Events

There are a large number of zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted between animals and people through harmful micro-organisms. As human mortality and socio-economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic engulf the globe, there are overwhelming reasons to rethink wildlife trade markets that are widespread in multiple countries, including China and USA. Please join our global panel of experts as they discuss how we can think about protecting wildlife and curbing illegal wildlife trade.

Time: 9:00-10:30 pm (Beijing) | 6:30-8:00 pm (India) | 9:00-10:30 am (New York)

This webinar is jointly presented by Columbia Global Centers | Beijing, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai, and Columbia Global Centers | Nairobi for the CGC network.

Speakers

Claudia Dreifus is an American journalist, educator, lecturer, and producer of the erstwhile weekly feature “Conversation with…” of the Science Section of The New York Times. Known for her interviews with leading figures in world politics and science, she is currently a regular interviewer of the New York Review of Books, the Daily. She is an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) of Columbia University.  She is also an instructor of practice at Columbia's School of Professional Studies, where she trains scientists, including many conservation biologists, in journalism. Her class is called, "Writing About Global Science for the International Media." Professor Dreifus is the author of multiple books ---‘Scientific Conversations’, ‘Interview’ and ‘Higher Education?’ a few among them.

Karen Qin XUE is the Director of Global Coordination with WWF China. With many years’ service with global fortune-500 companies, as well as being an entrepreneur in the internet industry, Karen joined an NGO with her passion and commercial experience in 2015. While with WildAid, Karen and the China team generated USD 200M pro bono value per year, by promoting the public awareness campaign 'When The Buying Stops, The Killing Can Too'. Karen is now leading the Ivory High Impact Initiative, which targets the closure of Asia’s ivory markets. Having worked both in the commercial sector and in NGOs, Karen believes the driving force of sustainability must be the joint efforts of governments, corporates, and NGOs.

Dr. Abi Tamim Vanak is associated with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) as Senior Fellow (Associate Professor), and Convener of the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation. He is also a Fellow of the DBT/Wellcome Trust Clinical and Public Program. His research areas include animal movement ecology, disease ecology, OneHealth, savanna ecosystems, invasive species and wildlife in human-dominated systems. Much of his research work focuses on the outcome of interactions between species at the interface of humans, domestic animals and wildlife in semi-arid savannas and agro-ecosystems. Under OneHealth systems and disease ecology, he studies dynamics of rabies transmission in multi-host systems and the role of small and medium mammals in the transmission dynamics of Kyasanur forest disease.

Wendy Hapgood is the Founder and Director of Wild Tomorrow Fund, with offices in USA and Africa. She previously worked as a Director of Currency Sales for Barclays and Citibank, based in Japan, Singapore and New York for 10 years, and simultaneously spent much of her free time volunteering for wildlife organizations in Asia and America. Ms. Hapgood believes that biodiversity loss and climate change are two of the most critical issues facing our planet today. In 2015 she left the finance world to complete her Masters Degree in Sustainability Management at Columbia University's Earth Institute where she studied climate change science and policy, researched the intersection of poverty and rhino poaching, and studied new methods for financing the green economy. She now uses both her business knowledge and her environmental education to help protect our planet's biodiversity.

Register (China): Click here

Register (India, Kenya, and all other countries): Click here

 

Reminders

• Webinar will be conducted in English.
• After you complete the registration form, you will receive the meeting ID and password through email.
• If you have any questions or would like to join our WeChat group, please scan the QR code below to add Beijing Center's WeChat assistant for more information.