Join us on December 9 at 10:00 a.m. EST / 4:00 p.m. CET for a webinar led by Sam Muller featuring Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka and Dr. Fernando Trujillo as they discuss how to create a better future for the Amazon, the Congo—and for all of us.
REGISTER HERE
Climate change is—by definition—both global and local at the same time. Arguably, that dual reality is a core reason why humanity has struggled to make the transformations needed to bend the arc of our planet’s evolution in ways that benefit most people in most places.
The UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil, is only the most recent proof point. Worrying about Everything Everywhere All at Once doesn’t work: it overloads both global and local political circuits.
So let’s focus on two regions whose trajectories will determine the fate of much of the planet: the Amazon and the Congo River Basins. If those Basins continue moving in the wrong direction, the consequences for people in the Americas, Africa, and Europe will be catastrophic. Almost no one disputes that.
Protecting the Amazon and the Congo isn’t just an environmental challenge—it is equally a governance challenge, a justice challenge, and an economic development challenge. And unless these are addressed together, at the local level, no global plan will be enough. Decades of largely top-down strategies have not delivered the needed results. As recent analysis shows, saving these basins will require more bottom-up approaches that intentionally integrate three foundations: rule of law and governance, economic development and conservation, and climate action.
We want to discuss new thinking emerging from both Basins that emphasizes this: building change from the ground up, strengthening local institutions, supporting community-led governance, creating legal and accountable frameworks, and anchoring sustainable economic opportunities within ecological restoration.
Date: Tuesday, December 9
Time: 10 am EST / 4:00 pm CEST
Add the event to your calendar: https://evt.to/pbqq88d91z4n
Moderator:
Sam Muller, Partner at Justice Compass Advisers; founding CEO of HiiL and the Wildlife Justice Commission; former Chair of WWF Netherlands.
A Dutch social entrepreneur and strategic adviser, Sam led the establishment of the International Criminal Court before founding HiiL and the Wildlife Justice Commission, both internationally recognized for advancing justice and conservation. He has advised governments, CEOs, and civil society leaders on governance reform, institutional transformation, and ESG strategy.
His contributions to justice and environmental protection earned him the 2022 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize and a Royal Decoration of the Netherlands (2024)
Featured Panelists:
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is a Ugandan wildlife veterinarian and founder of two award-winning initiatives: Conservation Through Public Health, which promotes the coexistence of endangered mountain gorillas, other wildlife, and local communities; and Gorilla Conservation Coffee, a social enterprise that supports farmers living around gorilla habitats.
A pioneer of the One Health approach, she has led efforts to highlight the deep connections between human and wildlife wellbeing—work made especially urgent during the COVID-19 era. Her leadership and vision earned her the 2022 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize
Dr. Fernando Trujillo is a Colombian marine biologist and world-renowned expert on river dolphins. With an MSc in Environmental Sciences and a PhD in Zoology, he chairs the Small Cetacean Subcommittee of the International Whaling Commission and serves on multiple IUCN specialist groups. A prolific researcher with more than 300 publications, he has led major expeditions and advanced conservation science across aquatic ecology, endangered species, wetlands, and protected areas.
His groundbreaking contributions to science and conservation have earned him numerous honors, including the 2024 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize.
