Winter has officially hit Fort Collins. Snow has been steadily falling and temperatures don’t seem to want to rise above 30 degrees. It’s a prime time for me to curl up on my couch, boil some tea and binge watch Netflix. But instead of watching episodes of The Office for the 1 millionth time, I discovered that the Congress has set up live streams of discussion panels!
Here’s what I’m tuning into:
1. World leaders’ dialogue: Stand up for your rights- parks and social equality. In one of our classes we recently completed a protected area simulation where we worked in groups to set up a system of protected areas for a fictional country. A major theme throughout our discussions was how to include local communities within this new system of protected areas. This panel is going to look at social equality and how the integration of local knowledge and traditions can play a role in achieving conservation goals.
2. World leaders’ dialogue: Health, naturally. I’m really excited/intrigued about the connection between human health and the environment. This discussion panel is going to explore how parks and protected areas can be better managed to promote healthy environments that can be beneficial for human populations (hellllooo ecosystem services!).
To explore other topics and tune in yourself, check out the WPC live stream schedule:
http://www.worldparkscongress.org/programme/streaming.html