CELEBRATING THE LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS OF E.O. WILSON

SECURING HIS LEGACY THROUGH THE HALF-EARTH PROJECT

MAY 31, 2016

“The only solution to the Sixth Extinction is to increase the area of inviolable natural reserves to half the surface of the Earth or greater.” - E.O. Wilson

HONORARY HOST Glenn Close WITH SPECIAL GUEST E.O. Wilson IT IS TIME TO SAVE THE VERY FABRIC OF LIFE ON BEHALF OF the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundaton, I am pleased to welcome key partners, sup- porters and fans as we pay tribute to E.O. Wilson’s life achievements and come together to bring his ON EARTH AND grand vision for Half-Earth to life. RAISE OUR CONSERVATION Throughout his life, E.O. Wilson has spearheaded eforts to protect the world’s biodiversity. As one EFFORTS TO A of this century’s most eminent biologists, he has won more awards than another other scientst and is considered to be one of the greatest thought leaders of our tme. He is renowned for his ability to NEW LEVEL. convene scientsts and conservaton organizatons, to inspire the public, and to appeal to the core of our humanity. -- With his Half-Earth call-to-acton, Wilson has created the groundwork for one of the grandest con- servaton eforts of our tme, the Half-Earth Project. Our survival is inextricably entwined with the IT IS TIME TO survival of all species that call our planet home, yet our current destructve trajectory is resultng in SAVE HALF OF mass extncton of species and irreparable damage to our world. The Half-Earth Project will provide THE PLANET’S the urgently needed leadership and knowledge necessary to conserve half the planet for the rest of SURFACE FOR life, and stop the extncton crisis.

THE IMMENSITY The Half-Earth Project will: OF LIFE UPON WHICH WE • Get the Science Right. ABSOLUTELY • Provide leadership and knowledge that fosters understanding and tracks progress DEPEND, AND towards the goal of Half-Earth. WHICH DEPENDS • Share Knowledge for Generatons to Come. UPON US. • Perform and support research and scholarship that helps us best understand our world and how to take care of it. • Engage the Public and Catalyze Change. • Drive media campaigns and acton to protect half the planet. The Half-Earth Project has science at its core and our transcendent moral obligaton to the rest of life at its heart. Thank you for joining us this evening, and thank you for joining us in creatng a move- ment culture that embraces Half-Earth and works to save half the earth for the rest of life.

Paula J. Ehrlich, DVM, PhD President & CEO “Humanity is passing E Edward Osborne Wilson is generally through a botleneck recognized as one of the leading of overpopulaton D scientsts in the world. He is also and environmental W recognized as one of the foremost destructon. At the naturalists in both science and other end, if we pass A literature, as well as synthesiz- through safely and take most of Earth’s R er in works stretching from pure Program biology across to the social sci- life forms with us, D human existence ences and humanites. Wilson is could be a paradise acknowledged as the creator of two compared to today.” O scientfc disciplines (island biogeog- WELCOME S raphy and sociobiology), three uni- Dr. Paula J. Ehrlich - E.O. Wilson B fying concepts for science and the President & CEO, E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundaton humanites jointly (biophilia, biodi- O versity studies, and consilience), and HALF-EARTH PROJECT VIDEO R one major technological advance N in the study of global biodiversity SALUTATIONS (the Encyclopedia of Life). Among Robert Weil E more than one hundred awards he Editor-in-Chief of Liveright, a division of W.W. Norton & Company has received worldwide are the U. S. W Natonal Medal of Science, the Cra- foord Prize (equivalent of the Nobel, Thomas S. Kaplan I for ecology) of the Royal Swedish Founder and Chairman of the Board, Panthera L Academy of Sciences, and the Inter- natonal Prize of Biology of Japan; Adriana Dinu S and in leters, two Pulitzer Prizes in Executve Coordinator, UNDP Global Environment Finance O non-fcton, the Nonino and Serono N Prizes of Italy and COSMOS Prize of PRESENTATION BY E.O. WILSON Japan. For his work in conservaton With INTRODUCTION BY GLENN CLOSE and SHORT VIDEO he has received the Gold Medal of the Worldwide Fund for Nature and CLOSING the Audubon Medal of the Audubon Greg Carr Society. He was recognized by the President, Gorongosa Restoraton Project Natonal Geographic Society with the Hubbard Medal, which is award- ed for distncton in exploraton, dis- covery, and research. He is currently Honorary Curator in Entomology and University Research Professor Emer- itus at Harvard University and Chair- man of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversi- ty Foundaton Board of Advisors. On behalf of Thomas S. Kaplan, Daphne Recanat Kaplan, and Alan Rabinowitz, along with the extended Panthera family, we celebrate E.O. THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY Wilson and his SALUTES lifetme of E.O. WILSON magnifcent and FOR HIS COMMITMENT inspiratonal TO PROTECTING THE PLANET. achievements.

KAREN FRENCH

I would like to thank Doug and Kris Tompkins for their work conserving the natural integrity of the awe-inspiring lands and people of Patagonia, in both Chile and Argentna.

Their work is testament that the vision of venerable E. O. Wilson to conserve half the We haven’t saved half the Earth yet, earth is within reach. but 14 million acres isn’t a bad start. After decades spent decoding some of nature’s greatest Because of Doug and Kris mysteries, and helping humanity feel the joy of her diversity, and my friend Nadine Ed Wilson’s vision animates us now with dreams of Lehner I was able to preserving half of this astonishing planet. experience that awe from Our 170 staf conservationists in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Patagonia’s beauty and Bolivia, Mexico, and Brazil thank Ed for IN MEMORY OF DOUG TOMPKINS power. And for that I am showing us what really matters, and for challenging us to do something about it. forever grateful. www.natureandculture.org DEAR DR. WILSON, Thank you for your extraordinary conservaton leadership. Your friends at The Nature Conservancy contnue to be inspired by all you do to champion the protecton of our planet’s biodiversity.

AMY AND MARK TERCEK

BEST WISHES FROM MANY FRIENDS WHO COULDN’T MAKE IT TONIGHT

Alan Alda | Thomas A. Barron Joshua Bell | Michael Bloomberg Bill Clinton | Lee Durrell | Jane Fonda Harrison Ford | John Francis Bill and Melinda Gates | Dennis Gillings Al Gore | Jeremy Grantham | Amory Lovins GORONGOSA Yo Yo Ma | Philippe Prufer | David Rockefeller The Internatonal Conservaton Caucus Foundaton NATIONAL PARK Advancing U.S. leadership in internatonal David and Alice Rubenstein conservaton through public & private partnerships Jef and Sonia Sachs Thanks Professor E.O. Wilson for his & developing the next generaton of Congressional Tim Smit | Neil deGrasse Tyson inspiraton and friendship, and for conservaton leaders. Craig Venter | Jim Watson allowing us to name the “E.O. Wilson internatonalconservaton.org John Taylor “Ike” Williams Biodiversity Laboratory” in his honor. SUPPORT THE HALF-EARTH PROJECT AND BE A PART OF A GLOBAL MOVEMENT TO CONVERVE HALF THE EARTH FOR THE REST OF LIFE

“To strive against odds on behalf of all life would be humanity Special Thanks at its most noble.” Supporters - E.O. Wilson Ed Bass | Nicholas J. Pritzker Fred and Alice Stanback James M. and Cathleen D. Stone David Welborn and Anne Hunter Welborn

E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundaton Board of Directors David J. Prend, Chairman Marcia Angle | Gregory C. Carr John Gant | Thomas A. Paterson Charles J. Smith | Ashley Gordon Stone Paula J. Ehrlich (Ex-ofcio)

Volunteers Casey Johnson |Megan Johnson Kellie Laity | Kate Lindley Gwen McLaughlin | Ashley Powell Internatonal Conservaton Caucus Foundaton E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundaton - (919) 613-8137 - www.eowilsonfoundaton.org Environment Hall - 9 Circuit Drive, Box 90328 - 5th Floor, Room 5101 - Durham, NC 27708