Value of Nature Webinar

Nature conservation is a highly debated topic because it’s difficult for some to understand its true value. The Value of Nature Webinar touches upon the value nature has to humans and to itself, from monetary and philosophical perspectives.

People can attribute differing values to nature, as they conceptualise it in different ways. Nature can have a more symbolic and personal meaning for some, while for others it might simply be a source of services and goods. The value of nature can be acknowledged in the health benefits it provides, as well as in its more general importance for communities. The intrinsic value of nature reflects a perspective which sees nature as having value in its own right, independent of human uses. These varying contextualizations can be broadly categorised as intangible values on one hand, and monetary values due to ecosystem services on the other.

In this TDTM webinar, the conceptualisations of the value of nature will be addressed, providing insights into how differently nature can be perceived from person to person, and ultimately from stakeholder to stakeholder. With us will be our esteemed guests, Pakhi Das and Michael Onyebuchi Eze

Pakhi is an early career conservation strategist currently working as an independent consultant on sustainable infrastructure development in India. With a masters in Sustainability and Environmental Studies from the University of Strathclyde, she has about two and a half years of experience of working with WWF India as a project officer in Wildlife and Habitat Division.

Michael is the Assistant professor of global and comparative Philosophy at Leiden University.  Formerly a visiting scholar at the Center for African Studies Stanford University, and a research associate at the Martin Luther King Jr., Research and Education Institute, Stanford University. He was a Stiftung Mercator Foundation Research Fellow at the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut (Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities) in Essen, Germany from 2006-2009. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Studies from Cambridge University and a second Ph.D. (Summa Cum Laude) in History and Cultural Reflection from Universität Witten-Herdecke, Germany. MA in philosophy from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and BA Honours in philosophy and Religious Studies from the Jesuit School of Philosophy, in Harare, Zimbabwe in association with the University of Zimbabwe. He has taught in Universities in Europe, Africa, and the USA.  He has published many academic works including two books and numerous academic essays. He is also an African humanist that subscribes wholly and fully to the doctrine of ubuntu in theory and practice.