Video cards from Rio

One of the most significant communication impacts the centre had during the conference was the screening of the "Welcome to the Anthropocene" video during the official opening of the Rio+20 conference. Click here to see the offical opening. The video was produced as part of the launch of the website bearing the same name, Welcome to the Anthropocene

Centre researcher Thomas Elmqvist is leading scientific editor of the world's first Cities and Biodiversity Outlook (CBO), the first comprehensive global analysis of how urbanisation and urban growth impact biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics in terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems. Ahead of the official launch at UN CBD COP11 in Hydrabad in October, the Outlook was presented both in Rio as well as the ICLEI World Congress which took place in Belo Horizonte prior to Rio+20. The Outlook is a collaboration between the centre and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Read more about the Cities and Biodiversity Outlook here

As part of the Cities and Biodiversity Outlook pre-launch, we also spoke to Dr. Braulio Diaz, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. He shared some perspectives on the role of biodiversity and ecosystems in future urban planning.

We teamed up Senior Extension Associate Keith Tidball from Cornell University up Programme officer Oliver Hillel of the Convention of Biological Diversity to discuss some of the most important and emerging issues related to urbanisation, biodiversity conservation and governance. The interview took place at the ICLEI Urban Nature Forum in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 13 June 2012.

Fair ideas - Transforming innovation for sustainability: Together with the STEPS Centre, the centre hosted a seminar on new and more sustainable approaches to governing innovation. The seminar was a follow-up from a paper recently published paper in Ecology and Society. Melissa Leach, Director of the STEPS Centre, chaired the seminar.