The Rio Trio: climate, biodiversity and desertification and the path to 2030.

Date: Wednesday 19 February 2025

Time: 12pm – 1pm

Location: Main Seminar Room, David Attenborough Building

The next 5 years will see a number of key global meetings for biodiversity and the planet in general, as we gear up towards the end of this critical decade. In this panel discussion colleagues from TRAFFIC, UNEP-WCMC, BirdLife and the RSPB will share their perspectives on the international policy landscape, including the three Rio Conventions – Biodiversity, Climate and Desertification – and how these are working together as the Rio Trio.

The panel – chaired by Melanie Heath (Senior Director – Global Programme Office, TRAFFIC) – will share their reflections on the Rio Trio and the policy landscape over the next few years. In particular they will cover:

• Melissa de Kock (Deputy Director, UNEP-WCMC) will cover national/government engagement in the conventions.
• Melanie Coath (Senior Climate Change Policy Officer and Acting Head of Global Policy, RSPB) will look at the intersection between climate change and biodiversity in the conventions.
• Martin Harper (CEO, BirdLife) will focus on practitioners around the globe in the context of these conventions.

Following a panel discussion on each area there will then be time for questions from the audience.

To register for a Zoom link, please sign up here: Register for Zoom details.

Please note that you will receive a Zoom link by email on the morning of the seminar.