City of London Green City Briefings – The Critical Dynamics of City Biodiversity and Global Conservation

AIPH, in collaboration with the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, presents the City of London Green City Briefings – a series of 8 webinars that present compelling evidence and examples of the power of ‘living green’ in delivering multiple solutions to city challenges.

Cities are gaining recognition as identifiable ecosystems, and play an increasingly important role in global conservation. This briefing considers local action to enhance biodiversity, links with city-wide ecological corridors, and interactions with the wider landscape that direct city planning and growth.

MC: Dr Heather Barrett-Mold, Master of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners

Dr. Heather Barrett-Mold OBE has worked in Further and Higher Education for a number of years, and was Principal and Chief Executive of Pershore Group of Colleges; a land-based college. Heather is primarily an ecologist and was a member of the Government Advisory Panel on Sustainable Development Education also known as the Holland Committee for its lifetime of 5 years, and then as an advisor on the Secretary of State Sounding Board. Her research has mostly been concerned with the ecological history, management and conservation of chalk grassland meadows. She is a Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Heather is now working as a consultant for a variety of organisations; is a Vice President of the Institution of Environmental Science, a Past President of the Institute of Horticulture and until March 2017 was chairing the Science Council. Heather is the Master of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. Heather was an expert with the Commission for Sustainable London 2012 and a Secretary of State Board member for the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Dr Mike Maunder, Executive Director, Cambridge Conservation Initiative

Dr. Maunder is a leading expert in the fields of plant conservation and biodiversity. He is currently the Executive Director of Cambridge Conservation Initiative. Dr. Maunder is devoted to facilitating the development of the conservation field and has made great contributions to research and education, as well as has developed and fostered many multi-disciplinary and cross-border collaborations. Over the past 30 years, he has worked across the globe in numerous academic and conservation organizations. He has served as the Director of Conservation at National Tropical Botanical Garden, Executive Director at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Associate Dean for Research Engagement at Florida International University and Executive Director and Director of Life Sciences at Eden Project. He has also held several board memberships, including Chair of Strategic Advisory Board for Bridge Colombia, Vice-chair of Fauna and Flora International Council of Trustees and Senior Editor for Oryx. 

With co-author Russell Galt, Head of Urban Alliance, World Conservation Union-IUCN

Marina Ruta, Lead of the BiodiverCities by 2030 Initiative by the  World Economic Forum

Marina is Lead of the BiodiverCities by 2030 Initiative at the World Economic Forum.

Passionate about innovation and initiatives fostering environmental sustainability, with over 15 years of experience within academia, industry, and the non-profit sector and through her highly diversified and international career she managed projects for technology innovation, business and partnership development. She previously worked at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Dow Chemicals, Vestergaard-Frandsen SA, Novozymes, UN Environment Programme and as independent consultant for start-up projects.

Marina holds a PhD from the Doctoral School of Environmental Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and an MBA with specialization in International Organizations from the University of Geneva. She is PMI certified project manager and biomimicry practitioner.

13:00 – Welcome

13:05 – Mike Maunder (1) and Russell Galt (2)

1. Executive Director, Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge,
2. Head of Urban Alliance, IUCN-World Conservation Union

Building biodiverse cities where people and nature thrive. 

Cities, hubs that consume vast amounts of global resources, are transforming into hubs for ecological and social regeneration. As high energy concentrations of wealth, diversity, and creativity, cities can drive the global regeneration of nature and, importantly, enrich the lives of all their residents. This presentation looks at how novel ecologies can define and future proof cities. Urban ecological regeneration, delights the citizen, and is at the heart of the UN Decade for Ecological Restoration; while nature, as outlined in the Dasgupta Report, is essential for business sustainability.  We argue that we have the knowledge and the creativity but we need to act quickly and at scale.

13:25 – Marina Ruta, BiodiverCities 2030 World Economic Forum 

BiodiverCities by 2030 is an initiative spearheaded by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the Government of Colombia, the second most biodiverse country in the world. It supports city governments, businesses and citizens to reimagine urban development with nature and people at its core by challenging assumptions, producing strategic insights, and leveraging multistakeholder action. The initiative convenes and curate a Global Commission of experts and practitioners from the public and private sectors, academia and civil society to develop a global framework for BiodiverCities combining the latest research with practical solutions to promote sustainable, inclusive and nature-positive urban development.

13:45 – Q&A

14:00 – Session close

Session 7: Air Quality in Cities: the realistic and real benefits of plants – 9th November

Local improvements in air quality delivered by urban greening as climate change adaptation measures run alongside climate change mitigation strategies to reduce air pollution from emissions. This briefing focusses on providing clarity on what can be expected from living green within a multi-faceted approach to managing air pollution in cities. Find out more.

Session 8: London Report on Climate Action – 7th December

Find out more.