The 2022 Symposium focused on transboundary conservation, specifically across the US-Mexico border, which spans nearly 2,000 miles across six distinct ecoregions and shapes a landscape that is home to more than 15 million people. The region represents a unique opportunity to explore how to improve conservation outcomes for both people and ecosystems – and how to do so in the context of multinational, transboundary collaboration.
The Symposium concluded on Friday, October 7, 2022. The morning started with a keynote address from Assistant Secretary of Water and Science Tanya Trujillo, on the importance of federal collaboration as critical to the successful management of our vital river systems.
To complement this, a panel of experts including Roberto Salmon, Jennifer Pitt, Carlos de la Parra, and Anne Castle discussed the complex and innovative Colorado River Minutes process that has allowed the two countries to reach agreements that preserve the river ecosystems and the human livelihoods that rely on a sustainable water supply to prosper.
Calixto Mateos-Hanel, Managing Director of the North American Development Bank, shared the innovative ways in which NADB is funding work that simultaneously fosters sustainable development while meeting environmental goals.
The morning concluded with an incredible panel of NGO leaders sharing the work they are doing to integrate climate resilience into their conservation work throughout the borderlands. Thank you to Serge Dedina, Fay Hartman, and Jon Dale for sharing the innovative projects you all are doing to help your communities adapt and prepare for the effects of climate change.
It takes a lot of passion, collaboration, planning, and science to make conservation happen. But none of it happens if we can’t pay for it. The afternoon sessions of Friday dove into innovations and ideas of ways to pay for the work with examples from the borderlands including a panel discussion on why business needs biodiversity, moderated by Jennifer Gooden, President Biophilia Foundation, which advances biodiversity conservation on private lands by fostering systemic change through people, their communities, and direct action. Participants then heard from experts from philanthropy in the US and Mexico who spoke about the role they see for the future of philanthropy in the borderlands and beyond to help further conservation goals.
The final speaker of the Symposium was Ron Rael, a designer, activist, trained architect, author, and Eva Li Memorial Chair in Architecture at the University of California Berkeley. His research interests connect Indigenous and traditional material practices to contemporary technologies and issues. He is a thought leader within the topics of additive manufacturing, border wall studies, and earthen architecture. His moving presentation gave participants hope and a vision for the future as we continue to have constructive conversations that create meaningful change.
You can now watch all of the recordings from Day 2 of the Symposium in English and Spanish. For more, including the pre-conference webinars, be sure to visit the Center’s YouTube Channel. Please note, due to a power outage on Friday morning, some session recordings are incomplete.
Symposium Day 2 Recordings
Welcome and introductory remarks
- Beth Conover, Executive Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation
- Tony Frank, Chancellor, Colorado State University System
- Luis Benitez, Vice President for Government Affairs and Global Impact, VF Corporation (emcee)
Federal perspectives on transboundary rivers
- Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior
Multi-national cooperation on water: Interstate compacts as a model for transboundary cooperation
- Roberto Salmon, Founding Partners, Luken Center for Strategies in Water and the Environment, and Former Commissioner, Mexico-United States International Boundary and Water Commission
- Carlos de la Parra, Chair of the Board, Raise the River
- Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River Program Director, National Audubon Society
- Moderated by Anne Castle, Senior Fellow, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at the University of Colorado Law School
North America Development (NAD) Bank: Promoting sustainable development while protecting the environment across the U.S.-Mexico border
- Calixto Mateos-Hanel, Managing Director, North American Development Bank
Climate impacts to biodiversity and water in the border region
- Jon Dale, Director, Rio Grande Valley & Mexico, American Forests
- Serge Dedina, Executive Director, WILDCOAST
- Fay Hartman, Conservation Director, Colorado River Basin Program, American Rivers
- Moderated by Jen Kovecses, Assistant Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation
Financing ambitious conservation across the border: Innovations in financing critical conservation in Mexico
- Lorenzo Jose De Rosenzweig Pasquel, Founder and CEO, Terra Habitus
Business needs biodiversity: Case studies from the U.S. and Mexico
- Valeria Cañedo, Conservation Biologist, Wild Sonora Collective
- Alejandro Espinosa Trevino, Biodiversity Conservation Manager, CEMEX
- Alberto Garza Santos, Chairman, Promotora Ambiental S.A.B. (PASAB MX)
- Moderated by Jennifer Gooden, President/CEO, Biophilia Foundation
The role of philanthropy in the future of climate resilience and transboundary conservation
- Renee Gonzalez, Director, Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature
- Ted Kowalski, Colorado River Initiative Lead and Senior Program Officer, Environment Program Walton Family Foundation
- Emily Warren Armitano, Director, Land Conservation and Water Programs, Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
- Moderated by Beth Conover, Executive Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation
Buttons: Watch in English | Watch in Spanish
A vision for the future: Ambitious ideas for advancing conservation for healthy landscapes and people in the borderlands
- Ron Rael, Chair, Department of Art Practice, and Professor of Architecture, Eva Li Memorial Chair, University of California Berkeley
Closing remarks
- Beth Conover, Executive Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation
- Luis Benitez, Vice President for Government Affairs and Global Impact, VF Corporation (emcee)