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Taylor Ricketts
photo: WWF |
Taylor Ricketts is the director of WWF's Conservation Science Program. Before moving to WWF three years ago, he completed doctoral and post-doctoral research in ecology at Stanford University. Taylor leads a broad range of scientific activities at WWF, from conducting research on the scientific principles underlying conservation to providing technical assistance to conservation programs on the ground. Dr. Ricketts' research currently focuses on the economic benefits of conservation to people: the "ecosystem services" provided by forests, wetlands, and other natural areas. With colleagues at The Nature Conservancy and Stanford University, he leads a new effort to map ecosystem services, estimate their value, and use this information to inform and finance conservation investments. Taylor and the science staff also analyze large-scale datasets for insights into (i) why biodiversity is distributed the way it is, (ii) how these patterns relate to those of human threats, and (iii) how this information can improve WWF's conservation work. He has helped to start a series of scientific peer reviews of WWF programs, to improve their biological rigor and basis. Taylor is the author of over 40 scientific publications and has received numerous awards for his work from the Society for Conservation Biology, the National Science Foundation, the Summit Foundation, and others.
Q&A with Taylor Ricketts
Why WWF? What is it about this organization that is valuable to you? The unique thing about WWF is that it is a global organization doing local work in over 100 countries. The worldwide network of local NGOs is an amazing set-up, allowing us to be effective in individually important ecoregions, but also to stitch all that work together into global impact.
You are leading groundbreaking work on the idea of ecosystem services. What are you working to solve in this collaborative effort? I am fascinated by the potential of ecosystem services to strengthen conservation. People have long known that species and healthy ecosystems do things for us that support our lives, like purify our water, regulate our climate, and pollinate our crops. But we've just begun to figure out how to measure those values in a concrete way. And that's information that governments and land managers can use to make sure their choices improve the status of not only biodiversity but also local people. That idea of win-win situations is so powerful, it really helps motivate us to work hard on this stuff.
What do you love to do when you aren't at the office? I play ultimate frisbee with a couple of teams -- including WWF's team on Tuesdays and Thursdays at lunch right next to our offices. And I play the drums in a band that plays local bars about once a month.
What is the most remarkable place you have ever visited? Antarctica. Ask anyone who's been there what their three top favorite places in the world are, and most will say, "Antarctica, Antarctica, Antarctica." It is the most otherworldly place on Earth, the closest you can come to leaving the planet without actually leaving. The scales are immense; it dwarfs you and makes you feel wonderfully tiny and fragile. The light is ethereal, clear but muted somehow at the same time. And the wildlife has no innate fear of people (or anything approaching on land, really). So penguins, seals, and other wildlife come right up to you. I have had penguins pull off my hat while I sat looking the other way. I recommend it to anyone.
Download Taylor's CV.
Email: taylor.ricketts@wwfus.org
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