By Karen Hallisey
Against the backdrop of the biggest global summit for living things, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, UCLA has pledged to further help Earth’s animals and plants by joining the new Nature Positive Universities Alliance.
Created jointly by the UN Environment Programme and the University of Oxford, the alliance aims to spur the world’s higher education institutions to do more work that halts and reverses damage to natural areas so species and ecosystems can flourish. Being “nature positive” encompasses everything a university does, from its teaching and research endeavors to the operations that keep it running.
“Universities have an important role in addressing the global biodiversity crisis through research and teaching, and also through the hands-on opportunity for restoration and access to nature on our campuses,” said Nurit Katz, UCLA’s chief sustainability officer.