State of the World 2013 Event

Upcoming Events

Fall 2012 Film Series

The 8th Annual Fall 2012 Film Series

Hosted by Chris Palmer and Justine Schmidt

Free and Open to the Public

No Reservations Required

___________________________________________________________

Wechsler Theater, 3^rd Floor, Mary Graydon Center

American University

4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8017

Directions: http://www.american.edu/maps/

Metro: Tenleytown/AU, shuttle bus service bus service to AU

For more information, please contact:

Chris Palmer (202)885-3408 or palmer@american.edu

Or visit environmentalfilm.org or filmmakersforconservation.org

___________________________________________________________

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 7 PM

Alexandra Cousteau’s Expedition Blue Planet

A National Geographic “Emerging Explorer,” filmmaker, and globally recognized advocate on water issues, Alexandra Cousteau continues the work of her renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Phillipe Cousteau, Sr. Tonight, Alexandra talks about her stories and films from expeditions across North America and throughout the world.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30 at 7 PM

Stories from the Wilderness

SOC grad film students Sarah Gulick and Sylvia Johnson were on a mission last year: to go into National Park Service Wilderness areas and bring back stories from the wild. Working with the National Park Service's Wilderness Stewardship division and the Harpers Ferry Design Center through a special arrangement with SOC's Center for Environmental Filmmaking, Sylvia and Sarah braved the elements and brought back six stories from the wilderness. Join Sarah and Sylvia along with the National Park Service's Chief of Wilderness Stewardship, Garry Oye, and Producer Chuck Dunkerly for a screening of these short films and discussion about the role of film in protecting wild lands.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 at 7 PM

Classroom in the Wild: Film Screening Followed by Q&A

Come and hear first-hand about the extraordinary experiences of Classroom in the Wild in the Chesapeake Bay and Alaska. This past year, students ventured into the outdoors to produce original short films. In a presentation of photos, videos, and student accounts, you will learn more about these unique courses as well as future opportunities to practice environmental filmmaking with Classroom in the Wild in 2013.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 at 7 PM

National Geographic’s Television Film War Elephants

One of National Geographic’s top writer/producers, David Hamlin, shows clips from War Elephants and discusses the stories behind the film. In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, elephants are in crisis. Years of civil war and ivory poaching have left them frightened and hostile toward humans. The world’s foremost elephant researcher Dr. Joyce Poole works to build trust and retrain the animals away from their violent behavior.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 at 7 PM

Sneak preview of two documentaries produced by AU students for MPT and PBS

The documentaries - conceived, written, produced, shot, directed and edited - by students in Environmental & Wildlife Production (COMM 568), will air during MPT's Chesapeake Bay Week next April.  The films focus on net-zero housing and the health of the Potomac River. Professor Sandy Cannon-Brown and her students will introduce the films and answer questions.

Event: The 8th Annual Fall 2012 Film Series

AU’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking

and Filmmakers for Conservation

Present

The 8th Annual Fall 2012 Film Series

Hosted by Chris Palmer and Justine Schmidt

Free and Open to the Public

No Reservations Required

___________________________________________________________

Wechsler Theater, 3^rd Floor, Mary Graydon Center

American University

4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8017

Directions: http://www.american.edu/maps/

Metro: Tenleytown/AU, shuttle bus service bus service to AU

For more information, please contact:

Chris Palmer (202)885-3408 or palmer@american.edu

Or visit environmentalfilm.org or filmmakersforconservation.org

___________________________________________________________

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 at 7 PM
Death at SeaWorld
Do killer whales belong in captivity? Investigative journalist David Kirby’s gripping new book, Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity, will form the basis of this presentation. David Kirby, Dr. Naomi Rose (Senior Scientist  at Humane Society International), and Courtney Vail (Campaign Director for the Whales and Dolphin Conservation Society) will discuss the consequences of keeping large, intelligent, free-ranging orcas confined to tanks for the delight of tourists.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 at 7 PM
Lessons from the Deep: What the Oceans are Telling Us and Why it Matters
From a tiny sub 2,000 feet below the Bering Sea, to a living time machine teeming with sharks in the underwater wilds of Cuba, to the world's most remote inhabited island, Dr. David E. Guggenheim, the "Ocean Doctor" - recently featured on 60 MINUTES - takes us on a multimedia underwater journey, up close to breathtaking marine life we are just beginning to understand in a realm that has barely been explored, and shares the latest insights on the work to protect and restore our oceans.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 7 PM
Alexandra Cousteau’s Expedition Blue Planet
A National Geographic “Emerging Explorer,” filmmaker, and globally recognized advocate on water issues, Alexandra Cousteau continues the work of her renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Phillipe Cousteau, Sr. Tonight, Alexandra talks about her stories and films from expeditions across North America and throughout the world.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30 at 7 PM
Stories from the Wilderness
SOC grad film students Sarah Gulick and Sylvia Johnson were on a mission last year: to go into National Park Service Wilderness areas and bring back stories from the wild. Working with the National Park Service's Wilderness Stewardship division and the Harpers Ferry Design Center through a special arrangement with SOC's Center for Environmental Filmmaking, Sylvia and Sarah braved the elements and brought back six stories from the wilderness. Join Sarah and Sylvia along with the National Park Service's Chief of Wilderness Stewardship, Garry Oye, and Producer Chuck Dunkerly for a screening of these short films and discussion about the role of film in protecting wild lands.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 at 7 PM
Classroom in the Wild: Film Screening Followed by Q&A
Come and hear first-hand about the extraordinary experiences of Classroom in the Wild in the Chesapeake Bay and Alaska. This past year, students ventured into the outdoors to produce original short films. In a presentation of photos, videos, and student accounts, you will learn more about these unique courses as well as future opportunities to practice environmental filmmaking with Classroom in the Wild in 2013.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 at 7 PM
National Geographic’s Television Film War Elephants
One of National Geographic’s top writer/producers, David Hamlin, shows clips from War Elephants and discusses the stories behind the film. In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, elephants are in crisis. Years of civil war and ivory poaching have left them frightened and hostile toward humans. The world’s foremost elephant researcher Dr. Joyce Poole works to build trust and retrain the animals away from their violent behavior.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 at 7 PM
Sneak preview of two documentaries produced by AU students for MPT and PBS
The documentaries - conceived, written, produced, shot, directed and edited - by students in Environmental & Wildlife Production (COMM 568), will air during MPT's Chesapeake Bay Week next April.  The films focus on net-zero housing and the health of the Potomac River. Professor Sandy Cannon-Brown and her students will introduce the films and answer questions.

Cherry Blossoms and Climate Event

Join the Koshland Science Museum and Miraikan, Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, for a public program and visual discovery of the science of cherry blossoms.

Track the relationship between climate and natural phenomena, such as the timing of the cherry blossoms. Explore how to use remote-sensing data to track these patterns using data visualized on Miraikan's Geo-Scope. Then, discover how to participate in these hands-on observations in your community.

Sakura Nights
Thursday, April 12, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Koshland Science Museum
525 E Street, N.W.
More information: http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/events/upcomingevent.jsp?id=530.

This program is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s 2012 Centennial celebration.

Advance ticket purchase is recommended. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite or by calling the Koshland Science Museum at (202) 334-1201. Tickets are $10; $7 for students.

Inquiries should be directed to: Amy Shaw

Green Infrastructure: Using Natural Landscapes for Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Improvements

Resources For the Future First Wednesday Seminar

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
12:45 - 2:00 p.m.

A light lunch will be provided starting at 12:30 p.m.
First Floor Conference Center
1616 P St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20036

Registration for in-person attendance is required. To RSVP for this event, please visit RFF's event registration page.
This event will also be webcast live starting at 12:45 p.m. Join the webcast at rff.org/live.

About the Event

Nature provides a wealth of ecological services: forests store carbon and clean the air; rivers provide water for drinking and harbor animal species; and wetlands purify stormwater and serve as buffers against floods. Governments around the world are increasingly recognizing that this “green infrastructure” can be a cost-effective supplement or substitute for the “gray infrastructure”—pipes, dams, levees, treatment plants—traditionally used to control flooding, purify and store water, and reduce urban stormwater runoff.
At this First Wednesday Seminar, sponsored by RFF's Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth, panelists will explore what “green infrastructure” means and describe how to evaluate the costs and benefits of land-use options for reducing flood damages. They will also discuss the challenges of convincing stakeholders that natural systems can provide infrastructure services and complement public projects. RFF experts will describe a case study evaluating flood abatement options in a Wisconsin watershed, and provide some lessons learned from working to implement a payment for environmental services program in the Florida Everglades.

Moderator:

Lynn Scarlett, Co-Director, RFF Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth

Panelists:

Margaret Walls, Research Director and Thomas J. Klutznick Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
"The Role of Land Use Policies in Minimizing Flood Damage"

Len Shabman, Resident Scholar, Resources for the Future
“A Green Infrastructure Contribution to Everglades Restoration”

Tuesday Event at the Brookings Institute

Addressing the Legal Gaps in Climate Change Migration, Displacement and Resettlement: From Sinking Islands to Flooded Deltas

Large numbers of people are expected to leave their homes and communities in the coming years because of the effects of climate change. Some will leave as a result of the increasing severity and frequency of sudden-onset disasters. Others will move as long-term processes of environmental degradation intensify, including desertification and rising sea levels. Still others are likely to be relocated by their governments when the areas where they live are declared uninhabitable. While much remains unknown about the scale, timing and nature of such population movements, it seems clear that present normative frameworks will be inadequate to deal with large-scale future movements of people as a result of climate change. Are new international treaties or guiding principles needed for climate change-induced displacement, migration and resettlement?

Event Information

Tuesday, April 03, 2012
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC

On April 3, the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement will host a discussion on the gaps in present normative frameworks and the pros and cons of coming up with new instruments for climate change displacement, migration and resettlement. Panelists include Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Jane McAdam, Senior Fellow Elizabeth Ferris, co-director of the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement and Michele Klein Solomon, permanent observer of the International Organization for Migration to the United Nations. Vincent Cochetel, representative from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will moderate the discussion.

After the program, panelists will take audience questions.

Participants

Moderator

Vincent Cochetel

Representative to the United States and the Caribbean
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Panelists

Elizabeth Ferris

Co-Director, Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement

Jane McAdam

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement

Michele Klein Solomon

Permanent Observer to the United Nations
International Organization for Migration

Tomorrow: Neil Chambers @ AU

Mon, Feb 27: Emerging Scarcity in a Land of Plenty: Water and Water Policy in Canada

The Canada Institute and the Environmental Change and Security Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars present

Emerging Scarcity in a Land of Plenty: Water and Water Policy in Canada

with

Lars Hallstrom

Associate Professor of Political Studies, University of Alberta

Director, Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities

 

and discussant: 

Betsy Otto

Aqueduct Director, World Resources Institute

Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, American Rivers

Monday, February 27, 2012

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

5th floor conference room

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20004 USA

RSVP to Canada@wilsoncenter.org or (202) 691-4301

Canada is a state blessed with the world’s largest supplies of fresh water. While other natural resources (oil, grain, timber) figure largely in Canada’s economic and international profile, water is rapidly becoming recognized as a core of these other resource-based industries, and a resource that is increasingly challenged both in terms of supply and quality.

This is particularly true in the western province of Alberta, a province where the combination of climate, geography, hydrology, regulatory politics, economic development, and corresponding population growth make the concept of “peak water” more than just a rhetorical tool. Alberta is already a land with a history of significant drought and variation of supply with important challenges ahead. Dr. Hallstrom will discuss how the factors noted above are increasingly converging upon water as a critical challenge in the province, and the importance of water as a core element of sustainable development. 

Please allow extra time to enter the building. A photo ID is required for entry. Directions at www.WilsonCenter.org/directions.

WRI Event: Building Climate Smart Agriculture and Resiliency in the Sahel

March 1 2012, 10:00am - 12:00pm

World Resources Institute
10 G Street, NE
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20002

Contact:

• Robert Winterbottom, Director, Ecosystem Services Initiative
  rwinterbottom@wri.org+1 (202) 729-7897

Please RSVP - Discussion on experiences in the Sahel using Climate Smart Agriculture to increase productivity and resiliency including lessons learned from farmer innovations and observed landscape transformations in Niger, Burkina Faso & Mali
This event features leading global experts who will discuss lessons learned from farmer innovations and observed landscape transformations in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. The speakers will draw on their experiences in the Sahel to explore how to use Climate Smart Agriculture to increase productivity and resiliency.
In the wake of the latest crisis in the Horn of Africa, concerns are mounting about a potential food crisis in the West African Sahel. This event will focus on scaling up interventions to address the root causes of chronic food shortages while strengthening household economies.

SPEAKERS

• Chris Reij, Senior Fellow, WRI; Free University, Netherlands
• Mike McGahuey, Natural Resources Management Specialist, USAID
• Gray Tappan, Remote Sensing Specialist, US Geological Survey
• Emmy Simmons, Board Member, the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa

MODERATORS

• Jerry Glover, Science & Technology Policy Fellow, USAID
• Edward Cameron, Director, International Climate Initiative, WRI

Please RSVP (Registration required)

RSVP by 1/24: Offshore Oil & Gas in the Arctic: The Next Five Years

WHEN:	January 26, 2012, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
WHERE:	Environmental Law Institute 2000 L Street, NW, Suite 620 (Sixth Floor) Washington, DC Click here for directions.
RSVP:	The event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP. To do so, please email Marcia McMurrin at mcmurrin@eli.org by Tuesday, January 24, 2011. Please indicate whether you will be attending in-person or by teleconference; teleconference information will be emailed one day prior to the event.

U.S. demand for energy resources continues to increase, along with growing concern about the short- and long-term impacts of domestic oil and gas development and consumption. In few areas is this tension so clearly exemplified as in the U.S. Arctic. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently published a mean estimate that the Alaskan outer continental shelf contains 26.6 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 131.45 trillion cubic feet of such gas. Yet there are significant concerns about how drilling will impact surrounding marine environment and subsistence harvest by Alaska Native communities, including the ramifications of an oil spill in this extreme environment that lacks infrastructure to allow for immediate response and clean up.
These issues are central to the discussion of U.S. plans to enable further exploitation of offshore oil and gas. On Nov. 10, 2011, BOEM disseminated a draft five-year leasing program for oil and gas on the outer continental shelf. As required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the plan must balance potential oil and gas discovery with potential impacts to the environment and coastal zone. The draft 2012-2017 leasing program (open for public comment through Feb. 8, 2012) includes multiple sites in the U.S. Arctic that will be made available for leasing.
In this seminar, panelists will discuss the draft leasing program and aspects such as science needs and availability, expected activity impacts, and how the program may align with other ongoing ocean management processes, such as coastal and marine spatial planning
PANELISTS:

• Eleanor Huffines, Manager, U.S. Arctic Program, Pew Environment Group
• Jessica S. Lefevre, Counsel, Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission
• Shoshana Lew, Senior Advisor, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Department of the Interior
• Stacy Linden, Managing Counsel, American Petroleum Institute

MODERATOR:

• Peter J. Schaumberg, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.

MATERIALS:

• Speaker Biographies (PDF)

The 2011 Ocean Seminar Series is generously supported by the
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation.

Wilson Center Events - January 25

Is a Food Crisis Brewing in the Sahel?

January 25, 2012 // 9:00am — 12:30pm

  

While African nations and the donor community struggle to mitigate famine in the Horn of Africa, concern is growing that drought in the Sahel will trigger a food crisis of comparable proportion in West Africa by the spring of 2012. However, experts caution against misdiagnosing food insecurity in the Sahel, for fear that excessive band-aid treatments of emergency food assistance will squander energy and scarce resources that would be better utilized in treating pockets of severe food shortages and building resiliency in the region. With input from American and African experts on the Sahel, this event will explore the true nature of the emerging crisis in the Sahel and seek to identify effective responses, including regional trade and resilience-building through agricultural development.

To RSVP: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/rsvp?eid=21325&pid=25

Sustainable Solutions for the Planet’s Energy Challenge

January 25, 2012 // 3:00pm — 5:00pm

The environmental challenges of climate change, energy demands, and natural resource loss continue to mount. World population hit seven billion on Halloween and is projected to go to ten billion if not more. The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest in 130 years of recorded global temperatures and 2010 was the warmest year yet recorded. Extinction rates are 1000 times base rates. The Amazon had the greatest drought in recorded history in 2010. Droughts, floods, wildfires, and probably intense tropical storms are becoming more frequent. These challenges call for action at a planetary scale.
 The “Managing Our Planet” seminar series – developed jointly by George Mason University and the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and Brazil Institute -- addresses planetary scale problems and solutions.

Please RSVP to ecsp@wilsoncenter.org with your name and affiliation.

DC Update: Mayor Vincent C. Gray and U.N. Environment Programme Announce District Will Be North American Host City for World Environment Day 2012

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray and officials from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that the organization has named Washington, DC, as the North American host city for World Environment Day (WED) 2012. With the regional theme, “Unite for a Sustainable D.C.,” UNEP invites area residents and organizations take part in energy-efficiency and sustainability activities during the six weeks linking Earth Day on April 22 and WED on June 5.
Mayor Gray’s office and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) will work with partners that include UNEP’s Regional Office for North America, the D.C. Public Schools, local businesses, Earth’s Natural Force and other non-profit organizations to galvanize the D.C. community into action.

“By its 1987 U.N. definition, the word ‘sustainable’ means to ‘meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,” said Mayor Gray. “In other words, our resources are finite. We must do everything we can to protect the interests of our children, our children’s children and beyond. Through our Sustainable D.C. initiative, the District has been moving forward with purpose to ensure our city is the greenest in the world. We are honored and proud to be selected as the North American Host City for WED 2012, as it is the perfect platform to unite the city around its successes and future goals.”

This year, the overarching international WED theme is the “Green Economy.” The UNEP-led Green Economy Initiative aims to foster investment in green sectors and to fully value the Earth’s natural resources.
A key way that citizens and businesses can help create a green economy is through business efforts to promote energy efficiency. The WED 2012 celebration will highlight this link by focusing on energy efficiency, sustainability and the important role residents play in their local communities in these efforts.

“The District of Columbia was chosen as the North American host of WED 2012 not just because of the work that the city has already done for sustainability, but also because of the city’s plans for the future,” said Amy Fraenkel, Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for North America. “I am excited to see how WED will help link local and global actions — particularly in the lead-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development or Rio+20.”

Planned activities that highlight the regional theme, “Unite for a Sustainable D.C.,” will include the following:

• The District will be signing a Green Economy pledge with an array of international embassies at the end of January to show a united commitment to a green economy and sustainability.
• The International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment  will engage local students in a global art contest that addresses why environmental protection is important. Sponsored by UNEP, the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace, Bayer Corporation and Nikon, the competition has been held annually since 1991 and has received over 3 million entries from children in 150-plus countries.
• Elementary and high-school students in the District that participate in Energy Patrol programs  will receive energy education and assessment training that they can use to assess how their school uses energy. During WED, this program will expand to include additional D.C.-area schools and students.
• WED will offer the opportunity to forge linkages between the District of Columbia and Brazil, the global 2012 WED Host Country.
• Mayor Gray will present his 2012 Sustainability Awards http://ddoe.dc.gov/service/mayors-environmental-excellence-awards)  (to local individuals, schools, organizations and businesses just prior to WED, recognizing efforts to build a greener, more sustainable future for D.C.

UNEP and District leaders invite the entire DC community to participate in these activities, and to develop others in support of this United Nations day.

See full press release here.

MTR Event: Tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 29, 8pm

ramps at au

RFF: Managing the Risks of Shale Gas - Nov. 14

Managing the Risks of Shale Gas:
Identifying a Pathway toward
Responsible Development

Hosted by Resources for the Future (RFF)
November 14, 2011

For decades, natural gas has played an important role in electricity generation, industrial uses, and heating in the United States—and with recent improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") of shale formations, drillers can now access a vastly greater amount of gas at lower cost than in the past.
The rapid growth in drilling and extraction, however, has resulted in tensions—from the community level to the federal policy level. Questions about the risks and safety of shale gas development continue, even as industry has improved disclosure, shared best practices, and assured the public that hydraulic fracturing techniques are safe.
Given these challenges, this year RFF's Center for Energy Economics and Policy (CEEP) launched an initiative to identify the priority risks associated with shale gas development and recommend strategies for responsible development. The CEEP research team will survey expert opinion and public perceptions to deter­mine the most significant risks and the behaviors of industry and regulators that influence those risks. Pairing these findings with analysis of existing state and federal policies and voluntary industry actions will lead to recommendations for how to improve the management of shale gas development.
Please join us on Nov. 14th for the public launch of this project, featuring members of the CEEP team and our expert advisors who specialize in petroleum engineering, geochemistry, and hydrology. The group will provide a context for the interest in shale gas, an overview of the shale gas development process, a drill-down on several potential risks, and a presentation of the initial stages of our work.
RFF is grateful to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and event.

A full agenda is available here.

To RSVP for this event, please visit RFF's event registration page.

This seminar will also be webcast live beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Climate Change, Water, and Conflict in the Niger River Basin - Nov. 17 at the Wilson Center

Please join the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Africa Program and Environmental Change and Security Program for a report launch on

Climate Change, Water, and Conflict in the Niger River Basin

featuring

Lulsegged Abebe, West Africa Programme Manager, International Alert

Roger Few, Senior Research Fellow, School of International Development, University of East Anglia and Member of the Tyndell Centre for Climate Change Research

Marisa Goulden, Lecturer in Climate Change, Tyndell Centre for Climate Change Research and the School of International Development, University of East Anglia

Phil Vernon, Director of Programmes, Africa and Peacebuilding Issues, International Alert

 

Thursday, November 17, 2011

9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

5th Floor Conference Room

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004 USA

Webcast live at www.wilsoncenter.org

 Please RSVP to ecsp@wilsoncenter.org with your name and affiliation.

International Alert, the London-based conflict resolution NGO, has partnered with researchers at the University of East Anglia to examine links between environmental stress, climate change, human (in)security, conflict, and adaptation  along the Niger River. Please join us for a discussion of how the consequences of climate change and climate variability are interacting with societal, economic, political, and other contextual factors to increase human insecurity and the risk of conflict, and identify ways in which adaptation can reduce this risk.  This report launch is part of the Wilson Center’s Resources for Peace Project, a collaboration between the Environmental Change and Security Program and USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation.

Location: Woodrow Wilson Center at the Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW ("Federal Triangle" stop on Blue/Orange Line), 5th Floor Conference Room. A map to the Center is available at www.wilsoncenter.org/directions. Note: picture ID is required to pass through security.

Resources for the Future: Trade and Sustainability of Forest Products 11/2

Resources for the Future

Trade and Sustainability of Forest Products: Global Challenges and Opportunities

An RFF First Wednesday Seminar

November 2, 2011

12:45 - 2 p.m.

International buyers of forest products know the importance of identifying sustainable and legal sources—they also know this is challenging in today’s complex global markets. Although estimating the scale of illegal logging is difficult, a recent Chatham House report suggests that illegal activities may account for more than one tenth of the total global timber trade, representing products worth at least $15 billion per year. A significant portion of global deforestation is the result of such illegal activities—and according to the 2006 Stern Review, emissions resulting from deforestation are greater than those produced by the entire global transport sector, making illegal logging a serious concern.

Around the world, private and public procurement policies are focusing on ways to eliminate illegal fiber from supply chains. This includes a shift from voluntary to mandatory government regulations, such as the amended Lacey Act in the United States and the European Union Timber Regulation.

Moderator:

Roger Sedjo, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Forest Economics and Policy, Resources for the Future

Panelists:

Al Goetzl, International Trade Analyst, Natural Resources and Metals Division, U.S. International Trade Commission

Adam Grant, Senior Associate, World Resources Institute

Nadine Block, Senior Director of Government Outreach, Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.

What:       RFF First Wednesday Seminar

When:       Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 12:45 - 2 p.m.

                 A light lunch will be available at 12:30 p.m.

Where:      Resources for the Future,1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC

                 First Floor Conference Center

Registration is required.

To RSVP for this event, please visit RFF's event registration page.

This seminar will also be webcast live beginning at 12:45 p.m.

Have a question for the panel while watching the live webcast?

Simply Tweet your question of fewer than 140 characters and include the hashtag #AskRFF.

Watch the Q&A at the end of the event to see if it is selected.

At RFF's monthly First Wednesday Seminar series, scholars and experts exchange ideas and  views with the RFF community on important energy, environmental, and natural resource topics.