Keynote Speaker
National Geographic Explorer in Residence; Ecologist; Filmmaker; Author
Dr. Enric Sala is a former university professor who saw himself writing the obituary of ocean life, and quit academia to become a full-time conservationist as a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.
He founded and leads Pristine Seas, a project that combines exploration, research, and media to inspire country leaders to protect the last wild places in the ocean. To date, Pristine Seas has helped to create 22 of the largest marine reserves on the planet, covering an area of 5.8 million square km.
Dr. Sala is the author of The Nature of Nature, a best-selling book published in August 2020 that makes a clear case for why protecting nature is our best health insurance, and why it makes economic sense. Using fascinating examples from his research and those of other scientists, Sala shows the economic wisdom of making room for nature, even as the population becomes more urbanized. In a sober epilogue, he shows how saving nature can save us all, by reversing conditions that led to the coronavirus pandemic and preventing other global catastrophes. With a foreword from HRH The Prince of Wales and an introduction from E. O. Wilson, his powerful book will change the way you think about our world–and our future.
Dr. Sala has received numerous awards, including 2008 World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader, 2013 Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award, 2013 Environmental Media Association Hero Award, 2016 Russian Geographical Society Award, 2018 Heinz Award in Public Policy, and 2020 Jackson Wild Legacy Award. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Dr. Sala serves on the boards of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Global Fishing Watch, and the National Aquarium, and advises international organizations and governments.
The IMF estimates that the Covid-19 pandemic will cost the world $9 trillion over the next two years. Had we invested in preventing the pandemic, the world would be in a much better place. How could we have prevented it? By tackling the main cause of this and other pandemics, that is, protecting more of the natural world, and banning wildlife trade globally. Yet some still argue that we cannot afford to protect more of nature. Dr. Sala argues that protecting a third of the planet (the minimum science recommends) would cost less than what people spend today in videogames – and a third of what governments pay to subsidize industries that destroy nature. Moreover, healthy ecosystems provide many other benefits to society. In the US, for example, every $1 invested by the government in our National Parks produces $10 in economic output. Dr. Sala discusses opportunities for governments, the private sector, and citizens alike.
Everything is connected. As an ecologist and student of human impacts on the planet, Dr. Sala can comfortably talk about current crises or opportunities for businesses as well as governments to improve their operations and make them more sustainable
Using themes that are timely and immediately relevant, for example, wildfires in the West, Dr. Sala shows how our human-created perfect storm is wreaking havoc everywhere – and how to fix it.
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