University of California, Berkeley
College of Natural Resources, Center for Sustainable Resource Development
The Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) at the University of California, Berkeley, offers a unique learning opportunity for mid-career practitioners and decision-makers to broaden their knowledge and perspectives on environmental and natural resource science, policy, management, and leadership. Through exposure to innovative sustainability approaches and dialogue, ELP participants develop the tools and skills necessary to meet environmental goals that also reduce poverty and social conflict. Established in August 2000 with seed funding from UC Berkeley alumni Carolyn and Richard Beahrs, the ELP offers an annual three week summer certificate course at UC Berkeley, and coordinates the Berkeley ELP Alumni Network with nearly 460 members from over 90 countries. The ELP also supports post-training conservation and sustainable development collaborative projects with alumni, their organizations and the UC Berkeley community of faculty, staff, and students.
Nearly 20 Beahrs ELP alumni attended the June 2012 “Rio + 20” UN Summit on Sustainable Development as well as four Berkeley/ELP faculty members. Some participated in official negotiations but most attended parallel forums and side events centered on the issues of greatest concern to their organizations. In this article we feature the reflections of some of these participants six months after the event. One common feature stands out – that despite negative claims by media and experts regarding the lack of major inter-governmental commitments and outcomes, on individual and organizational levels, ELP participants felt strong solidarity at the Summit and are committed to moving their programs and partnerships for sustainable development forward.
Six months after Rio+20, all of the ELP alumni and faculty who par
ticipated remain actively involved in follow-up activities. The Rio Summit brought people together to dialogue, debate, renew commitments, establish alliances and contacts that make their sustainable development work more effective and visible. Kofo, from Nigeria, provides some concrete examples, “As a result of contacts made in Rio, CCDI involved a UNISDR (UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) consultant in a successful workshop on disaster management in Lagos; ENDA Senegal invited us to join the AfriCAN Climate Project; ICLEI has asked us to help get more local governments involved in their activities; and Columbia University has invited CCDI to become part of the Climate Change and Cities network. Participation in Rio +20 has given credence to the activities we are engaged in, prior to and after the event, and hopefully will provide inspiration and knowledge to help sustain CCDI over the next 10 years.”
To read the full story click here
Dr. Svetlana Chernikova (ELP 2003)
This recording begins with a slideshow of the late Dr. Svetlana Chernikova, professor and environmental leader from St. Petersburg, Russia. An introduction follows by Dr. Robin Marsh of UC Berkeley presenting highlights of Svetlana’s life and career. Next, Angelina Davydova, who is an environmental journalist and professor at St. Petersburg State University, and the first Svetlana Chernikova Fellow to attend the Environmental Leadership Program at UC Berkeley, speaks about the new and growing community-based, environmental and political activism in Russia. Dr. Fritjof Capra, Founder of the Center for Ecoliteracy, presents the keynote lecture on Systems Thinking and Sustainability. The lecture presents an evolution of systems thinking in Europe over time, with a focus on the less well-known but crucial contributions of Russian scientists. Dr. Capra then links systems thinking with the concepts of economic and social sustainability. He ends with an examination of the main components for achieving sustainability on our planet. Among these are collaborative leadership and inter-sectoral social networking for which Dr. Svetlana Chernikova was widely known. Dr. Capra challenges us all to carry out Svetlana’s legacy through our individual and collective contributions to sustainability.
Click here to see the full lecture.
In March, 2012 two ELP alumni, Kim Kieser (ELP 2009) and Bishnu Thakali (ELP 2011), received prestigious environmental awards. They were recognized for the work that the organizations they both founded and direct are doing within their countries.
Bishnu Thakali’s (Nepal) organization, Women’s Environment Preservation Committee (WEPCO), received the SEED Gender Equality Award 2011. The annual international SEED Awards, which are part of the SEED Initiative, “recognize inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs whose grassroots businesses in developing countries can help to meet sustainable development challenges” (press release, http://www.seedinit.org/).
Kim Kieser’s (South Africa, ELP 2009) Foundation, SOUL Foundation (Save Our Universal Land), was recently awarded a Climate Change Leadership Award for its WET-Africa Model for a Sustainable Green Economy. Soul Foundation, with its integrated waste management systems and river restoration programmes, “a project exemplary in linking directly to climate change”, was awarded second in the waste minimisation category of the awards in March.
Highlights from ELP 2012 Alums
ELP Alums Reflect on the UNFCC COP17, January 2012
Goldman Environmental Prize Goes to ELP Alumnus, May 2011
ELP Alums Report Back After the UNFCCC COP16 in Cancun, Mexico February, 2011