SEEC Guest Speaker: Rudi Putra, "Leuser: The Last Hope."

Join the Sustainability, Environment and Energy Council (SEEC) to hear from guest speaker Rudi Putra, a conservationist from Aceh on the island of Sumatra, who directs the Leuser Conservation Forum.

Although a specialist on the Sumatran rhino, that work has evolved into the much broader work of conserving the Leuser Ecosystem (one of the great remaining tropical rainforests in the world). This means dealing with issues like illegal oil palm expansion, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict, and working with local and indigenous communities and local and national government in a kind of multilevel governance that attends to both conservation efforts and development needs.

Pak Rudi was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize (the top global environmental award for his work and has been recognized by numerous other international forums. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has helped fund some of their work as has National Geographic and others. With Farwiza, he also created the HAkA Foundation, led today by Farwiza, which works with local communities on land and forest protection. ("Wiza," as she's known, has been recognized as a Time Magazine 100 person)

This is an opportunity to talk with someone working at the frontlines of conservation and local development.