There is an accelerating effort among scientists, forest and wildlife managers as well as technologists and interest groups from NASA, Google and the Jane Goodall Institute to harness new technologies. These technologies, which include satellite sensors, drones, camera traps and DNA detectors, can be used to improve and maintain forest and wildlife conservation; fight and expose illegal, unsustainable practices; and prevent the use of dangerous fuels and chemicals. Our panel will discuss what is new and what is working in this area. They will also discuss what 21st century technology might soon be available to protect and create healthy and safe environments in the Bay Area and throughout the world.

SPEAKERS

Rhett Butler
Founder and CEO, Mongabay

Topher White
Founder and CEO, Rainforest Connection

Crystal Davis
Director, Global Forest Watch

Virgil Zetterlind
Director, Protected Seas; Chief Technology Office, Conserve.IO

5:30 p.m. check-in
6 p.m. program

Tickets:
$20 general admission
$8 for Commonwealth Club members
FREE for students

https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2017-09-27/can-technology-drive-conservation

Join us on Thursday, July 28 (note the August BATFN is being held in late July!) from 6-8:30 pm for a Bay Area Tropical Forest Network (BATFN) event held at the Rainforest Action Network’s office in San Francisco.

Peter Riggs of Pivot Point will be leading a discussion on the timber sector in tropical developing countries. Come ready to share your experiences.

Is it possible to move timber production beyond its often violent and destructive origins? What business models are necessary to move tropical timber markets from illegality to legality, from monocultures to mixed stands, and to combat continuous deforestation at the forest frontier? What can we learn from attempts to ‘de-commodify’ other forest products that serve both local and distant buyers – such as cacao, coffee, or cardamom— where fair-trade certification and a livelihoods back-story can be built into product appeal? Can smallholders benefit from any of this? How does any of it get financed?

Join us for a fun, interactive evening unpacking these forest-sector transition questions. [Guest presenter is …] After a quick summary of the science and rights-based debates on tropical logging, we’ll take stock of current strands in the effort to improve the development performance of tropical timber: anti-corruption, tenure security, sustainable livelihoods, REDD+ payments, certification, chain-of-custody innovations, ‘landscape approaches’.

Building on that foundation we’ll present a multi-country effort, ‘Fair Wood’. Fair Wood’s entrepreneur-support model is galvanizing Scandinavia’s progressive business community with new ideas about wood-product sourcing and around new roles for companies and smallholders in timber value chains.

We’ll troubleshoot the Fair Wood model, draw out key assumptions, and ask what components are attractive (or not) in the American market – sketching an ‘ecosystem of actions’ around preventing tropical deforestation, while delving more deeply into one European effort that takes its impetus from a progressive business community.

Admission is free and open to all, with refreshments (including wine and beer) courtesy of the Bay Area Tropical Forest Network and Pivot Point. Thank you to RAN for generously hosting the event at their office.

WHEN: Thursday, July 28, 6-8:30 pm

WHERE: 425 Bush Street, Ste 300, San Francisco, CA 94108 USA

Please RSVP so we know how much food and drink to buy

Join the Solutions Journalism Network, the Bay Area Tropical Forest Network (BATFN), and OpenIDEO for a discussion on how to find and cover stories about effective responses to the challenges that face our forests, oceans, and wildlife. We welcome anyone working on environmental issues or any storytellers or communicators with a demonstrated interest in conservation to join us for talks from Rhett Butler, the founder of Mongabay.com; Jenny Park of the Goldman Environmental Prize; Byron Swift, president of Nature and Culture International; Jason Mark, editor of Sierra Club’s magazine; Rikha Sharma Rani, intelligence director at the Solutions Journalism Network; and Willie Shubert, Program Officer with Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.

WHERE: This event will be held at IDEO – 501 The Embarcadero, Pier 28 Annex , San Francisco, CA 94105

WHEN: Tuesday, July 12 at 6 PM – 8 PM in PDT

RSVP via EventBrite is required to attend.

BATFN has been on hiatus the past few months, but we’re getting ready for some meetings in coming months. In the meantime, we’ll highlight a few events that may be of interest to members.

Solutions Journalism Network San Francisco Hub Launch Party
Hosted by the Solutions Journalism Network

The Solutions Journalism Network is relaunching its website, and with it, unveiling the Solutions Hub, an online space to connect, support, and celebrate reporters, editors, academics, students, communications professionals, social entrepreneurs, and practitioners in various fields around the world—all those interested in informing and shaping the world we live in. We’ll also be releasing the Solutions Story Tracker, our growing collection of over 1,000 solutions stories, searchable by author, publication, location, and keyword.

Join us to celebrate! Come hear about the organizations we’re working with, learn about how you can get involved, and connect with other practitioners of solutions journalism. We welcome anyone interested in how we can overcome societal problems, create better policy and programs, and foster a more productive public conversation.

Remarks by SJN co-founder Courtney Martin. Light appetizers and beverages will be served.

WHEN
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (PDT)
WHERE
TechSoup – 435 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

More information