KUCHING – An innovative and accomplished conservation biologist from the US will give a public talk on climate change at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus on 20 July.
At the 7:30pm to 8:30pm “Wild solutions to climate change” lecture, Dr Thomas E. Lovejoy from the United Nations Foundation in Washington DC will speak on physical and biological nature and its projected impact on the ecosystem once it starts failing.
Lovejoy has worked on the interaction between climate change and biodiversity since the mid-1980s. He brought international attention to the world’s tropical rainforests, and in particular the Brazilian Amazon, where he has worked since 1965.
Lovejoy also developed the now ubiquitous “debt-for-nature” swap programs and led the Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems project. He founded the series Nature, a popular long-running wildlife television program.
Among others, he was the World Bank’s chief biodiversity advisor and lead specialist for the environment for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Spanning the political spectrum, Lovejoy has served on science and environmental councils under former US presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.
Lovejoy is in Malaysia courtesy of the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. His talk is part of the US State Department’s climate change initiative where its science envoys travel the world to speak on various issues relating to science and conservation.
Members of the public who are interested to attend are advised to contact Asha Kaushal on 082-610 610 or email her at biosar@sbc.org.my to reserve a seat, by 15 July.
Refreshments will be served after the lecture, which is jointly organized by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, and the Wildlife Conservation Society-Malaysia.
