New Approaches to Conservation

Pali Mountain Conference Center, Saturday September 10, 2016

View the archived video of Plenary I

This is a unique opportunity to hear two critical thinkers at the forefront of new approaches to conservation. Jon Christensen and Peter Kareiva will examine past successes and failures in conserving biodiversity and argue for a new 21st century approach to conservation that is a cooperative undertaking where we all can participate. We are thrilled to have them present their ideas and engage in dialog on next steps to protect earth's future.  

Jon Christensen

Jon Christensen is one of the most respected environmental journalists of our day. He is currently on the faculty at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the Department of History, and the Center for Digital Humanities. He is a regular columnist at LA Observed and editor of Boom: A Journal of California, a quarterly magazine published by the University of California Press that brings scholars, researchers, journalists, writers, artists, photographers, policymakers, advocates, and the public into common conversations about California in the world. And he is a partner and strategic adviser at Stamen Design, an interactive design studio specializing in mapping, data visualization, and strategic communications.

His upcoming book is entitled “Critical Habitat: A History of Thinking with Things in Nature.” He is also engaged in a multidisciplinary digital environmental humanities research project on nature in cities as senior fellow at UCLA's cityLAB.

Peter Kareiva

Peter Kareiva is an internationally renowned conservation scientist with over 150 scientific publications and author or editor of eight books. He is the Director of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. His current research concerns the connection between human activities and changes in ecosystem services. This includes the linkage between the sustainability initiatives of global corporations and their impacts on ecosystems, as well as their own corporate performance; the environmental impact and value of aquaculture for food production; and the value of nature for people in urban areas. Kareiva is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.