Programme
In 13 sessions over three full days, we discussed the value of working with nature to address societal challenges to ensure help ensure they support thriving human societies and ecosystems. We considered the multiplicity of stakeholders that are involved and/or affected by nature-based solutions, including their diverse values, interests and rights, and developed a shared understanding across multiple sectors as to what constitutes a “legitimate” nature-based solution and how best to overcome barriers to their implementation. Sessions brought together evidence from both science and practice, as well as perspectives from multiple disciplines and sectors on the practical, financial and governance challenges to scaling up nature-based solutions.
The conference was successful delivered in a hybrid format, with over 300 delegates taking part in person in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and over 650 joining remotely from all over the world.
Session summaries and recordings can be found below and the poster session PDFs can be found on our poster sessions page.
Download a full report including all session summaries and take-homes (PDF).
Outline
Recordings of each session are available on YouTube as well as in each of the session pages below, along with the session summaries, key take-homes, presentation slides and speaker bios.
Session | Session title |
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Welcome |
Welcome and scene-setting5th July 09:00 – 09:10 Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre |
Opening remarks & Keynote 1 |
Opening remarks by Lord Goldsmith | Minister for Pacific and the Environment at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government and
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Session 1 |
NbS: where are we now, where do we need to be?5th July 10:30-12:00 – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Speakers
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Session 2 |
Defining NbS: solutions for whom, by whom, and for what?5th July 13:30-15:30 – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: Rutgers University & IUCN Speakers
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Session 3 |
NbS in Net-Zero: avoiding greenwashing & supporting sustainable development5th July 16:00-18:00 – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: Oxford Net-Zero and the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford Speakers
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Welcome |
Welcome and scene-setting6th July 09:00 – 09:00 Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre |
Keynote 2 |
Keynote 2: Marc Palahi | Director of the European Forest Institute, Chair of the Circular Bio-economy Alliance; Gregorio Mirabal | Head of COICA; Belén Paéz | Executive Director of the Pachamama Alliance and General Secretariat for the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative6th July 09:10 – 10:00 – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre |
Session 4 |
Critical role of Indigenous People and local communities in delivering successful NbS6th July 10:30-12:30 – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: International Institute for Environment & Development (IIED) and Forest Peoples Programme Speakers
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Session 5A |
Understanding and ensuring positive outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem health of NbS for climate change mitigation and adaptation6th July 14:00-16:00 – Parallel – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: NbSI and UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) Speakers
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Session 5B |
Governing NbS: Fostering inclusive and restorative land use governance6th July 14:00-16:00 – Parallel – Oxford Martin School Lecture Theatre Convenors: Environmental Change Institute Land-Use Group, University of Oxford Speakers
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Session 6A |
Understanding and overcoming obstacles – when do NbS not deliver for people, biodiversity, or climate and why?6th July 16:30-18:30 – Parallel – Oxford Martin School Lecture Theatre Convenors: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Speakers
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Session 6B |
Financing NbS: delivering money when and to where it matters6th July 16:30-18:30 – Parallel – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, Smith School, University of Oxford Speakers
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Welcome |
Welcome and scene-setting7th July 09:00 – 09:00 Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre |
Keynote 3 |
Keynote 3: Edward Barbier | University Distinguished Professor, Department of Economics, Colorado State University7th July 09:10 – 10:00 – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre |
Session 7 |
The Economics of NbS: moving from evidence to decision making in policy, finance and infrastructure investments7th July 10:30-12:30 – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Smith School for Enterprise and Environment Speakers
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Session 8A |
NbS for sustainable food production, water security and resilience7th July 14:00-16:00 – Parallel – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenors: Environmental Change Institute, Smith School & The Nature Conservancy Speakers
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Session 8B |
Scaling up NbS in the UK – what is the role of Government in supporting practitioners?7th July 14:00-16:00 – Parallel – Oxford Martin School Lecture Theatre Speakers
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Session 9A |
Business, Biodiversity and NbS7th July 16:30-18:30 – Parallel – Natural History Museum (NHM) Lecture Theatre Convenor: Nature-based Insetting Speakers
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Session 9B |
Mainstreaming NbS for urban sustainability and climate change action7th July 16:30-18:30 – Parallel – Oxford Martin School Lecture Theatre Convenors: University of Durham, Naturvation Speakers
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Speakers
Below is a list of confirmed speakers.
- Chairil Abdin | Secretary General of Indonesian Academy of Sciences
- James Allen | Executive Director at Olab
- Inger Andersen | Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
- William Anderegg | Associate Professor, School Of Biological Sciences, University of Utah
- Angela Andrade | Senior Climate Change and Biodiversity Policy Director, Conservation International - Colombia. Chair IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management
- Kaya Axelsson | Net Zero Policy Engagement Fellow at University of Oxford
- Elana Bader | Green Infrastructure Project & Funding Officer, NatureScot
- William Baldwin-Cantello | Director, Nature-based Solutions at World Wide Fund For Nature-UK
- Edward Barbier | University Distinguished Professor, Department of Economics, Colorado State University
- Nandita Basu | Professor and University Research Chair, Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo
- Lorenzo Bernascon | Head of Climate and Environmental Solutions at Lombard Odier Investment Managers
- Mathias Bertram | Advisor Global Biodiversity Framework at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
- Josefina Brana | Vice President and Deputy Lead, Forests at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
- Kathryn Brown | Director of Climate Action at The Wildlife Trusts
- Harriet Bulkeley | Professor of Geography, University of Durham and Coordinator at NATURVATION
- Jean Robert Bwangoy | Project Director for the Mai Ndobe REDD+ project
- Ben Caldecott | Director, Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme, & Associate Professor, Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment
- Mauricio Castro Schmitz | Regenerative Agriculture Director for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Latin America
- Giulia Carbone | Director, Natural Climate Solutions Alliance, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
- Rob Carr | Environmental Manager, Partnerships and Funding, UK Environment Agency
- Alexandre Chausson | Senior Researcher at the Nature-based Solutions Initiative
- Robin Chazdon | Professor, Tropical Forest Restoration, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Susan Chomba | Director of Vital Landscapes for Africa, World Resources Institute (WRI)
- David Coomes | Professor of Forest Ecology and Conservation, University of Cambridge
- David Croft | Global Director Sustainability, Environment & Human Rights at Reckitt
- Dora Nsuwa Cudjoe | Program Coordinator for the Climate Investment Funds
- Tom Finch | Conservation Scientist at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
- Harriet Fink | Learning and Volunteering Programme Manager for the Natural History Museum’s Urban Nature Project and co-founder of Curiovan: Explorium of Natural Wonderment
- Forrest Fleischman | Associate professor in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota
- Sean Frisby | Deputy Head – UK International Forests Unit, BEIS
- Marisol Garcia | Kichwa youth leader from Peru
- Rachael Garrett | Assistant Professor of Environmental Policy at ETH Zurich
- Dustin Garrick | Co-Director of the Smith School Water Programme, University of Oxford
- Cécile Girardin | Director of Nature-based Insetting and Technical Director at the Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI), University of Oxford
- Erin Gray | Senior Economist at the World Resources Institute (WRI) Economics Center
- Andrea Graham | Head of Policy Services at the National Farmers' Union
- Rosie Hails | Director of Science and Nature at the National Trust
- Ben Hart | Carbon and Biodiversity Accounting Consultant at Highlands Rewilding
- Ceilia Harvey | Ecosystem-based Adaptation Specialist at UN Environment Programme
- Mark Hirons | Research Fellow at the Oxford Environmental Change Institute
- Thomas Iseman | Director of Water Scarcity and Markets for the Global Freshwater Program of The Nature Conservancy
- Musonda Kapena | Director at Namfumu Conservation Trust in Zambia
- Valerie Kapos | Head of Nature-based Solutions at UNEP-WCMC
- Jessica Kavonic | Head of Implementation - Africa at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
- Abyd Karmali | Managing Director, ESG & Sustainable Finance at Bank of America
- Isabel Key | Doctoral Researcher at the University of Edinburgh
- Samantha Lacey | Business Development Director for NatureMetrics
- Andrea Ledward | International Biodiversity and Climate Director at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
- Anna Lehmann | Global Climate Policy Director, Wildlife Works
- Keyvan Macedo | Sustainability Director for Natura &Co
- Helen Magata | Communications Officer of Tebtebba
- Stewart Maginnis | IUCN Deputy Director General Programme
- Niki Mardas | Executive Director at Global Canopy
- Elizabeth Maruma Mrema | UN Assistant Secretary General & Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Constance McDermott | Associate Professor at the Oxford Environmental Change Institute
- Pam McElwee | Professor of Human Ecology at Rutgers University
- Marina Melanidis | Founder and Development Director at Youth4Nature
- Eric Kumeh Mensah | Research Scientist at Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
- Gregorio Mirabal | General Coordinator of the Congress of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA)
- Jasper Montana | Research Fellow in Human Geography from the University of Oxford
- Pedro Moura Costa | Director, BVRio Environmental Exchange
- Daniel Morchain | Global Climate Adaptation Director at The Nature Conservancy
- Mike Morecroft | Principal Specialist, Climate Change at Natural England
- Mari Mulyani | Teaching Associate Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment
- Henk Nieboer | Director at EcoShape
- Diego Pacheco | Head of the Bolivian delegation to the UNFCCC at COP26
- Marc Palahi | Director of the European Forest Institute
- Stephanie Paquin-Jaloux | Director Biodiversity Compliance & Strategy at Firmenich
- Dismas Partalala Meitaya | Representative of the Ujamaa Community Resource Team in Tanzania
- Belén Paéz | Executive Director of the Pachamama Alliance and General Secretariat for the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative
- Vanessa Perez-Cirera | Chief Economist at the World Resources Institute (WRI)
- Lian Pin Koh | Chair Professor of Conservation, National University of Singapore
- Ina Porras | Economics, Climate and Environment Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
- Manuel Pulgar-Vidal | Global Leader of Climate & Energy, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
- Dilys Roe | Principal researcher and team leader (biodiversity), International Institute for Environment and Development
- Stephanie Roe | Global Climate Lead Scientist at WWF, Lead Author IPCC AR6 WGIII
- Nathalie Seddon | Professor of Biodiversity, Director of the NbSI, University of Oxford
- Yaadwinder Sidhu | Land use, Food and Net Zero Systems, Office of Chief Scientific Adviser, Defra
- Alison Smith | Senior Research Associate at the Oxford Environmental Change Institute and the Nature-based Solutions Initiative
- James Smith | Director, Natural Climate Solutions, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
- Pete Smith | Professor of Soils and Global Change, University of Aberdeen
- Steve Smith | Executive Director, Oxford Net Zero and CO2RE
- Yiching Song | Programme Leader at Farmer Seed Network in China
- Aline Soterroni | Research Fellow at the Nature-based Solutions Initiative and Oxford Net Zero
- Louise Stafford | Director Source Water Protection South Africa, The Nature Conservancy
- Rhian-Mari Thomas | Chief Executive Officer at Green Finance Institute
- Sophie Tremolet | Water Security Director, Europe, The Nature Conservancy
- Helen Tugendhat | Programme Coordinator, Forest Peoples Programme
- Beth Turner | Doctoral Researcher at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM)
- Madhu Verma | Chief Economist, World Resources Institute, (WRI) India
- Linjun Xie | Assistant Professor in Sustainable Urbanism, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
- Florencia Zapata | Director of the Mountain Institute, Peru