We have just opened registration for the Natural Capital Symposium, which will take place March 23-25, 2015 on Stanford's campus. Our intention is to continue fostering and supporting the community of practice using natural capital understanding to inform decisions. There will be multiple tracks during our three-day event, focusing on our approach, our science and tools, and the challenges ecosystem services practitioners face in engaging with decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public at large.

The science and tools portion of The Natural Capital Symposium will be a 3-day course in NatCap's approach and our primary software tool, InVEST, for those who have limited or no prior experience with our approach and tools. There will also be more advanced technical training sessions offered each day for experienced users, focusing on hands-on work with specific models, the latest updates and advancements with the software, and other topics.
 

In our sessions on Pathways to Impact, experts from around the world will share experiences in using InVEST and related tools and approaches to drive change in policy and practice.  We will compare theories of change with actual experience of change in contrasting sites, sectors and decision contexts.  In sessions on Integrating Natural Capital and Resilience, we will discuss recent advances, emerging trends, and key challenges. NatCap strives to advance the science behind ecosystem services, and to apply new ways to bring our approach to governments, corporations, and other organizations across the globe. Sharing lessons and opportunities among members of the broader practitioner community is a great way to do that.

We will also be running a "learning exchange" throughout the Symposium. We know that we have a lot to learn from others working in this space, and we hope to foster a lively exchange of knowledge, information, and understanding.  The NatCap Learning Exchange will offer a variety of opportunities to work in small focus groups with NatCappers as well as practitioners from other organizations, including model-specific small-group workshops, poster sessions, focused discussion groups, panel discussions, and more. This will be a great opportunity to seek out new collaborations with NatCap and many other organizations and individuals who will also be in attendance.

We're excited to be developing an event that our community will be excited to return to year after year. We'll have more details about how you and your organization can get involved, as well as a full agenda rolling out in the coming months. We look forward to seeing you at Stanford in March! Please CLICK HERE to register today!

The Natural Capital Project will be featured as a model of "next generation environmental solutions" at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment's upcoming 10th anniversary symposium on Nov. 11. NatCap Managing Director Mary Ruckelshaus will join Inter-American Development Bank Lead Natural Resources Specialist Michele Lemay and others in a roundtable discussion about progress made and the road ahead to sustainability. The  "Breaking Through to Global Sustainability" symposium also will feature Woods researchers and external partners working in the water, sustainable development, and public health fields.  Read more and reserve your place...