Join us at Half-Earth Day 2021

Half-Earth Day® brings together people from around the world and across disciplines to share their unique perspectives and thought leadership on how we can work together to achieve the goal of Half-Earth and ensure the health of our planet for future generations. It’s an opportunity to connect with fellow conservationists working to protect biodiversity in education, science, and business sessions, and learn from the world’s preeminent thinkers, scientists, business and conservation leaders in high-level panels.

 

The theme for this year’s session is Leave No Species behind, and speakers include E.O. Wilson, Sir David Attenborough, Sir Tim Smit, Razan Al Mubarak, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, and Johan Rockström. After opening words on Courageous Optimism and Saving Biodiversity, break out panels will cover topics ranging from education and technology to business and community.

 

The Long Run will host a panel session called Dream to Reality, charting several conservationists’ journeys in securing a landscape or marinescape for conservation protection and regeneration, and understanding the role of science in turning dreams into reality. Find details of some of the inspiring speakers we’ll hear from below.

Krithi Karanth, Norina Vicente, Ricardo Guta, Liliana Gutiérrez Mariscal

Alongside Long Run members, Cottars 1920s Camp in Kenya, Batu Batu in Malaysia, and Samara Private Game Reserve in South Africa, we will hear from the following panellists:

 

Dr. Krithi Karanth, National Geographic Explorer

 

As a scientist, Dr. Krithi Karanth’s research in India and Asia spanning 23 years encompasses many issues in the human dimensions of wildlife conservation. She has conducted macro-level studies assessing patterns of species distributions and extinctions, impacts of wildlife tourism, consequences of voluntary resettlement, land use change, and understanding human-wildlife interactions. She has published 100+ scientific and popular articles in English and Kannada. Krithi served on the editorial boards of journals Conservation Biology, Conservation Letters, and Frontiers in Ecology and Environment. Krithi has mentored over 200 young scientists from India, US, Chile, UK, Australia, Indonesia etc. and engaged 750 citizen science volunteers in her research and conservation projects. As a conservationist, she has designed Wild Seve, Wild Shaale, Wild Surakshe and Adopt a PHC programs. Krithi is National Geographic Society’s 10,000th grantee and a 2012 Emerging Explorer. In 2021, she became the first Indian and Asian woman to be chosen for the Wild Innovator Award.

 

Norina Carlos de Jesus Francisco Vicente, Research Technician at Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory in Gorongosa National Park 

 

Norina works a full-time position as a research technician at the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory in Gorongosa National Park. There, she manages the biological collections, coordinate biodiversity data entry and digital imaging of specimens, identify species, and curate specimens. In addition, Norina also leads educational tours of the biological collections for the park’s visitors and represents Gorongosa National Park’s Scientific Department during speaking engagements at local high schools and other venues. She regularly participates in biodiversity surveys of Gorongosa National Park and the Chimanimani Mountains on the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Norina also spends time collaborating with visiting scientists from the United States and Europe who come to Gorongosa to conduct their research.

 

Ricardo Guta, Research Technician at Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory in Gorongosa National Park

 

Ricardo Guta is a taxonomist, conservationist, and with seven years of work-experience in E.O. Wilson Biodiversity laboratory, Gorongosa National Park as a research technician. He was born and raised in Mozambique. His interests lie in ecology, biogeography, systematics, photography, and conservation of insects, as well as applying his knowledge of entomology to practical areas such as agriculture and forensics. He received a technical vocational education studying agriculture and livestock, and later on enrol for a Biological Science Course degree at Universidade Lúrio in Mozambique. Currently, he is enrolled for masters in Conservation Biology at University of Cape Town,  South Africa funded by Half-Earth Project and E.O.Wilson Biodiversity. For his research component, Ricardo is studying “Phylogeography, ecology and acoustic behaviour of an insects called flightless spring katydid” which are endemic to two biodiversity hotspot, the Fynbos and Succulent Karoo in South Africa.

 

Liliana Gutiérrez Mariscal, National Geographic Explorer 

 

As a member of a research group from the Ecology Institute in the UNAM, Liliana participated in conservation and natural resource management programs in Distrito Federal, Michoacán, Guerrero and Oaxaca (1996-2000). From 2002-2007 she acted as Director of Environmental Policies in SEMARNAT, focusing her work in the coordination and design of what became the Sea Use Planning Federal Program for the Gulf of California (Ordenamiento Ecológico Marino del Golfo de California). Liliana joined the NOS team in July 2007 and in 2014 was promoted to be Executive director, she ended her cycle at NOS in June 2019 after the successful recovery of fisheries, the granting of a Commercial Concession and the local empowerment of women in El Manglito BCS that gave origin to the Guardianas del Estero El Conchalito Collective. Liliana is currently General Coordinator of the Mexican Initiative for Coasts and Seas. She is a graduated fellow of the Academy for Systems Change, National Geographic Explorer and Affiliate at Meridian Institute.

Samara Private Game Reserve is a 67,000-acre conservation passion project located in the Great Karoo, South Africa’s vast heartland. Founded in 1997 by Mark and Sarah Tompkins, Samara has pioneered land-use change in the region, painstakingly restoring 11 former livestock farms into a born-again wilderness.

Moderated by Delphine Mallert King, Managing Director of The Long Run, this dynamic session will bring together members of the Long Run, who seek to protect ecosystems in perpetuity while improving the well-being of people, and National Geographic Explorers to reflect on challenges, milestones, and the role of science in turning a conservation dream in a reality. The session will provide practical advice and insights from across the globe.

 

Find more details for the day, and register to join here

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