When can you start being an effective advocate for an issue? For Ken Wu, it began in his Calgary high school where he helped launch an environmental club and, for a quarter century, his passionate advocacy for nature has never waned. With degrees in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of British Columbia, Ken has worked as a biologist, tree-planter and math teacher. But he’s most well-known for his work to protect old growth forests, first as the executive director of the Wilderness Committee and then as the co-founder and executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance.
Yes, Ken is an environmentalist, but he’s also a researcher and a pragmatist. When he saw that his work wasn’t addressing the root cause of biodiversity loss, he went back to the drawing board. Today, he is the founder and executive director of a new movement, the Endangered Ecosystem Alliance. His bold vision? Create a federal Endangered Ecosystem Act that includes addressing both local cultures and economies. We spoke with Ken by Skype from his home in Montreal to learn more about how to launch an idea and why saving ecosystems might be a game-changer for halting biodiversity loss and tackling climate change.
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What do you think?
- What do you think about Ken’s vision? Is it realistic? Too pragmatic?
- Should businesses and local communities be trusted to manage endangered ecosystems or do we need more regulation, like an endangered ecosystems act?
- Will government action cause friction and ultimately setback – rather than advance – action to conserve biodiversity?
- How will you brainstorm ideas that could lead to new solutions to the challenges we face?