Focusing on the importance of community livelihoods and biodiversity conservation, the event included talks by John Hough (GEF Principal Technical Advisor); John Herity (Director of Biodiversity Convention Office at Environment Canada); Cecil Machena (African Resources Trust); Anida Haryatmo (Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation); Vandana Shiva (Director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy); Reuben Olembo (former Deputy Executive Director of UNEP and now with the Kenyan Bureau of COP); and, Xenya Cherny (IUCN).