We’re thrilled to announce the 2018 Natural Capital Symposium, which will take place at Stanford University from March 19-22, 2018. Our annual event has become a major convening of leaders from around the world, coming together to advance the science and practice of incorporating nature’s diverse values into decisions. There are two primary themes for this year’s Symposium: Livable Cities and Sustainable Development (see below for details). Interactive and panel sessions throughout the Symposium will feature these topics, with additional opportunities to explore other themes such as securing freshwater, fostering resilient coastal communities, creating standards for the private sector, and human health and wellbeing.
Jane Lubchenco, University Distinguished Professor, Oregon State University, and formerAdministrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will give a keynote address on Wednesday March 21. Returning keynote speaker, Mark Tercek, President and CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), will be joined this year by Hugh Possingham, TNC’s Chief Scientist. Stay tuned for an announcement of a few other keynote speakers we have in the works.
Last year’s Symposium drew over 300 people from 31 countries, representing universities, NGOs, businesses, governments, and other institutions. We heard from 100 presenters about advances in science, the development of tools, and how natural capital understanding is being used to inform decisions around the world. For the 2018 Natural Capital Symposium, we are pleased to announce a scholarship initiative to at least partially support the registration and travel costs for attendees from low-income countries or other circumstances where the costs of attending and/or traveling to the event present a barrier to their attendance. The application period for these scholarships is October 6th – December 8th, 2017. To apply, please complete this short application form.
It has been exciting for us to watch this event grow over the last several years, and we’re looking forward to spending time with an even bigger and broader community at the 2018 event. Please come join us, as we all work together to ensure that nature’s contributions to society make their way into smarter decisions for a more sustainable future.
About the Livable Cities Theme
The Livable Cities program of the Natural Capital Project supports researchers and practitioners in evaluating the costs and benefits of nature-based solutions in cities. We aim to provide knowledge and tools critical to the governance and planning of resilient, sustainable, and equitable cities, supporting both existing urban development and future growth. Our work is organized around three themes: development of tools and methods to quantify the supply and value of urban ecosystem services, analysis of equity issues associated with the management of nature-based solutions, and co-production of approaches that demonstrate how information on nature-based solutions can inform practice at local, regional, and global scales.
About the Sustainable Development Theme
Under the Natural Capital Project’s Sustainable Development Planning outcome, we aim to make integration of nature’s values into development decisions commonplace. We envision a world in which government plans and public- and private-sector investments secure and enhance ecosystem services, leading to more sustainable, resilient and equitable development. We collaborate with government planners, private-sector partners, civil society organizations and researchers to 1) mainstream natural capital into development planning, spatial planning, and infrastructure investment decisions; 2) design and implement policy and finance mechanisms to incentivize the conservation of ecosystem services; and 3) produce accessible science and tools for linking natural capital to human health, livelihoods, and other relevant endpoints for development decisions. We look forward to seeing you at the 2018 Symposium to exchange ideas and success stories, identify opportunities, and advance solutions to shared challenges around this theme.
Henry Borrebach is the NatCap Outreach & Training Lead.