There are few people who have done more for nature than Harvey Locke. A global leader in parks, wildlife and large-landscape conservation, Harvey is the founder of the Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative and helped launch the Nature Needs Half movement. In fact, it’s fair to say that Harvey is the godfather of wildlife corridors. A proud Albertan, trained lawyer, published writer and celebrated photographer, Harvey has won numerous awards, including being selected as a leader for the 21st Century by Time Magazine, receiving the J.B. Harkin Medal for Conservation and the Fred M. Packard Award for outstanding service to our world. Today, he serves as the chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and has been tasked with helping governments of the world set new protected area targets to halt biodiversity loss.
Travelling for more than 200 days of the year, we caught up with Harvey between trips and between meetings in downtown Calgary to better understand why connectivity – and parks – are critical to biodiversity.
What do you think?
- What did you learn from Harvey’s story?
- Do you think his Yellowstone to Yukon concept of large-landscape conservation is working? Is your answer based on your bias or the evidence?
- Should we protect half the world in order to halt biodiversity loss?
- Is Nature Needs Half too big and too divisive to have a real chance of working? Or is Nature Needs Half simply a response to what the science says we must do?
- Are parks a cost-efficient tool to not only protect biodiversity, but also curb climate change?
- Should there be places where nature gets to come first? Or is separating people and nature a mistake?
- What’s your perspective? And if you don’t like Harvey’s solutions, what’s your better idea?
More on Harvey
Listen to his presentation: Conservation targets and how much of the world do we need to protect?
Read articles on Harvey: Meet Harvey Locke – Conservation Leader And Changemaker, Harvey wants half
Favourite Book: Ishmael a novel by David Quinn
Favourite Documentary: Planet Earth