The Future of Conservation

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, ‘The Future of Conservation’ held at UCL East this week. 

The event was co-organised by the Department of Geography and the People and Nature Lab (part of the Division of Biosciences). 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 UCL and beyond.  

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 Professor Gail Taylor (Dean of Life Sciences).  

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 – and the inadequacies of our current drive to pursue GDP growth – perfectly described the urgency for change within the environmental conservation sector and beyond. Panellists further elucidated the challenge ahead. Professor Humphrey Crick (Deputy Director of Nature Recovery, Natural England) highlighted land use change and climate change as immediate and long-term threats, and Professor Andrew Cunningham (Deputy Director of Science, ZSL) stressed the links between these planetary stressors and human health and wellbeing.  

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, “the ‘crisis’ framing doesn’t work. It doesn’t align with people’s everyday experiences.” Lauren Cook (PhD researcher, Natural History Museum), told of her positive experiences using creative expression to “get people to feel something” rather than aiming to convey information. Drew Purves (Research Scientist, Google Deepmind) 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. 

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.  

Professor Jan Axmacher, Professor of Biodiversity Conservation in the Department of Geography, says, “Having 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.”  

Professor Kate Jones, People and Nature Lab lead, agrees: “Solving planetary crises requires thinking outside the box, and we’re already thinking about ways that we can expose our students to the breadth of skills and expertise across UCL.” 

More information 

• Find out more about the People and Nature Lab 
• Visit Dr Eszter Kovaks’s Academic Staff Profile 
• See Professor Jan Axmacher’s Academic Staff Profile