Caux Dialogue on Land and Security 2019

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Living Landscapes: putting people at the centre of ecosystem restoration

27-30 June 2019

Please note that this event is now over. You would like to know more about CDLS 2019?

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The threats stemming from the interaction of global warming, soil infertility, pollinator loss, chemical leaching and ocean acidification are still underestimated by decision-makers around the world.

Climatic collapse and massive desertification are a destabilising blow to health, wealth and equality. Rising tensions find outlets in conflict and migration. Dealing with them in isolation is a recipe for failure; integrating them holistically is a far more promising path.

The Caux Dialogue on Land and Security has been exploring these issues since 2013 by bringing together public and private leaders with small farmers, activists and researchers to build a community of practice.

The potential benefits of global-scale ecosystem restoration are huge, ranging from climate change reversed to environmental migration curbed and peace sustained. Experience has shown that the only way to achieve ecosystem restoration and its desired outcomes is to put local communities in charge.

At the 2019 Dialogue, global thought leaders and practitioners will explore how community and individual actions can reverse degradation leading to peace and stability.

Join us this summer at the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre to address the multiple challenges ahead, find like-minded people to collaborate with and get equipped with the latest insights and skills in sustainability, peacebuilding and finance.

Who is this event for?

land restoration experts and practitioners
policy-makers and think-tankers
security experts, researchers and practitioners
entrepreneurs and business leaders
farmers, ranchers and land managers
emerging leaders

What to expect?

Review of actions to be taken at varying levels to encourage human-centered responses
Support for policymaking that accounts for the complexity of the circumstances (with special reference to conflict and land restoration)
Connection between cross-sector actors and actions
Personal plans of action of steps to take

The Caux Dialogues on Land and Security were founded by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Initiatives of Change Switzerland and the Initiative for Land, Lives, Peace.

The dialogue that I have joined this week has been exceptional in that it provides a restful, safe and neutral place for people to really explore what the issues are in a way that is going to change the world.

Gina Pattisson, Development Director, Commonland

I enjoyed the event and have gained a lot of insight from discussions with many participants, young and old!

Martin Lees, former Secretary General of Club of Rome and Member of Gorbachev High Level Task Force on Climate Change

We’ve been introduced to organizations deeply trusted by local communities, so they are natural partners for introducing technology we believe has huge potential. They are a great bridge between what we’re building and what we hope to achieve – massive reforestation.

Matthew Ritchie, representative of BioCarbon Engineering, CDLS 2016

Speakers

Michael Akampa

Managing Partner

RE Equity Partners

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Micheal Akampa is a sustainable investment professional with vast experience working in Europe and internationally. He was the Founder of Traction Capital, a Sweden based impact investment company that invests in emerging and frontier markets in Africa and Asia. Prior to founding Traction Capital, Micheal worked in various senior roles in the Treasury and Investment departments of several regional and international banks where his knack for deal structuring was developed. Over the last decade, he has structured and closed several transactions in real estate, agriculture, technology, energy, and infrastructure, among others. With a Background in Financial Economics, Micheal also has advanced Masters degrees in Financial Management, and in Risk Analysis, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Investment and Risk Analysis at Stockholm University. He is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, and the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Lauren Carter

Engagement Advisor

UNDP Climate Finance

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Lauren Carter is a climate finance specialist based in Geneva who works with governments, development finance institutions, and climate funds to develop their private sector engagement strategies. She currently leads the UN's engagement with Invest4Climate, a joint UNDP and World Bank partnership to crowd-in private investment in climate solutions. Before starting her own advisory firm, Lauren served as the Director of Climate Finance Initiatives for a boutique climate finance advisory in Morocco where she guided the government’s engagement with the Green Climate Fund and other sources of climate finance. Working with government ministries, multilateral development banks and private investors and she developed a pipeline of bankable climate projects across the low-carbon transport, renewable energies, energy efficiency, agriculture and land use sectors. Lauren is also a specialist in private sector accreditation to the Green Climate Fund. During COP 22 and 23, Lauren acted as a climate finance advisor for the Moroccan COP 22 Presidency and launched COP’s first official private finance event, the Global Climate Finance Action Summit which gathered high-level stakeholders from governments, finance and development to participate in interactive working groups designed to unlock opportunities in the climate finance ecosystem. Lauren is passionate about finding applications for frontier technologies including blockchain and AI in climate finance and has spoken at the UN's annual climate conference, COP 23, on digital solutions for climate action.

Jane Davidson

Vice President for Sustainability and Engagement

University of Wales

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Jane Davidson is Vice President for Sustainability and Engagement at the University of Wales and in 2017 become an associate faculty member at Harvard University. From 2007- 2011, Jane was Minister for Environment and Sustainability in Wales where she proposed legislation to make sustainability the central organising principle of government – the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act came into law in 2015. She created a Welsh Climate Change Commission and Future Generations Commissioner, the 800 mile Wales coast path, led ‘Towards Zero Waste’ which has seen Wales become third in the world for municipal recycling - and introduced the Welsh charge on carrier bags, which led to similar charges across the UK. Jane has won a number of UK wide awards for her work Jane is a patron of the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and Tools for Self Reliance Wales (TFSR Cymru). She holds honorary fellowships from IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment), WWF, CIW (Chartered Institute of Waste), CIWEM (Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management). She contributes regularly to international expert events.

Karen Demavivas

Global Leadership Fellow

World Economic Forum

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Karen Demavivas is a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum where she managed a community of social entrepreneurs and innovators as well as engaged investors in the Forum’s sustainable and impact investing initiatives. One of the initiatives she co-founded was a workshop series called ScaleShop, which brought together entrepreneurs, investors, intermediaries, and government representatives in a cross-mentoring exchange on the challenges and opportunities of impact investing. Among the key themes discussed were investing in climate resilient innovations including those in food, agriculture, forestry, and land use. Prior to the Forum, Karen worked with entrepreneurs focused on sustainable tourism, food, and agriculture at the grass-roots level in Brazil and Thailand. While there, she also did apprenticeships and certifications in permaculture centres, organic farms, and other sustainable rural sites. Past work experience also included management roles in the UN, non-profit and private sectors. Karen is a two time US Fulbright Fellow, having done her fellowships in Thailand and then at UNESCO Paris headquarters. She will soon be embarking on a European MSc in Agroecology in Norway and France where she plans to focus her research on the intersection of capital and regenerative agriculture.

Chau Duncan

Chief Operating Officer

Earthbanc

Australia

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Chau Duncan is COO at Earthbanc, which utilizes next generation Liquid Technology blockchain for impact finance, investment and green bonds. She is an Investment, Trade and Finance professional with over 20 years of commercial and government experience, driving strategic business development, relationship management, foreign investment and opportunity capitalization across industry. She is skilled in business planning and tactical support, delivering on strategic objectives, management of resources and the development of high performing and collaborative teams. She has a track record in building foundations for over-the-horizon opportunities and networks with both public and private sectors, ranging from multilateral agencies, large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises. Her experience includes Australian Trade Commissioner for Clean Energy and Environment (ASEAN), Director of Investment (UK Investment – Sovereign FDI), Executive at Commonwealth Bank, NAB, BankWest.

Tom Duncan

CEO

Earthbanc

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Tom Duncan is the CEO of Earthbanc, a digital banking platform for impact investment, finance and green bonds, utilising Liquid Technology Ltd blockchain and digital wallets. He is an experienced fund manager over 10 years at a Family Office in Asia-Pacific, and drove project investment and finance of more than $10bn throughout his public and private sector career. Tom worked in Municipal Government overseeing $60M capital works budget annually and also worked with Melbourne Water Corporation on investment prioritisation with a $100M fund for water assets. Tom worked as a Corporate Advisor completing a number of high profile securities transactions on the ASX (Australia) including blockchain venture M&A for publicly listed companies, IPOs & RTOs. He is an experienced blockchain technology investor, analyst and advisor. Liquid Technolology Ltd provides fund administration distributed ledger technologies (DLT) that provides asset tracing from source to sink in LDCs, real time accounting and full auditability with specialised audit keys, giving donors and fund managers full transparency in regards to fund calls and distributions down through the chain to on ground project developers. Liquid Technology offers whitelabel private secondary markets software for debt and equity that are compliant in required donor and invetsor jurisdictions. Tom has worked as an Advisor and Executive with major fintech, blockchain & regenerative ventures across Asia-Pacific, USA and Europe. He worked with Nintendo and HP in strategic market roles across Asia Pacific and has deep technology and finance networks across the region. Tom worked with AusAID in China regenerating over 18 million hectares of land and water, and is Co-author of ‘Regenerating Agriculture to Sustain Civilization’ with Alan Savory. He is also author of Ecological Agriculture published with ILLP’s first Edition, He is a student of Banking & Finance (RMIT), Computer Science (Swinburne), Media & Communications (Deakin) Social Science & Environmental Science (RMIT).

David French

Founder & CEO

My Drop In The Oceans

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After transitioning from an early career in the music business, David French became a fulltime advocate of the need to maintain healthy oceans for humanity, when he joined the Antinea foundation (Aka. Fondation Pacifique) in 2007. His first task involved using his creative talents there to co-write and coordinate, with IUCN, the opening ceremony for the world conservation congress held in Barcelona, in October 2008. He then went on to work on strategic development and key partnerships for the Foundation’s main project, The Changing Oceans Expedition, which was launched in 2009. This role included bringing onboard a core scientific mission - to validate and improve “a global map of human impact on marine ecosystems” (B. S. Halpern et al), the management of scientific missions in several countries and many awareness campaigns, involving local communities, governments and corporations, across a range of different cultures. Finding inspiration in this map David went on to create the organisation My Drop In The Oceans ®, which was founded as an innovative new approach for companies and consumers, with the help of civil society and the public sector, to produce and to consume goods and services in ways that promote a healthy and productive environment for all.

Emma Hallett

Team Leader

Collaborative Change Team/Wales

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Emma Hallett is Team Leader for Wales’s Collaborative Change team, responsible for helping replicate the ‘Welsh Recycling Blueprint’ across Wales’s local authorities. Using source separation of recyclables at the kerbside and keeping, separation of food waste to keep all other materials clean, the blueprint ensures maximum quality for recyclable materials and has enabled Wales to rise from the worst performing recycler in Europe to be the 3rd best globally. The blueprint is a crucial step in moving from an extractive system of land degradation to a Circular Economy. Emma was Operations Manager REalliance, helping engage with communities and the UK Government to, minimise unnecessary waste, reducing carbon impacts and increasing the recycling and reuse of resources. Before this Emma was General Manager at the UK’s Community Recycling Network (CRNUK) and Head of Head of Human Resources at the New Economics Foundation. A graduate from the University of Cambridge and a French and German speaker.

Pekka Harju-Autti

Ministerial Advisor

Ministry of the Environment, Finland

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Pekka Harju-Autti has a PhD in environmental technology, with an extensive focus into environmental awareness and people’s perceptions on environment in different countries globally. He is currently a ministerial advisor at the Ministry of the Environment, Finland. After finishing the PhD, Pekka founded a purpose-driven impact startup company Envirate, with a slogan ‘Humanity making peace with the mother earth’. The goal is to aim for no less than a planetary-scale change in how we monitor, relate to, and act for the environment, starting at the individual level.

Sophie Howe

Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

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Sophie Howe is the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales; tasked with ensuring progress against Wales’s ground-breaking ‘Wellbeing of Future Generations’ legislation. The Act gives Wales the legal obligation to improve social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being. The Act is unique to Wales and is attracting global interest as it offers a huge opportunity to plan for long-lasting positive change for current and future generations. Sophie promotes the sustainable development principle, guarding the ability of future generations to meet their needs and encourage public bodies to take greater account of the long-term impact of their work to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change. Sophie was the first Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales leading programmes to tackle violent crime and violence against women and girls. Sophie has also served as a Government Special Adviser providing policy and political advice on communities, local government, community safety, housing, regeneration and equality.

Rishabh Khanna

Chief Impact Officer

ILLP / Earthbanc

India

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Rishabh Khanna is the Chief Impact Officer at Earthbanc and a steering committee member of ILLP (Initiative of Land, Lives and Peace ). He is driven by his calling to strike a balance between social and ecological systems. For over 10 years he has focused on applying new economic and business models which accord with the planet and all its creatures. He founded the Indian Youth Climate Network. He has worked with such organizations as Initiatives of Change, WWF, Climate Action Network, ABNAmro Bank, UNFCCC, UN Habitat, Ministry of Defence in Sweden, Ministry of New Renewable Energy in India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, TATA Group and PwC.

Elisabeth Labes

Veterinary Assistant

Orangutan Reintroduction Program of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation

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Elisabeth Labes is a Veterinary Assistant in the Orangutan Reintroduction Program of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. She studied Veterinary Medecine in Germany and worked as a veterinary surgeon in small animal practices in Germany and Switzerland from 1995 to 2018. In 2009 she co-founded Borneo Orangutan Survival Switzerland and helped develop BOS Switzerland from a voluntary to a professionally run non-profit organisation. From 2013 to 2018 she was Head of International Projects & Partners for BOS Switzerland.

Alan Laubsch

Entrepreneur & CEO

Generation Blue

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Alan Laubsch is an entrepreneur, connector, and a thought leader in risk management. His mission is to protect Earth’s most vital ecosystems by democratizing natural capital investment. Alan is CEO of Generation Blue, a venture studio dedicated to building a liquid global natural capital marketplace. Previously, Alan established Natural Capital Markets at Lykke AG, and listed the world’s first mangrove and Blue Carbon backed blockchain token (TREE). Alan has over two decades of risk management experience with leading financial institutions, and was a founding member of the RiskMetrics Group, a JPMorgan spin-off. Alan is an avid kitesurfer and an ocean lover.

Dr. Bremley Lyngdoh

Founder & CEO

Worldview Impact Foundation

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Dr. Bremley Lyngdoh, Founder & CEO of Worldview Impact Foundation is a Climate Change and Sustainable Development professional with over 20 years experience working with Governments, IGOs, NGOs and the Private Sector developing a range of innovative projects in Asia, Africa and South America aimed at producing ecologically sound and economically viable activities that contribute directly to reducing rural poverty, and generating productive sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable local communities. Bremley has all the relevant experience in project sourcing and development. His strength lies in building strategic partnerships with various governmental agencies, NGOs and multilateral development agencies. Through his previous assignments working with the United Nations and the World Bank in Asia, Africa and Latin America, he has gained expertise in the effective monitoring and evaluation of field-based programmes. He developed climate change adaptation projects combining integrated agroforestry, regenerative farming, sustainable tourism, and renewable energy technologies. Bremley established Spring Valley Farm in Shillong, Meghalaya to honour his father and build upon his legacy by supporting organic farmers in north east India.

Joachim Monkelbaan

Representative for Sustainable and Just Economic Systems

Quaker United Nations Office

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Joachim Monkelbaan is the Representative for Sustainable and Just Economic Systems at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva. This means that he works on fostering the transformation of economic models and paradigms and on specific issues in the areas of trade, investment, peace&security, human rights, climate change, and ecosystems. Previously he worked with organizations such as UN Environment, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), WHO, and Climate-KIC. He was a team leader for several Sustainability Impact Assessments for the European Commission (DG Trade), notable the Green Goods Initiative, the EU-Myanmar Investment Protection Agreement, and the EU-Philippines Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Dr. Monkelbaan also lectures and does research at the University of Geneva, where he obtained a PhD in governance for sustainable development. Subsequently, he did postdoctoral research at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and at the Institute for Developing Economies (IDE) in Tokyo, Japan. His book on governance for the SDGs has been published in Springer’s ‘Sustainable Development Goals series’.

Robert Rubinstein

Chairman & Founding Partner

TBLI Group

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Robert Rubinstein is the Chairman and Founding Partner of TBLI Group Holdings B.V. with headquarters in The Netherlands. The Company was founded in 1998 with the mission of integrating ESG and TBLI into the culture and strategy of international corporate business and investment companies. Mr. Rubinstein has been instrumental in championing Sustainable and IMPACT investment dedicated to solving social issues. Prior to TBLI, Mr. Rubinstein had an extensive career in publishing. He founded the first bicycle magazine in The Netherlands, FIETS in 1981, and Source magazine in 1995, a publication focused on integrating “profits and principles” as a message to the business community. FIETS and Source were based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. FIETS was sold to VNU Magazines and it is still in circulation today. Mr. Rubinstein taught courses in Sustainable Finance at the Rotterdam School of Management from 2003–2006 and in his career has delivered many lectures at international business schools and universities. Mr. Rubinstein has served on various profit and nonprofit boards, and advises various organizations; i.e. International Center for Corporate Accountability, WETV editorial advisory board, IMSA (International Sustainability Consultancy), Chairman Swift Prize of the King Boudewijn Foundation, 3IG-International Interfaith Investment Group, Fortis Investments SRI fund., ICCA Advisory Board, and the Developments Alternatives Advisory Council. He was also a board member of the ASN Foundation, for nearly 10 years. At present, he is on Advisory Board of Project X Global (https://projectxglobal.com/ and Wealth & Society http://www.wealthandsociety.com/ and Lifestyles Magazine http:// lifestylesmagazine.com/web/ Rubinstein is a tenacious public speaker on both TBLI and ESG at global conferences and has been asked to speak at numerous engagements including the Global Reporting Initiative, the inaugural Impact Investing Israel Summit and World Pension Council in Singapore. TBLI was asked to organize a session at COP21, Paris in December 2015 and more recently, Mr. Rubinstein was invited at the request of Natural Step, a leading advisor on Sustainability for the Swedish corporate sector attended by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Eifion Williams

Founder Director and CEO

Circular Economy Wales CIC (CEW)

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Eifion Williams is Founder Director and CEO of Circular Economy Wales CIC (CEW), a social enterprise that campaigns to see the elimination of all waste in Wales and its conversion into wealth and locking it within the same local communities that collects the material. He is committed to the social economy model and has 20 years’ experience working within the sector in Wales; a former Business Advisor with the Wales Cooperative Centre helping social enterprises to set up and grow. Before this, Eifion worked for the Environment Wales programme, specialising in deriving income from recycling and reuse. Eifion helped develop Europe’s first Zero Waste Village which achieved Wales's highest landfill diversion rate of 87% within one month, which in turn encouraged the Welsh Government to adopt its ‘Towards Zero Waste’ strategy. Eifion was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2018 which took him to six European ‘complementary currency’ systems across Europe resulting in a report ‘Circular Wealth Wales – Recommendations for a Welsh Mutual Credit System’, to be published in 2019.

Mal Williams

Executive Director

Zero Waste International Trust

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Mal Williams is recognized as occupying a leading role in the development of Real Zero Waste (not simply zero to landfill) and sustainability principles over the last twenty years. As a founder member of Zero Waste International Alliance (www.zwia.org) he has actively promoted Zero Waste throughout the world and is now the Executive Director of The Zero Waste International Trust. Mal’s latest focus is soil health and the role good composting of organic wastes could play to restore soil life and health and grow better, tastier, more nutritious food more locally. Mal feels that in the face of global warming and rapid population growth we must all make massive changes to the way we treat resources. Zero Waste is a key first step in moving to a circular economy and there is no time to lose.

Lisa Yasko

Founder of Yellow Blue Strategy

Ukraine

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Lisa Yasko (Yelyzaveta Yasko) is a founder of Yellow Blue Strategy NGO, producer of documentary films about Crimea and history of KGB for Aljazeera, ZDF, ARTE, lecturer at Ukrainian Catholic University, a member of Europeyska Sotnya political platform in Ukraine. The first Ukrainian who graduated from Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford (Master of Public Policy). Former president of Oxford University Ukrainian Society 2016-2017. Political scientist and strategic communications specialist who worked at Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Ukrainian parliament and British Government (Department of Culture, Digital, Media and Sports). Lisa has expertise in arts as a tool for social impact. She worked on policy recommendations for culture, music industry, music education, and creative economy for governmental sector in UK and Ukraine. Her background is in political science, public policy and strategic communications. She co-founded and coordinated a number of initiatives in culture diplomacy, performing arts and media sectors in Ukraine. One of them, the music commemorative campaign 'Witness’, devoted to the 75th Anniversary of Babi Yar tragedy, received the first Cannes Lion Award in the history of Ukraine (Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity).