Back from the brink, but what next for Lear’s macaw?
In December 1978 the famous Brazilian ornithologist Helmut Sick made one of the ornithological discoveries of the 20th century. He located a breeding population of the fabulous Lear’s macaw – a species that had been known in collections for 150 years but whose whereabouts in the wild was a mystery. Lear’s macaw is one
Living landscapes as new natural assets
Good morning all, and thanks for the invitation to present today. Gary asked me to present some thoughts on new paradigms for conservation. My aim is to do just this. I will argue that we need to seize the opportunity of Brexit to reframe how we think and talk about rural lands. Brexit is a
David Novillo: conservation entrepreneur and innovator
David Novillo opened his presentation to my Masters students with the words “Do today what you want to happen tomorrow” Using an engaging mix of stories, facts and mine he went on to describe with humour, candour and humility his work to restore the marine ecosystems in the municipality of Adeje, Tenerife. But David is
Technology Empowered Conservation
This is the text of a presentation I made at the #Conservation2037 event at the Linnean Society of London in 26 Jan 2017. I hope you enjoy the ideas. In 1977 Kraftwerk embraced the affordances of emerging technologies to expand the range and repertoire of musical possibilities. Their innovative electronic music inspired new genres of
Investing in Rio State’s protected area assets: a short series of blogs
To coincide with the Rio Olympics we have posted a short series of blogs to reflect on and discuss the future of Rio State's fabulous state parks. Photo: Susanne F. Schmitt Nature, wildlife and parks are central to Rio's identity internationally and within Brazil: the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer watches over
Investing in Tamarin landscapes: an asset-based vision
By Paul Jepson, Richard J. Ladle and Susanne F. Schmitt. Photo; Richard J. Ladle When we were started out in conservation in the 1980s the Golden Lion Tamarin (hereafter GLT) was the poster child for species conservation. The species is restricted to the Atlantic rainforests of southeast Brazil (Rio de Janeiro State) and in