Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is using a specially produced virtual reality video to showcase some of the spectacular landscapes where we work at a major international summit this week.
Nature finance experts are gathered in Sydney for the Global Nature Positive Summit, a three-day program of talks about growing investment in efforts to restore nature. The summit is co-hosted by the Australian federal and New South Wales state governments and brings together leaders from government, the private sector, and research to share ideas on the transition to a 'nature-positive' economy.
AWC is well represented, with Chief Executive Tim Allard attending alongside Board Chair Nick Butcher. AWC Board Director Professor Martine Maron will speak at the summit for a session on 'research empowering change' on Tuesday afternoon.
"AWC has long recognised a role for the private sector to help finance and facilitate effective conservation that results in real outcomes for biodiversity," Allard said. "This summit is the next step towards designing mechanisms that can unlock that flow of finance towards nature."
Attendees will have the opportunity to don a VR headset and be transported to two AWC sanctuaries, an experience developed specifically for the event. The virtual tour includes taking a stroll through the tall eucalypt forests of Waulinbakh Wildlife Sanctuary in New South Wales, and a wander through the blooming wildflowers at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Australia. The VR experience also explains how AWC's approach to conservation at these places is restoring native species and healthy ecosystems.
The Global Nature Positive Summit builds on international commitments made in 2022 as part of the most recent United Nations Biodiversity Summit. One of the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is an agreement to increase finance for initiatives that protect and restore biodiversity, alongside increasing protected areas. Experts have identified a global finance gap of approximately $700 billion USD per year required to adequately address the biodiversity crisis.
