OVERVIEW
Hosted by UNDP, CBD and UNEP, this four-day virtual event convenes high-level speakers, leaders, activists and youth to raise ambition around the importance of nature-based solutions in addressing our planetary emergency.
PARTNERS
The organizing partners for the overall Nature for Life Hub include but are not limited to UNDP, UNEP and UNEP-WCMC, the CBD Secretariat, Birdlife, Business for Nature, Campaign for Nature, Climate Advisers, Conservation International, Club of Rome, EcoHealth Alliance, Environmental Defense Fund, Ford Foundation, ICLEI, ICRI Forum, If Not Us Than Who, Next Green, The Nature Conservancy, National Geographic Society, the Nature for Climate Coalition, OP2B, United Nations Foundation, UNESCO, UN Global Compact, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, World Economic Forum, World Wildlife Fund and Youth4Nature, among others.
SPEAKERS
- Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP
- Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP
- Lord Zac Goldsmith, Minister, UK Government
- Jennifer Morris, CEO, The Nature Conservancy
- Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary General of the United Nations
- M. Sanjayan, CEO, Conservation International
- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO
- Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and CEO, Danone/OP2B
- Tian Wei, News Anchor, World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader"
- Richenda Van Leeuwen, Executive Director, Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs
- Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO, Global Environment Fund
- Edward Norton, Actor
- Alberto Borges, Founder/Nat Geo Explorer, The Explorer's Club of Kenya/National Geographic
- Frans Timmermans, Exec Vice-President, European Commission
- Rob and Melanie Walton, The Walton Foundation
- Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia and 1% for the Planet
- H.E Mr Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, UK
- H.E. Mr Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica
- H.E Mr Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya
- Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International
- Professor Johan Rockström, Director of Potsdam Insititute for Climate Impact Research
- Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro, Secretary General, CARE International
- Peter Thomson, UN Special Envoy on Oceans
- Jose Angel Gurria Trevino, Secretary-General, OECD
- Steve Brumby, Senior Director, Geographic Visualization, National Geographic Society
- Jamison Ervin, Manager, Global Programme on Nature for Development, UNDP
- Rebecca Moore, Director, Google Earth
- Ricky Kej, Grammy Award-winning Musician and Environmentalist
- Lila Downs, Grammy Award-winning Musician and Actor
- Henry Golding, Actor and Producer
- Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace
- Clara Hughes, Olympic Champion and Humanitarian
- Trudie Styler and Sting
- Sarah Maston, Senior Solution Architect, Microsoft Project 15
- Oona Chaplin, Actor, Aniwa / Boa Foundation
- Mina Setra, Deputy Secretary General, AMAN (Indonesian Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipielago)
- Andrew Revkin, Founding Director of Communications and Sustainability, Columbia University's Earth Institute
...and over 100+ more!
Event Summary: The Nature for Life Hub will offer a virtual venue for multiple events as part of the four-day program. Hub organizers will work with champions, mobilizers, leaders and speakers who inspire and engage global audiences. These events will provide new content that will be broadcast live on social media and through the official virtual platform, as well as available online after the Hub. Over the four days, the Hub will take audiences on various thematic journeys, delving deep into specialist topics, practical solutions and ambitious actions. The virtual Hub will be an opportunity to hear from political and corporate leaders, the world’s youth, indigenous and community leaders, local authorities and cutting-edge thinkers, leaders and practitioners. Each day will culminate in key messages to be fed into UN biodiversity-related discussions.
Watch the Hub: www.natureforlifehub.org
Press Release: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/news-centre/news/2020/cutting-edge-thinkers--leaders-and-practitioners-join-virtual-sp.html
Media Advisory: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/news-centre/news/2020/equator-prize-highlights-indigenous-and-local-solutions-at-un-na.html
Newsroom: Press conferences and press interviews will be held in a virtual newsroom open to all credentialed media during the entire four-day event. Press conferences will commence after the close of each of the Hub's sessions. The Newsroom will begin with brief opening remarks followed by a moderated press Q&A. Speakers will additionally be available for one-on-one interviews subject to availability after their sessions. To join the newsroom or schedule an interview, contact lea.phillips@undp.org. The Newsroom will be located at: https://undp.zoom.us/j/94308313483 for each of the four days.
Press Conference Schedule & Partner Press Releases: (Updated daily) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B6QA6u5h_INam3Vts3bwufQ2Tr3c5otuTIyJztAN-dY/edit#gid=1044016811
Overall Agenda: https://www.learningfornature.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Nature-for-Life-Hub-Schedule-A.pdf
Day 1: SDG DAY – Celebrating the value of nature in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Day 2: BUSINESS AND FINANCE DAY – Greening our wallets in development, finance and business
Day 3: GLOBAL AMBITION DAY – A planetary response to our planetary emergency
Day 4: LOCAL ACTION DAY – Celebrating the power of local action, and the role of local communities in our planetary response
QUOTE
“Healthy ecosystems underpin the Sustainable Development Goals; they support economic growth, sustain billions of livelihoods, provide the basis of food and water security, and stabilize our climate. Recent reports by IPBES, IPCC and WEF illustrate the grave consequences of biodiversity loss to our economy and to our very survival, and Covid-19 punctuates these findings by showing us of the perilous cost of nature’s loss to people’s health, wellbeing and the economy. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we focus on nature.” - Haoliang Xu, UN ASG and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.
PRESS RELEASES/LINKS FROM NEWSROOM SPEAKERS
Restore Africa: Press Release
Nature4Climate: Website
EcoHealth Alliance: Press Release | NYT Video | Guardian Op-Ed
OP2B: Website
Business for Nature: Press Release | CEO Video | CTA Signatory List
Finance for Biodiversity Pledge
Joint CSO letter to UN Human Rights Council: Letter | Signatories | 1Planet1Right Campaign | Video
SOCIAL
Social media toolkit: https://trello.com/b/9nQFaskN/nature-for-life-hub-comms
Hashtags: #NatureForLife (main); Stand #ForNature (call to action)
Tweet One:Healthy ecosystems underpin the #GlobalGoals; they support economic growth, sustain billions of livelihoods, provide the basis of food and water security, and stabilize our climate. 🌏
Join the #NatureForLife Hub and stand #ForNature
natureforlifehub.org
Tweet Two:Recent reports by @IPBES @IPCC and @WEF illustrate the grave consequences of biodiversity loss to our economy and to our very survival, and #COVID19 further punctuates these findings.
#NatureforLife calls for decisive global action to stand #ForNature
Tweet 3: To coincide with #UN75 & leading up to @UNBiodiversity Summit, 30+ of the world's #ForNature organisations partnered to create #NatureforLife Hub - a virtual space where cutting-edge thinkers and leaders will showcase nature-based solutions.
Join us: natureforlifehub.org
Visual assets available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M6mfw3vIhp34lUnG25Ccv3vOPr9LEyot?usp=sharing
KEY MESSAGES
Calls to Action
SDG DAY – Recognizing the intrinsic link between nature and the SDGs, this first day of the Hub will explore how we can leverage nature-based solutions to catalyze climate action and resilience; improve health; reduce risks of pandemics and natural disasters; increase food and water security, and ensure prosperity for all.
BUSINESS AND FINANCE DAY – This second day of the Hub will call upon the financial and business sector to disrupt business-as-usual finance practices by placing nature at the center of decision-making. The sessions will chart the way forward towards transforming the economy for a better future.
GLOBAL AMBITION DAY – The third day of the Hub will convene global leaders and stakeholders across sectors to commit to urgent and transformational actions to promote nature-based safety nets and foster green recovery plans that can jumpstart a Decade of Action.
LOCAL ACTION DAY – The fourth day of the Hub will spotlight local initiatives on nature-based solutions for sustainable development, and will explore how to scale these initiatives up for global impact. The session will also raise awareness of the urgency to protect and enhance the rights of environmental defenders at the frontlines of biodiversity loss.
Essential Transformative Action:
- Transform financial systems and redirect finance and investments in order to accelerate nature-based solutions and the creation of a planetary safety net for ecosystem and climate resilience and inclusive development;
- Strengthen governance and rule of law by ensuring a national nature-based safety net approach that protects and enhances the rights of people vulnerable to biodiversity loss;
- Transform global consumption and production systems by ensuring zero ecosystems and biodiversity loss practices and food security for communities;
- Catalyze systemic change that places nature firmly at the heart of national and sectoral planning, development and monitoring systems in order to reduce human footprint and promote national nature-based safety nets and reduce risk of emerging zoonotic diseases; and
- Mobilize demand for action for nature-based planetary safety through unified global campaigns.