoclastic talk uses powerful imagery and animation to tell the story of how some of the poorest coastal communities have joined forces with an unlikely eight-legged ally to help their seas to recover.

Participants

Steve Rocliffe

Research & Learning Manager, Blue Ventures

Saturday April 22, 2017 15:35 - 16:05 BST
Huxley Lecture Theatre

ZSL