E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation Newsletter
March 2017 Edition
Keep in mind: Climate change we can reverse if we work hard enough
and get the right leadership. But extinction is really, really forever.
– E.O. Wilson
Biodiversity is essential for the resilience and the sustainability of human life as we know it. We depend upon all of nature in the same way that nature depends upon us. By protecting half the Earth, we not only care for nature, we care for all people, all of life, and our home.
As E.O. Wilson says, “Humanity is passing through a bottleneck of overpopulation and environmental destruction. At the other end, if we pass through safely and take most of Earth’s life forms with us, human existence could be a paradise compared to today.” Thank you for joining us for Biodiversity Days and thank you for the unique ways that each of you fold the goal of Half-Earth into what you do every day.
Warm regards,
President & CEO
Concert Tour Supporting the Half-Earth Project
– Paul Simon
Sincere, heartfelt thanks to Paul Simon, who will travel to 17 cities across the US in June, in support of E.O. Wilson’s grand vision for Half-Earth. Proceeds from the tour will help fuel the the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation’s Half-Earth Project.
Paul Simon brings real heart and soul to our cause, and we are very grateful for all that he does to motivate and inspire people to join together in support of the Half-Earth Project. Learn more about the Paul Simon’s concert tour here.
Uprooted and On the Move
– Tom Friedman
In Years of Living Dangerously, Tom Friedman made a compelling case for how climate change and biodiversity loss forces people to migrate and causes political problems. After showcasing this segment, Friedman and Wilson discussed how Half-Earth could help these refugees, and how to formulate a message that speaks to everyone. Friedman emphasized, “If you can’t talk to oil people about biodiversity, then you have a hobby, because this is a scale problem.”
Forging Global Cooperation to Save the Biosphere
We need a breakthrough… 25 years after the Convention on Biological Diversity, we have not even slowed the loss of biodiversity.
– Jeff Sachs
In the closing session, Jeff Sachs spoke about the urgent need to bring together powerful institutions to build an economy and move forward a plan – such as that offered by Half-Earth – to help protect biodiversity. “We are in an onslaught, so this is in the face of an emergency,” said Sachs.
Help bring Half-Earth to life.
Biodiversity Days Showcases
View highlights, videos and photographs from the event here.
Research
Mapping Core
…Biodiversity is complex as are its metrics. On top of this, quality biodiversity data is hard to find. Any quality initiative to map biodiversity in an accurate and compelling way needs to work with the experts who produce the data, act as its custodians year after year and really understand what it tells us – and what it doesn’t.
– Jon Hutton,
Luc Hoffmann Institute
Leadership
…For each park we create a locally adapted narrative that integrates parks, ecological restoration or rewilding, ecotourism, and communities. In order to turn such narrative into a reality, we need to establish local teams with a clear vision and strong on-site leadership.
– Ignacio Jimenez,
Tompkins Conservation
…We are going to have to band together however we can in our communities and conquer this.
– Louie Psihoyos, Oceanic Preservation Society