Collective Action to Save the Planet with Justin Winters (One Earth)

Justin Winters, co-founder and executive director of One Earth, discusses her organization's mission to drive collective action in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. Through groundbreaking science, storytelling, and innovative philanthropic approaches, One Earth empowers solutionaries worldwide. Winters, drawing upon her extensive experience in the environmental movement, highlights the urgency of the situation and emphasizes the need for a solutions-oriented approach that inspires hope and empowers individuals to take action.

One Earth's Three-Pillar Framework for Climate Action

One Earth's approach to tackling the climate crisis is rooted in a science-backed, three-pillar framework developed through collaborations with leading scientists and experts. This framework, a result of the One Earth Climate Model, provides a clear roadmap for achieving the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The three pillars are:

1. Just Transition to Renewable Energy: This pillar emphasizes the need to shift away from fossil fuels and transition towards 100% renewable energy sources. This transition must be just, ensuring a fair and equitable shift for workers and communities dependent on fossil fuel industries.

2. Protecting, Connecting, and Restoring 50% of the World's Lands and Oceans: Recognizing the crucial role of nature in climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation, this pillar calls for the protection, connection, and restoration of half of the Earth's land and ocean ecosystems. This involves expanding protected areas, creating ecological corridors, and implementing sustainable land management practices.

3. Transitioning Food and Fiber Systems to Regenerative Agriculture: This pillar focuses on transforming agricultural practices to be more sustainable and aligned with ecological principles. Regenerative agriculture aims to enhance soil health, sequester carbon, conserve water, and promote biodiversity. This shift requires supporting farmers in adopting regenerative practices and promoting sustainable food systems.

"We need to accomplish three things to solve the climate crisis. The first one is a just transition to 100% renewable energy. The second one is protecting, connecting, and restoring 50% of the world's lands and oceans. And then the third piece is transitioning our food and fiber systems to regenerative agriculture."

Redefining Conservation in the 21st Century

Winters advocates for a redefinition of conservation, moving beyond traditional models of fenced-off protected areas towards more inclusive and integrated approaches. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing and supporting indigenous-led conservation efforts, acknowledging the deep connection between indigenous communities and their lands.

"I often say that it's time to redefine what conservation means, because we're in this moment where some of the old-school notions of, you know, kind of fortress or, you know, fenced-off areas of land that are protected. We're evolving beyond that to to an understanding of how humans can live in protected reciprocity and in respect of nature."

This paradigm shift in conservation involves:

• Indigenous-led Conservation: Empowering and supporting indigenous communities who are often the best stewards of their ancestral lands.
• Community-Based Conservation: Engaging local communities in conservation efforts, recognizing their knowledge and stake in protecting their local ecosystems.
• Integrating Human Needs: Developing conservation strategies that consider the livelihoods and well-being of local populations, promoting sustainable coexistence between humans and nature.

The Significance of Ecological Corridors

Winters underscores the crucial role of ecological corridors in connecting fragmented habitats and facilitating wildlife movement. These corridors, often likened to "highways for wildlife," are essential for maintaining healthy gene pools, enabling species migration in response to climate change, and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts.

She draws a compelling analogy between ecological corridors and the human body:

"The best kind of corollary to understanding why that is important is thinking about your own human body and how your organs couldn't function if they were disconnected from each other."

The benefits of establishing ecological corridors are manifold:

• Enhanced Biodiversity: By facilitating movement and gene flow, corridors help maintain healthy and resilient populations of plant and animal species.
• Climate Change Adaptation: Corridors allow species to shift their ranges in response to changing climatic conditions, increasing their chances of survival.
• Reduced Human-Wildlife Conflict: By providing safe passage for wildlife, corridors can minimize encounters and conflicts with human populations, particularly in agricultural areas.
• Carbon Sequestration: Corridors, often consisting of forests and other natural ecosystems, play a vital role in absorbing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

A Bioregional Lens for Conservation

Winters highlights the importance of a bioregional approach to conservation, emphasizing the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the need for collaborative action across geopolitical boundaries. Bioregions, encompassing both land and marine areas, represent distinct ecological units with shared environmental characteristics and conservation needs.

She explains the rationale behind adopting a bioregional framework:

"So we ended up working with, I think it was 40 different leading conservation and biodiversity experts to create a new bioregional framework for the world. And in that process, we kind of pushed them a little bit because typically bioregional older bioregional frameworks really separated out land and oceans. And I was thinking about this framework as this is a super powerful framework offering to invite people to join their bioregion and to build a collective movement to save the planet. Like that was why I was so interested in the bioregions."

Key aspects of a bioregional approach include:

• Transboundary Collaboration: Fostering cooperation between countries, states, and communities that share a common bioregion, promoting unified conservation strategies.
• Ecosystem-Based Management: Managing human activities within a bioregion in a holistic manner, considering the interconnectedness of land, water, and living organisms.
• Local Engagement: Empowering local communities to participate in decision-making processes and conservation efforts within their bioregion.

Protecting Our Oceans: A Shared Responsibility

Winters emphasizes the critical importance of ocean conservation, highlighting the interconnectedness of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. She discusses the challenges and opportunities in protecting our oceans, noting recent progress with the High Seas Treaty, a landmark agreement to govern the vast areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction.

"And now there seems to be a common understanding of the value of the high seas and that this shouldn't be just open to mining, open to fishing. You know, there has to be some regulations on it and a common and an understanding that this is a super valuable part of our Earth that we rely on for human life, and we have to be conscious of collectively governing it together."

Key priorities for ocean conservation include:

• Sustainable Fisheries Management: Implementing responsible fishing practices to prevent overfishing and ensure the long-term health of fish stocks.
• Marine Protected Areas: Establishing protected zones in the ocean to safeguard critical habitats, promote biodiversity, and enhance ecosystem resilience.
• Pollution Reduction: Reducing pollution from land-based sources, such as agricultural runoff and plastic waste, which poses significant threats to marine life and ecosystems.
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Addressing the impacts of climate change on oceans, such as ocean acidification, sea-level rise, and warming waters.

Winters concludes by emphasizing that every individual has a role to play in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. She encourages listeners to learn about their local bioregions, support conservation efforts, and join the collective movement to save our planet.