Wade Davis, an anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, will be the guest speaker at the Conservation Alliance membership meeting.
Davis will discuss the loss of native cultures and how conservation can help save cultural diversity worldwide. Davis has published scientific and popular articles on subjects ranging from the global biodiversity crisis and the ethnobotany of South American Indians to Haitian voodoo and Amazonian myth and religion. His photographs have been published widely. Recently, Davis work has taken him to Peru, Borneo, Tibet, the high Arctic, the Orinoco Delta of Venezuela and northern Kenya.
Davis talk, “Light at the Edge of the World: A Journey through the Realm of Vanishing Cultures,” will focus on the loss of cultural diversity worldwide. Implicit in Davis message is that the decline of biological and cultural diversity go hand in hand just as we face a biological crisis indicated by a loss of species, we also face a cultural crisis as indigenous cultures and languages vanish. “We are lucky to have Wade Davis speak at our meeting,” said John Sterling, Conservation Alliance Executive Director. “His talks are legendary for their riveting message and incredible photography.”
Also at the meeting, Dan Ritzman, Director of the Alaska Coalition, will give an update on the effort to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. And, the Conservation Alliance will provide a summary of grants made during the 2005 Fall funding cycle.
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.
Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.
Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $4.5 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 34 million acres of wildlands; 25 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 16,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas.
The Conservation Alliance membership meeting is on Sunday, January 29, 2006 from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. at the Salt Lake City Marriott, Salon F.
