System-wide Approaches to Primate Conservation

Introduced for the first time, this year’s conference included a special public event featuring an evening of cocktails and conversation about primate conservation in the Museum’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Hall of the Universe.

A panel of experts joined CBC Director Ana Luz Porzecanski to discuss the social, economic, and cultural factors surrounding primate conservation today.

• Environmental activist Farwiza Farhan was awarded the 2016 Whitley Award in Ape Habitats for her work to save the rainforest in Sumatra by opposing illegal oil palm plantations, tackling poaching, and empowering local communities.
• Stanislaus Kivai from Rutgers University and the Institute of Primate Research, Kenya, studies the nutritional ecology of the highly endangered Tana River Mangabey.
• Dr. Nora Bynum, Director of the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum in Chicago, provides leadership for the conservation activities of the Field Museum, incorporating new sites and initiatives with the goal of generating large-scale advances in conservation and cultural understanding.

Farwiza and Nora actively participated as mentors throughout the conference, and Stanislaus presented his research in a talk.

This free public event was organized in collaboration with the Arcus Foundation and the Whitley Fund for Nature. It was the culmination of the Student Conference on Conservation Science-NY, organized in partnership with Yale University, University of Michigan, Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, and Harvard Forest. SCCS is generously supported by Marshall M. Weinberg. Additional support is provided by Vivian H. Donnelley, Strachan Donnelley Family Charitable Lead Unitrust.