BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Can We Defy Nature’s End? - Lucas Joppa\, Microsoft Research Cam
 bridge
DTSTART:20110420T090000Z
DTEND:20110420T100000Z
UID:TALK30900@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Microsoft Research Cambridge Talks Admins
DESCRIPTION:Everyone\, including Microsoft\, suffered from the effects of 
 the recent global financial crisis. Yet a recent influential report by the
  less-than-tree-hugging Deutsche Bank made clear that the economic impact 
 of this “once in a century” global financial crisis is completely dwar
 fed by the economic impact – every year – of the loss of nature’s re
 sources. We depend upon a highly interconnected/inter-dependent biological
  system (from the microbial community to forests to mammals) for our food\
 , water\, wellbeing\, our economic prosperity and ultimately out survival.
  Almost every part of this system is either disappearing and / or under th
 reat. We are consuming the resources that make up this system at rates tha
 t arguably constitute it as the sixth mass extinction of life on earth (ce
 rtainly in geological time). This is not an ‘environmentalists’ proble
 m. It is an urgent problem for every government\, every business (includin
 g Microsoft)\, and every individual. \n\nIn my talk\, I will focus on my r
 esearch into: 1) how many species there actually are and what’s happenin
 g to them (in order to better understand the scale and direction of the pr
 oblem)\; 2) how we can value and prioritize species and areas in terms of 
 the threat their loss poses\; 3) how we can protect those species and area
 s most at risk\; 4) species interactions and how alterations to species in
 teraction networks might have systemic consequences for the persistence of
  natural ecosystems.\n\nA central theme of this talk will be a discussion 
 of the novel computational approaches and tools needed to address these qu
 estions. This last point is crucial for transforming the science-policy in
 terface through the kind of data we can and need to collect\, the kind of 
 models needed to predict outcomes under various scenarios\, and communicat
 ion of the science and potential / necessary policy interventions. This is
  imperative if we are to defy nature’s end.\n
LOCATION:Small lecture theatre\, Microsoft Research Ltd\, 7 J J Thomson Av
 enue (Off Madingley Road)\, Cambridge
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR