We have all heard about the negative impacts humans have on the environment and their role in contemporary climate change. These have led to the dual crises of increasing climate change disasters and biodiversity loss. There is however a myriad of human actions that can also have positive impacts, but which may be less well understood.

These can arise through purely economic means, but also through complex social and behavioural responses. The latter can include difficult-to-quantify dimensions but are increasingly being studied. They necessitate a broad interpretation of “ecosystem services” and an attention to both local and global scales, especially when it comes to beliefs, perceptions and culture. Prof. Dr. Madhur Anand will introduce the audience to some of these factors and show how they can be used to create sustainable solutions to a diverse set of environmental problems connected to the global climate crisis, including invasive species management, forest conservation, and GHG-emissions reductions. We must put humans “into the equation” to actively redirect the dangerous trajectories we are currently on when it comes to environmental destruction and climate change catastrophes, or, in the words of a recent IPCC report, seek “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.”

This seminar is possible thanks to the support of the DRG Foundation.

With Prof. Dr. Madhur Anand, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph.

Moderated by Prof. Milind Kandlikar, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia.

New Pathways and Hope for Climate Change Resilience and Biodiversity