̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Mike Rands

Darwin College’s Earthshot Prize nomination Sanergy announced as a finalist

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 11:29:24 +0000

̽��ֱ��Earthshot Prize was launched in October 2020 by Prince William and designed and incubated by ̽��ֱ��Royal Foundation, an international centre for philanthropy led by ̽��ֱ��Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Working in partnership with organisations and individuals around the world, it strives to research, develop, and scale the most impactful solutions to society’s greatest challenges. ̽��ֱ��Earthshot Prize is designed to incentivise changes that will repair our planet over the next ten years.

In 2020 Darwin College was one of around 200 organisations across the world invited to submit nominations for the Prize. Sanergy, one of Darwin’s four nominations, has been selected as a finalist. It harnesses a natural method of converting human waste to create environmentally sustainable animal food, biofuel and fertilizer and therefore provides a novel and scalable solution to achieving a waste-free world.

Professor Stephen J Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “Congratulations to Earthshot Prize finalist Sanergy, nominated by Darwin College. Sanergy’s work in building sanitation designed for vulnerable urban communities and converting it into organic agricultural products is a shining example of the kind of contribution to society the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge champions in its own research and seeks to support with its innovations and partnerships around the world.”

David Auerbach, Co-founder of Sanergy, said: “ ̽��ֱ��rapid growth of cities around the world has created a sanitation and waste management crisis which affects the health of millions of people and the future of our planet. We’re honoured to appear as a Finalist for ̽��ֱ��Earthshot Prize to bring attention to this issue and showcase our solution: Sanergy’s circular economy model for safe sanitation and waste management. Being part of the inaugural Earthshot Prize will help Sanergy further scale to safely repurpose one million tonnes of waste per year by 2026 within Kenya and other developing countries, improving the life of millions.”

Dr Mike Rands, Master of Darwin College, said: “I warmly congratulate Sanergy on becoming one of 15 Finalists for the Earthshot Prize 2021. As part of our commitment to addressing global environmental challenges, Darwin College was delighted to nominate Sanergy for an Earthshot Prize. This Nairobi-based initiative has created an innovative and scalable solution to building a waste-free world that is commercially viable and environmentally sustainable. Sanergy is truly inspirational; it has the potential to transform urban waste management globally.”

Dr Emily Shuckburgh, Fellow of Darwin College and Director of Cambridge Zero said, “As we head towards two-thirds of the global population living in urban areas, many in informal settlements, finding sustainable development solutions is paramount. Sanergy is providing a cleaner living environment for some of the world’s poorest people with an innovative model to remove and use urban waste - without the need for expensive sewers - that has a transformative impact on health and wellbeing. They are a very worthy finalist in the Earthshot Prize and I am particularly pleased that Darwin College nominated them for such global recognition.”

Adapted from a story on the Darwin College website.

Darwin College, Cambridge, has announced that Sanergy, one of its nominated solutions for the Earthshot Prize 2021, has been selected as one of 15 finalists for this year’s prize.

As part of our commitment to addressing global environmental challenges, Darwin College was delighted to nominate Sanergy for an Earthshot Prize.

Mike Rands

Ninara

Kibera slum, Nairobi, Kenya

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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$10m endowment will secure the future of world leading environment conservation initiative at ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

ts657 — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 08:40:12 +0000

As life on earth comes under pressure as never before, with threats including habitat destruction, pollution, invasion by alien species and climate change, a complex, multifaceted response that transcends disciplines, organisations and borders is critical to the protection of the planet’s diversity. ̽��ֱ��future of humanity is also dependent on the living resources that we share this planet with, which provide many fundamental services such as oxygen, clean water and food.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) is a collaboration between 10 institutions, working together to address the most pressing issues facing our natural world. Cambridge is a natural home for this endeavour; in addition to the world-class research by ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge academics, the city is home to the largest cluster of conservation organisations in the world. These range from local, grassroots organisations through to long-established, international charities, as well as representatives of the United Nations, national government agencies, and intergovernmental secretariats. CCI bring these diverse networks together in new and innovative ways, generating novel ideas and approaches that no one institution could deliver alone.

Two years ago CCI moved into a specially-created conservation campus within the David Attenborough Building, in the centre of Cambridge, which provides a unique collaborative hub in which CCI can integrate research, policy development and capacity building. Sir David Attenborough, after whom the building housing the CCI Conservation Campus is named, said: “I am delighted to see the work that the Cambridge Conservation Initiative is doing – it is clear to me that the most effective solutions to protecting nature are achieved by collaboration, which is exemplified by CCI’s vision and ethos. By making this gift, Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin are investing to protect our planet’s life support system and providing an incredible legacy for the natural world.”

CCI’s Executive Director, Dr Mike Rands, confirmed that the endowment would provide the financial security to enable CCI to focus on scaling up its collaborations and engaging others, especially in business, governments and civil society, in the conservation of nature. “Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, through Arcadia, have been incredible partners to CCI. Their investment in the core of this Initiative is both brave and brilliant; brave because it is supporting a completely new approach to the conservation of biodiversity and brilliant because it adds value to worldwide conservation efforts by uniting the critical mass of skills and expertise that exists amongst CCI partners to work collaboratively and beyond organisational boundaries.”

By endowing the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Arcadia are ensuring CCI’s future financial stability. In announcing the Arcadia grant, Lisbet Rausing referred to the unique nature of CCI and its potential, saying “CCI brings together leading academics and conservation practitioners to focus on the greatest problems facing our planet. We hope our grant will help these experts find new ways to protect nature and biodiversity.”

̽��ֱ��Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, said: “Arcadia’s investment in this unique Initiative will ensure that Cambridge sustains a long term leadership role in conservation research, teaching and practice that will have a global impact. CCI is a great example of the benefits that can be achieved by bringing together practitioners and academia”.

Thanks to a $10 million endowment from Arcadia, the charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, a world-leading initiative in Cambridge is now developing unique new approaches to some of the biggest challenges facing the planet today

Arcadia’s investment in this unique Initiative will ensure that Cambridge sustains a long term leadership role in conservation research, teaching and practice that will have a global impact.

Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

Executive Director, of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative Dr Mike Rands, Sir David Attenborough and Dame Alison Richard in conversation

More information

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI; www.cambridgeconservation.org) is a unique collaboration between nine conservation organisations and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge seeking to transform biodiversity conservation.
̽��ֱ��CCI partners are: BirdLife International, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Cambridge Conservation Forum (CCF), IUCN, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), RSPB, TRAFFIC, Tropical Biology Association (TBA), UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
In 2015, over 500 conservation professionals moved into a new shared working space, a ‘conservation campus’ within the David Attenborough Building. ̽��ֱ��David Attenborough Building in central Cambridge provides a highly visible and accessible hub for the Cambridge Conservation Initiative to raise the profile of nature conservation. Named in recognition of Sir David's pioneering work in bringing the wonders of the natural world to a global audience, the building provides an environment designed to encourage transformational approaches to understanding and conserving these wonders and the natural capital they represent.
̽��ֱ��Dear World…Yours, Cambridge fundraising campaign for the ̽��ֱ�� and Colleges was launched in autumn 2015 to raise £2bn to attract the brightest minds, create the most inspiring environment for world-class research and give the freedom to develop more world-changing ideas. To date more than £945m has been raised towards the total, including the $10 million grant from Arcadia. ̽��ֱ��campaign focuses on the ̽��ֱ��’s impact on the world, and through it Cambridge is working with philanthropists to address major global challenges. ̽��ֱ��gift to CCI represents an investment in a pioneering model of collaboration and engagement, which allows the ̽��ֱ�� to work directly with partners involved in conservation policy and practice, for the future of life on Earth.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Madagascan President discusses conservation challenges with Cambridge experts

cjb250 — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 16:26:45 +0000

Madagascar is one of the world’s great biodiversity hotspots, having been isolated from major continents for millions of years. ̽��ֱ��country has a great diversity of habitats, and its flora and fauna have evolved into unique species, including some of the world’s most iconic species, such as lemurs and baobabs. Madagascar’s marine environment – in particular its mangroves and coral reefs – also has global significance.

As with biodiversity in much of the world, Madagascar’s habitats, animals and plants are under threat from a number of different factors, particularly deforestation and the illegal wildlife trade. However, President Rajaonarimampianina has a strong track record on tackling issues of conservation, including having committed to trebling marine protected areas.

A key part of the President’s visit was to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI), where he took part in a roundtable discussion with experts on Madagascar from the CCI and external conservation bodies. He opened the roundtable with a speech in which he outlined his vision for biodiversity conservation and how it fits into and supports the wider sustainable development of the country, highlighting challenges where he feels the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and the wider UK-based conservation community might be of greatest value in supporting the government and people of Madagascar in addressing these challenges.

Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, said: “Madagascar is an extremely important country from a biodiversity perspective and President Rajaonarimampianina has a strong track record on tackling the conservation challenges faced by his country. We look forward to learning from his knowledge and experience and sharing our own expertise to find ways to help address these challenges.”

A number of CCI partners have strong links to Madagascar, with many having been involved in building the capacity of conservation researchers and NGOs within the country for a number of years. Representatives from Fauna & Flora International, IUCN, BirdLife International and the Tropical Biology Association, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Blue Ventures were also involved in the roundtable discussion.

Each year, Cambridge hosts the Student Conference on Conservation Science, which attracts 200 young researchers from around 60 countries, and provides bursaries and internships for around 30 scientists from low- and middle-income countries. ̽��ֱ��number of delegates from Madagascar has grown rapidly: the first delegates began attending in 2001, but in March 2016 one in ten of all talks will be by a Madagascan delegate.

̽��ֱ��President of the Republic of Madagascar, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, today visited the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge to discuss ways in which the university can help the country address important conservation challenges. During his visit he also met with African scholars and students involved in the Cambridge-Africa Programme.

Madagascar is an extremely important country from a biodiversity perspective and President Rajaonarimampianina has a strong track record on tackling the conservation challenges faced by his country

Mike Rands

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

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New centre for biodiversity conservation named after Sir David Attenborough

th288 — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 13:58:15 +0000

̽��ֱ��David Attenborough Building will become a focal point for research and practice to transform our understanding and the conservation of biodiversity.

Currently undergoing refurbishment, the David Attenborough Building is located in the heart of the city, on the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s New Museums Site.

Once completed, it will provide a vibrant hub for the partners in the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI), a unique collaboration between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and the Cambridge-based cluster of leading conservation organisations, and the Museum of Zoology.

̽��ֱ��CCI space has been designed to provide collaborative facilities to foster innovation, generate solutions to conservation challenges and create an ideas-rich environment to inspire future generations. It will house over 500 academics, practitioners and students from the ̽��ֱ�� and its CCI partner organisations.

“Sir David Attenborough’s work, introducing and enthusing millions of people to the beauty, fragility and our scientific understanding of the natural world, makes the naming of this building in his honour particularly significant,” said Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.

“ ̽��ֱ��David Attenborough Building will act as a collaborative hub for the conservation community within Cambridge and beyond. Creating a collaborative and dynamic space in which experts from academia, practice and policy can interact and work together on a daily basis will help shape the future of life on Earth and the relationship between people and the natural environment on which we depend for our own wellbeing and survival.”

̽��ֱ��collaborative space of the Conservation Campus is complemented by the presence of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Museum of Zoology in the lower floors of the building.

As part of this project, the Museum of Zoology is undergoing major refurbishment to create new displays to inspire and engage audiences with the wonders of animal diversity, and new stores to preserve its outstanding collections for the future.

̽��ֱ��Museum’s collections include many significant specimens that have been instrumental in furthering scientific knowledge, such as Darwin’s finches, as well as a number of examples of extinct organisms such as the iconic dodo.

As Professor Paul Brakefield, Director of the Museum of Zoology, comments " ̽��ֱ��refurbishment of the Museum of Zoology will allow many new audiences to discover these wonders for themselves, as well as maintaining the Museum’s key role in ̽��ֱ�� teaching.”

Refurbishment work on the David Attenborough Building is due to be completed by the end of 2015

̽��ֱ��Museum of Zoology is scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2016.

A series of events are being planned to mark the opening of the building, which will give members of the public the chance to view the building and to learn more about the innovative work that will be taking place under its roof.

If you’d like to learn more about the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and explore how you can get involved, please contact Donnell Ocker Roy at donnell.roy@admin.cam.ac.uk

Picture Credit: Nicholas Hare Architects

An iconic building in the centre of Cambridge is, today, being named the David Attenborough Building, in honour of Sir David’s pioneering work in bringing the wonders of our natural world to our screens.

̽��ֱ��David Attenborough Building will act as a collaborative hub for the conservation community within Cambridge and beyond.

Dr Mike Rands

Nicholas Hare Architects

More Information

Cambridge Conservation Initiative

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) exists to deliver transformational approaches to understanding and conserving biodiversity and the wealth of natural capital it represents. It aims to do so through strategic collaborations between its partners and others. By joining together in strategic collaborations CCI’s partners are able to tackle new and existing issues with innovative approaches, and across disciplines, in ways that cannot be achieved by any one partner alone. ̽��ֱ��CCI partners are: BirdLife International, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Cambridge Conservation Forum, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), TRAFFIC, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Tropical Biology Association, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��Museum of Zoology

̽��ֱ��Museum of Zoology has long been recognised internationally for its extraordinarily rich and important holdings, coupled with its excellence in research and teaching. ̽��ֱ��Museum is currently undergoing major renovation in order to fully realise the potential of the priceless collections, enable it to host higher visitor numbers, and provide an exciting modern environment for lifelong learning, teaching, research and preservation of the collections. It will reopen in late 2016 to coincide with its 150th anniversary.

With extensive material covering the diversity of animal life collected from 1814 onwards, in 1998 the Museum’s collections were designated of outstanding historical and international significance by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Currently comprising four million specimens including 30,000 bird skins, 10,000 sets of eggs and over 3,500 fossil vertebrates, the Museum holds numerous ‘type’ specimens – which act as the universal references for classifying and naming species – of the highest scientific importance.

David Attenborough

Sir David has many connections to Cambridge. He read Natural Sciences as an undergraduate student (Clare 1945), is a very good friend of the Museum and Department of Zoology, serves as a Vice-President or Patron for several CCI partners (including RSPB, Fauna & Flora International and BirdLife International). In April 2013 he launched the plans for the CCI Conservation Campus in the Senate House with the former Chancellor HRH ̽��ֱ��Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes

Conservation clusters: making the case

lw355 — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:32 +0000

Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Shanghai. At one time or another, each of these locations, among others, has become home to a successful ‘business cluster’ of industries. Although the term was coined as recently as 1990, clustering of businesses in the same geographical locality has taken place for centuries, driving productivity, innovation and expertise.

A comparatively new phenomenon is the co-location of institutions whose goal is to protect and manage biodiversity worldwide. Whereas business clusters are built on inter-firm competition resulting in enhanced economic growth, conservation clusters are built on inter-organisation collaboration resulting in innovative solutions to a global threat.

Now, a study by Vena Kapoor, a student on the MPhil in Conservation Leadership Programme in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge's Department of Geography, has explored how conservation clusters function optimally, highlighting best practices and lessons learnt for current and future conservation clusters.

“Probably the most important aspect for success is for a cluster to be based on a social network that initiates and facilitates a trusted collaboration,” she said. “Those clusters that began with an injection of funds but no underlying social network have been less successful.”

Kapoor identified 17 conservation clusters currently in existence globally. Clustering, as she explained, brings advantages: “Like their business counterparts, conservation clusters benefit from the physical proximity of similar organisations in terms of the potential for knowledge spill-over and a growing pool of skilled employees.”

Cambridge is home to the largest conservation cluster in the world. Comprising eight conservation organisations, a conservation network and departments of the ̽��ֱ��, the cluster has been co-ordinated as the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) since 2007, and is also a Strategic Initiative of the ̽��ֱ��.

“In Cambridge’s case, the network took the form of the Cambridge Conservation Forum (CCF),” explained Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director of CCI. “Out of CCF bubbled a series of programmes that people wanted to do together. Then came the process of co-ordinating these collaborative programmes and raising the funds to deliver them.”

A representative and democratic governance mechanism and a neutral facilitator to guide the collaboration were also identified as key features of successful clusters. ̽��ֱ��study concludes that ideally these features should take the form of a ‘cluster initiative’ that improves the collaborative potential of the cluster and raises independent funds for it. Although rare in conservation, cluster initiatives have become a popular feature in business, often with government support.

“Collaboration between organisations linked by a common cause has the potential to unleash synergies and spur innovation that can positively impact the world,” added Rands. “But even the best initiatives can be derailed. At this early stage in the creation of conservation clusters, it’s important to be aware of the challenges as well as the rewards.”

For a cluster to be successful, the advantages of being part of the collaboration must continue to outweigh the disadvantages, as Kapoor explained: “In the beginning, members get something from each other – they all learn about each other’s practices, research agendas and tools. But tension can develop when a member perceives a growing competitive overlap with another member, a feeling of dominance by a single or few members, or a lessening of their branding or niche position.”

“This is where a neutral facilitator can continually bring value,” said Dr Stelios Zyglidopoulos, from the Cambridge Judge Business School, who co-supervised the study with Dr Rands. “ ̽��ֱ��purpose is to bring oil and water together – to forge links between different organisations. It’s through bringing together different kinds of people and organisations that innovation happens.”

Dr Rands agrees: “If there is a lesson that I’ve learned it’s to keep fostering the mixing of researchers and practitioners across disciplines. Only then can we demonstrate that together the members are able to do things that they could never have done on their own, and yet still progress their own individual organisation’s mandate and interests. This study makes a strong case for the global conservation community to harness the concept of clusters to deliver stronger and better conservation solutions for the world’s biodiversity and the natural capital it provides.”

This research was funded through the MPhil in Conservation Leadership Programme by the MAVA Fondation pour la Nature and a scholarship from the Ravi Sankaran Inlaks Fellowship Programme.

A new study reveals how the gathering together of conservation organisations in one location – a ‘conservation cluster’ – can work best to reap global rewards.

Collaboration between organisations linked by a common cause has the potential to unleash synergies and spur innovation that can positively impact the world.

Dr Mike Rands

Strelitzia on flickr

Clusters

CCI: collaboration and funding

CCI is a collaboration between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and nine internationally renowned conservation organisations in the Cambridge area committed to the study and protection of global biodiversity. ̽��ֱ��founder members of CCI are:

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge: six Departments – Zoology, Geography, Plant Sciences, Land Economy, Judge Business School and the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership – founded the Cambridge Conservation Initiative along with the partner organisations listed below. Each of these departments has a growing programme of research and teaching in conservation, and work closely together on interdisciplinary programmes as part of CCI.

United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre: a branch of the United Nations that undertakes synthesis, analysis and dissemination of global biodiversity knowledge for conventions, countries, organisations and companies.

Fauna and Flora International: acts to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, delivering global and regional programmes of conservation and community projects.

BirdLife International: is a strategic global partnership of conservation organisations in over 100 countries, working to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, and to promote sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Traffic International: is a global wildlife trade monitoring network that works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

International Union for Conservation of Nature: is the world’s largest professional global conservation network, and supports scientific research, manages field projects and unites conservationists to develop and implement policy, laws and best practice.

Tropical Biology Association: is dedicated to building the capacity and expertise of people and institutions to conserve and manage biodiversity in tropical regions.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): is the largest wildlife conservation organisation in Europe, and works to secure the conservation of biodiversity – especially wild birds and their habitats – through research, education, habitat management and advocacy.

British Trust for Ornithology: is an independent scientific research trust specialising in impartial evidence-based knowledge and advice about populations, movements and ecology of birds and other wildlife.

Cambridge Conservation Forum: is a network that links the diverse Cambridge-based community of conservation practitioners and researchers working at local, national and international levels.

To deliver its ambitious programme CCI works closely with like-minded funding partners. CCI is particularly grateful to Arcadia, who has provided core support for the leadership of CCI and grants for the CCI Collaborative Fund, the Miriam Rothschild Programme for Conservation Leadership, the Miriam Rothschild Travel Bursaries for the Student Conference in Conservation Science and the Miriam Rothschild PhD Studentships. CCI is also deeply grateful to the MAVA Fondation pour la Nature for their support to establishment a unique MPhil in Conservation Leadership.

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Yes

A conservation leader in the making

lw355 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:00:09 +0000

Cycling to lectures through Cambridge’s medieval streets, learning leadership skills from pioneers in conservation of the environment, splashing into the turquoise waters of the Caribbean to observe marine life. These are among the many memories that Joy Juma will take home to Kenya after a year at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge as one of the first cohort of graduate students on the MPhil in Conservation Leadership programme.

̽��ֱ��past year has been one of the most varied and demanding in Joy’s life. Not only has she experienced one of the coldest British winters on record but she also spent seven weeks on a placement with the Cambridge-based conservation organisation Fauna & Flora International (FFI) on the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, extending her practical and grass-roots knowledge of marine conservation.

Her visit to the Caribbean entailed gathering data on the marine environment and the ways in which it intersects with two of the area’s most important sources of revenue – fishing and tourism – which are vital to the livelihoods of thousands of people on modest or low incomes. ̽��ֱ��emphasis of her research was on marine governance. “On Antigua, I was based at the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment, and also spent some time talking to individual fishermen about their working lives. It was so encouraging that the fishermen are really keen to conserve their environment and they showed a deep understanding of ecosystem dynamics,” she said.

“On Barbuda, I found that people felt an even stronger sense of ownership of the marine environment, perhaps because land there is communally owned. This revealed itself in their interest in marine conservation. On both islands, there is a profound commitment to sustainable management and a willingness to work towards this that was really exciting. It shows how conservationists and communities can work together to protect threatened species and the habitats they live in. What emerged most forcefully from my placement was the similarity of conservation problems globally and the opportunities for learning from each other.”

Once back in Kenya, where she works for the East African arm of FFI, Joy will apply her experiences in the Caribbean and what she has learnt on the MPhil programme in Cambridge. In 2009, together with colleagues at FFI, she was instrumental in setting up marine conservation projects with fishing communities at six different landing places on the south coast of Kenya. ̽��ֱ��objective is to manage marine resources in a way that is sustainable and participatory. “It’s a scheme that brings diverse stakeholders together for a common purpose – and the early indications are that it is very effective,” she explained.

Joy has been passionate about conservation ever since she was a teenager. On leaving school, she took a degree in environmental studies at Nairobi’s Kenyatta ̽��ֱ��, concentrating on community development. After graduating, she spent a year working as a volunteer for the East African Wildlife Society, a Kenyan-based NGO. “I worked on the restoration of a lake that straddles the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania, and during this time I gained essential skills and experience,” she said. Having excelled as a volunteer, and shown her ability to co-ordinate and manage projects, Joy was offered a post with FFI as a programme assistant. After four years she was promoted to a programme co-ordinator.

In East Africa, FFI works across four countries – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan. In her five years with the organisation, Joy has been involved in various projects, including participatory forest management and species recovery. During this time she twice visited the headquarters of FFI, which has strong links with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� as a founding partner of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI). “I liked what I saw of Cambridge, which is a real hub for conservation and has a strong international ethos. So when I heard about the new Masters in Conservation Leadership, I was really keen to apply for a place,” she said.

“What appealed to me about the course was the chance to develop skills that are crucial in project management. I liked the way in which the course is structured to give participants a solid grounding in leadership – such as communication and financial planning – as well as incorporating a placement with a partner organisation that would offer a chance to see another environment and another set of challenges.”

When FFI and the MAVA programme in Conservation Leadership agreed to sponsor Joy’s place on the programme, she was thrilled but also nervous. “I knew it was a huge opportunity to develop myself professionally. I was also aware that I’d be thrown back on my own resources far from my usual support network in East Africa,” she admitted. She need not have worried. ̽��ֱ��12 students from nine different countries on the programme quickly formed a strong bond. “We have a huge diversity of backgrounds and interests, so we have been able to learn a vast amount from each other,” she said.

̽��ֱ��Masters comprises two parts: the first of which is largely taught by lecturers from every organisation in CCI, talking about their specialist fields, and the second of which is the placement. “In the first two terms we had lectures from many of the pioneering groups and centres based in and around Cambridge – it was an amazing chance to hear from them and to be able to ask questions. What I found especially useful were the leadership lectures from people at the helm of established institutions,” added Joy.

Life as a Cambridge student has been rewarding and challenging. “Spending a year living and working in Cambridge has been a stimulating experience. I will be returning to Kenya ready to be an innovative and effective conservation leader.”

Joy Juma, from Kenya, is among the first early-career conservation practitioners to take an innovative Masters programme at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

What emerged most forcefully from my placement was the similarity of conservation problems globally and the opportunities for learning from each other.

Joy Juma

Working in the Caribbean with Fauna & Flora International

Joy Juma

MPhil in Conservation Leadership

Launched in 2010 by the Department of Geography, the MPhil in Conservation Leadership focuses on equipping its students with the tools to become professional managers in the world of conservation. Key to its success is the collective expertise of partners in the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI): eight leading conservation organisations and one conservation network clustered in the Cambridge area and six departments across the ̽��ֱ��, including the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership.

Students go beyond developing a deeper awareness of the complex drivers of biodiversity loss to learn skills that will prepare them for the challenges of leadership: strategic planning, finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, advocacy and communication.

̽��ֱ��Director of Conservation Leadership, and Fellow of Churchill College, Dr Nigel Leader-Williams, explained: “ ̽��ֱ��programme is built along similar lines to the business school model, with a professional placement spent with one of CCI organisations providing the students with hands-on experience of management tasks.”

Many of the students are from less-developed countries, where the most biodiversity remains but also where the losses are probably the greatest. “We need to grow the number of dedicated scholarships that are available for the course because most of the students we aim to attract don’t have the funds necessary to cover the costs of the course,” added Dr Leader-Williams. ̽��ֱ��programme is supported for a period of 10 years by a generous gift from the MAVA Fondation pour la Protection de la Nature, while Arcadia has agreed to establish a Miriam Rothschild Scholarship Programme in Conservation Leadership for the next five years.

As the first cohort of students complete their studies and resume their careers in conservation around the globe, the contacts they have made will be invaluable. This, explained Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director of CCI, is a strategic aim of the programme: “With successive years, this innovative course will create a growing international leadership network, build conservation capacity and become a major force for better environmental stewardship.”

For more information, please contact Dr Nigel Leader-Williams (nigel.leader-williams@geog.cam.ac.uk) or visit www.geog.cam.ac.uk/graduate/mphil/conservation/

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Yes

First biodiversity symposium looks to future

bjb42 — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��symposium convened some of the world's leading experts on conservation. Vice-Chancellor Alison Richard provided the opening remarks and the keynote address was given by Janez Potocnik, the European Commissioner for the Environment.

During the course of the symposium, speakers and discussion panels highlighted a number of key issues which need urgent action and explored the question of how to build greater global understanding of the economic, social and political value of biodiversity within ecosystems.

̽��ֱ��morning session addressed questions about such value and the conservation priorities this implies. In the afternoon, speakers investigated the ways in which conservation problems can be solved and highlighted some of the programmes currently being undertaken by the CCI to inform decision-makers and deliver solutions. Each session was followed by a lively, facilitated discussion by a panel of experts.

Mike Rands, Director of CCI, said: ̽��ֱ��world has a massive challenge to meet if we are to half the loss of the planet's natural capital. CCI offers an exciting combination of intellectual capacity, pioneering research, policy experience and practical knowledge to respond to that challenge. Today we heard about an array of new ideas that demonstrate the power of collaboration across disciplines and between researchers and practitioners."

Launched in 2007, the CCI is a collaboration between six departments of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and nine leading conservation organisations (including the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Birdlife International, Fauna and Flora International and the Tropical Biology Association) based in the Cambridge area. It represents a critical mass of expertise at the interface of research and education, policy and practice, for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems.

In October 2009, a new MPhil degree in Conservation Leadership was launched by CCI, led from the Department of Geography at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and funded by the MAVA foundation. ̽��ֱ��course has an innovative structure that draws on research from across six university departments and all nine of the conservation organisations in CCI. It is aimed at graduates with at least five years experience in conservation.

Last week a review written by a group of CCI members was profiled in the journal Science. In the paper they warn that unless people recognise the link between their consumption choices and biodiversity loss, the diversity of life on Earth will continue to decline.

Cambridge Conservation Initiative&rsquo;s (CCI), inaugural symposium, held on Wednesday, focused on how to conserve natural capital and the future of biodiversity.

̽��ֱ��world has a massive challenge to meet if we are to half the loss of the planet's natural capital. CCI offers an exciting combination of intellectual capacity, pioneering research, policy experience and practical knowledge to respond to that challenge.

Dr. Mike Rands, Director of CCI

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