NatureServe will be holding events during the E.O. Wilson Foundation's upcoming "Biodiversity Days", March 1- 3 at the NatureServe Durham Office, the Carolina Theatre and the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. This year’s theme is “Half-Earth.” Biodiversity Days are focused on cultivating awareness and promoting understanding as a key foundation for engagement, action and inspired care of our planet. Half-Earth is E.O. Wilson’s call to save half the Earth for the rest of life. Join the Half-Earth Project program partners and Half-Earth Council at The Carolina Theater and the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University for two full days of public lectures, roundtable discussions, and film screenings about how the Half-Earth Project will bring this grand vision and important goal to life.
Highlights:
Open House to Celebrate Biodiversity
Wednesday, March 1, 5:00-7:30 - NatureServe Durham Office, 601A Foster St. (corner of Foster St. and Corporation St., just a few blocks north of the aloft hotel), Durham, NC, 27701 Kick off Biodiversity Days with an evening of good cheer among biodiversity champions! Come meet NatureServe’s new President & CEO, Dr. Gregory A. Miller, and join the conversation.
NatureServe's President and CEO Talks Ecosystems
Thursday, March 2, 11:00 am - Gregory A. Miller (NatureServe) ‘Initiating the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems in the Americas – Preliminary Findings for Temperate North America’ Key
- See the summary below
E.O. Wilson's Keynote
Thursday, March 2, 7:00 pm – E.O. Wilson, The James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Distinguished Lectureship in Biodiversity: “Half-Earth: How to Save the Natural World” with panel discussants Thomas Lovejoy (George Mason University), John Seager (Population Connection), and Louie Psihoyos (Oceanic Preservation Society) and joined by singer, Paul Simon, for a special appearance and announcement (The Carolina Theatre, Durham, NC)
Click here to learn more about the event
Summary of Dr. Gregory A. Miller's Talk:
Initiating the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems in the Americas
Preliminary Findings for temperate North America
Thursday, March 2, 11am
Everyone knows that coral reefs are in danger, and that the rainforests are disappearing – or do we? What do we actually know in scientific terms? How much of these ecosystems are left, what are they threatened by, and how likely are they to disappear? Accelerating landscape change and climate change threatens biological diversity worldwide. Conserving this diversity hinges on our ability to understand changes in the condition of the ecosystems and the species they support. One important step is documenting the at-risk status of ecosystems. This is where NatureServe, IUCN, and other partners are taking action. With the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and others, we have initiated the development of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems of the Americas. Like the IUCN Red List of Species, a system that ranks species based on their risk of extinction, the Red List of Ecosystems ranks which ecosystem types should be considered “Vulnerable” “Endangered” or “Critically Endangered”. Side-by-side with species ranking of conservation concern, the Red List of Ecosystems provides a more complete picture of the status of biodiversity. Here we discuss some the technical issues and challenges - and initial findings – of red listing terrestrial ecosystems in North America.
Bio: Dr. Gregory A. Miller, President & CEO, NatureServe
Dr. Gregory A. Miller has more than thirty years of experience in biodiversity conservation, sustainable recreation, and natural resources program and policy development. Prior to joining NatureServe, Dr. Miller served as President of American Hiking Society and led a distinguished executive career as Vice President at The Nature Conservancy. He has served on the boards of the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded global Biodiversity Support Program, Global Energy and Biodiversity Initiative, Outdoor Alliance, The International Ecotourism Society, Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, National Park Service Over-flight Advisory Group, and served as an environmental advisor for the Latin America and Caribbean Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development. A native of California, Dr. Miller is fluent in Spanish and English. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in botany and holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Connecticut, with research interests in the ecology of the tropical alpine (paramos) zones of South America. Dr. Miller was awarded a prestigious Science, Engineering, and Diplomacy Post-Doctoral Fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Greg lived and worked as a naturalist in the Galapagos Islands and the Andes for many years and has held a lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship, hiking, and the outdoors. He is a long-standing volunteer leader for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.