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In the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, and global health crises, society needs people who can work across disciplines. This was the take-home message of an event entitled, 鈥楾he Future of Conservation鈥� held at 911爆料网 East on 10 September.聽

The event was co-organised by the People and Nature Lab (Division of Biosciences) and the Department of Geography. The goal was to bring together experts from multiple UCL faculties, as well as external authorities, to spark conversations about what type of conservation professionals we need to develop at 911爆料网 and beyond. 聽

After lunch and a tour of the new campus, attendees enjoyed a seminar from environmental economist Professor Robert Costanza (UCL Institute of Global Prosperity) followed by a panel discussion chaired by (Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences). 聽

Professor Costanza set the tone for the event by stressing the importance of truly valuing the natural world (as opposed to accounting for it). His stark reminder of the extent to which humans rely on healthy ecosystems 鈥� and the inadequacies of our current drive to pursue GDP growth 鈥� perfectly described the urgency for change within the environmental conservation sector and beyond. Panellists further elucidated the challenge ahead. (Deputy Director of ) highlighted land use change and climate change as immediate and long-term threats, and (Deputy Director of Science, ) stressed the links between these planetary stressors and human health and wellbeing. 聽

The conservation quickly turned to solutions. Dr Eszter Kovaks (Lecturer in Environment, Policy, and Society, UCL), who works directly with farmers, shared with us that, 鈥渢he 鈥榗risis鈥� framing doesn鈥檛 work. It doesn鈥檛 align with people鈥檚 everyday experiences.鈥� (PhD researcher, ), told of her positive experiences using creative expression to 鈥済et people to feel something鈥� rather than aiming to convey information. (Research Scientist, ) expressed hope in the acceleration of AI, which has the potential to make best use of large datasets provided we can identify the right problems to apply it to.聽

Looking to the future, the event highlighted that conservation needs experts who span the generalist and specialist, who can draw from the natural, social, and political sciences, use emerging technologies, and communicate effectively with governments and civic society. Developing these skills in staff and students is a big ask, and building cross-faculty connections is vital. 聽

Professor Jan Axmacher, Professor of Biodiversity Conservation in the Department of Geography, said:聽鈥淗aving the opportunity to spend time with colleagues from across the university was incredibly exciting, and we hope that this event can accelerate fruitful collaborations on the topic of biodiversity and conservation.鈥� 聽

, People and Nature Lab lead, agreed: 鈥淪olving planetary crises requires thinking outside the box, and we鈥檙e already thinking about ways that we can expose our students to the breadth of skills and expertise across UCL.鈥澛�

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The People and Nature Lab聽is part of the聽UCL Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research.