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Driving transformative change together at the 2018 Natural Capital Symposium

Feb 7 2018
By Gretchen Daily, Mary Ruckelshaus, and Anne Guerry
We’ve asked many leaders in our diverse community what keeps their energy and spirit going, through the ups and downs of forging a new path, opening new ways of thinking and doing. Three themes stand out in their answers — being centered in one’s values and orientation; being connected to creative, smart, resourceful, and supportive people; and understanding diverse perspectives on the varied dimensions of nature’s wonders.

In March, our community will come together in these key ways. The 2018 Natural Capital Symposium is drawing leaders young and old from all over the world, working to improve the well-being of people and nature.

We will hone our center and define further ways of supporting one another, in driving the transformative change that none of us could hope to realize on our own. We’ll share the most inspiring innovations in policy, finance, and management — and along critical science, technology, and cultural frontiers that advance our cause.

We’re at an inflection point and have a lot to do in the year ahead. Our movement has real momentum behind compelling demonstrations of success. We now aim to focus these further to achieve greater impact across sectors and regions.

The Symposium is designed to offer something for everyone. There will be inspiring stories about using nature’s contributions to people to reframe sustainable development planning from Africa to Asia and from the Caribbean to the Arctic. There will be stimulating exchanges on crucial science frontiers — in health, in climate change, in remote sensing, and in integrating different human value systems in decisions. There will be explorations of the benefits of nature in the world’s cities that most people today call home. There will be hands-on sessions where GIS wizzes and complete novices alike can learn to use NatCap’s global data and software tools. This will happen in a wide range of formats: talks, interviews, roundtables, poster sessions, lightning talks, working groups, and relaxed conversations over a glass of California wine.

This year we have a special honor of welcoming the Chinese Academy of Sciences as a core NatCap partner. We will meet many high-level delegates from China, who are coming to share their experience in opening a pathway to green growth, transforming livelihoods and restoring nature, and co-developing natural capital science and tools to guide policy change and investments and of massive scope and scale.

And we look forward to welcoming everyone — with a warm evening of celebration and renewal at the Bing Concert Hall on Tuesday evening, March 20th. Our program will highlight performers from Chinese provinces with vital natural capital, part of a new green financial system.

Check out the program and join us. You’ve got until March 3 to register. We need you!