Actor Harrison Ford, Vice Chair of Conservation International, has been involved with the non-profit for some four decades, having found his calling in the peak of his Star Wars fame and success to join them in their ambitious efforts. Ford took to the stage with Bezos and Sánchez to lead a discussion on how we get wind in our sails when it comes to tackling pervasive problems.
“[Humans] really value beauty, art, and poetry, and nature is all of those things,” Bezos said. “That piece of us that values that, will cause us to come together. There are thousands of people coming up with innovations. We’re not moving backward to a pre-industrial society. We have to live in a world of abundance and we have to choose both: we are going to move forward in a world of abundance, and we are going to protect nature.”
Hope was a recurring theme throughout the evening. On a national level, Sánchez spoke about the Bezos Earth Fund’s recent Greening America’s Cities initiative; a $400 million commitment to enhancing green spaces in underserved urban areas. As well as fostering community, it’s a move to make sure children can access parks and playgrounds, ultimately nurturing their own desire to prioritize nature and protect the planet.
Self-admitted skeptic and environmental activist Shailene Woodley has been on the Conservation International Board since seeing first-hand the type of work they are carrying out in over 130 countries. “They’re not doing nothing, they’re not freezing with overwhelm,” the actress said. “They’re not fighting against something; they’re fighting for something. They’re on the offense, not the defense, and they’ve been on the offense for a really long time.”
Conservation International is calling this time the “decisive decade.” In a video of stunning nature scenes narrated by Idris Elba, another high-profile Board member of Conservation International, the actor warned: “We have a cosmic nanosecond, less than one decade, to reverse course” when it comes to protecting the irreplaceable and slowing climate change.
“Industry by industry, we’re transforming how humans produce and prosper: starting with farming and fashion,” Elba said. Conservation International Chair Peter Seligmann echoed this while announcing: “Our target over the next five years is 50 million hectares, four times the size of the state of New York, of [improved conservation areas.] That’s the scale at which we need to be thinking of. If we do not have hope, we can not possibly succeed.”
Dame Jacinda Arden, the celebrated proactive former Prime Minister of New Zealand, joined CI’s CEO Dr. M. Sanjayan in a tête-à-tête towards the end of the program. The duo discussed the power of optimism, with Dame Arden poignantly pointing out that what’s more proactive is having the expectation that things can and will change. “I want our young people to expect better,” she demanded. “The moment that we lose expectation bias, is the moment when we lose hope. If anyone ever criticizes you for being optimistic, ask them if they expect better? Because you do.”