[Applause] [Music] One day when I was at the age of seven, my world had shattered. I lived in the island of Sri Lanka and it was ripped by civil war and civil war had uh engulfed the island for almost a decade until it reached our neighborhood and government soldiers were um hit by a rebel landmine that had killed 20 troops and a high-ranking officer. The soldiers in turn were going door todo seeking revenge.As the chaos and the violence continued, my parents and I were hurriedly packing up to leave. And we ...

Biodiversity Overview - Biodiversity is on the fringes of modern society, mainstreaming it is essential for human survival, health, and ethical considerations [4] - The planet consists of living and non-living things, with non-living things being more abundant [7][8] - Life on Earth began approximately 4 billion years ago, evolving into diverse forms [9] - Living organisms are interdependent and connected to non-living elements [10][11] - Plants constitute 80% of the Earth's biomass, followed by bacteria and fungi [16] Species and Extinction - There are an estimated 8 to 10 million species on the planet, but less than 20% are known [17][18] - The planet is experiencing its sixth mass extinction, primarily caused by humans [19] - IUCN has assessed 170,000 species and identified 47,000 (approximately 6%) as threatened with extinction [20] - Extinction rates are increasing, with projections of 1,000 species per million per year by the end of the century [21] Causes of Biodiversity Loss - Habitat destruction and fragmentation, mainly due to food production and dietary choices, are major causes [22] - Invasive species introduced by humans disrupt ecosystems [23] - Chemical use, including pesticides and veterinary medicine, contributes to species decline [24] - Overexploitation, over hunting, over fishing, and poaching further threaten biodiversity [24][25] Conservation Efforts - Scientists are cataloging and identifying species, and IUCN has developed a system to assess extinction risk [26] - International agreements like CITES regulate trade in endangered species, and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) promotes national biodiversity strategies [26] - The CBD aims to protect 30% of seas and lands [28] Regional Biodiversity - Armenia is located within two biodiversity hotspots, the Iran-Anatolian and Caucasus hotspots [29] - Armenia has 27,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi, with 640 being endemic [29]

In this compelling interview, Erik Grigoryan explores why Armenia’s exceptional biodiversity matters not just for nature lovers, but for the world at large. He explains how Armenia belongs to two of the world’s major biodiversity hotspots and how this rich natural heritage provides crucial services to local communities. Erik sheds light on the hidden economic value of ecosystems and the urgent need to protect them. This talk makes the case for stronger environmental policy, smarter financing, and broader pu ...

[Music] 32 years ago, I fell in love with bees. It all started when I was an undergraduate. I took a class in beekeeping.The first day we went out to the bey yard for lab, we opened up a hive of honey bees and we pulled out the comb, it was covered with hundreds of little worker bees all moving around, all doing things. I didn't understand really what I was seeing, but I was struck in that moment with a profound sense of awe. I wanted to know more. I wanted to understand what they were doing.And certainly t ...

Research & Development - The world is missing out on research benefits amid biodiversity pressure and pandemic threats [1] - Biology now possesses tools for significant advancements [1] Policy & Regulation - The Nagoya Protocol is identified as a potential factor hindering research progress [1]

The world at large is forgoing the benefits of research when biodiversity is under huge pressure, the threat of pandemics looms large and biology at last has the tools to make important progress. One reason is the Nagoya protocol https://t.co/wIenJAN5nk ...

Biodiversity Conservation - Ecuador is one of the 17 most biodiverse countries on the planet, possessing four of the 36 biodiversity hotspots [4] - The speaker invested in rescuing a forest remnant of the Chocó, acquiring 12 hectares (approximately 30 acres) in Pacto, Quito [7] - The acquired forest contained 410 species of birds, including 30 species unique to the area [7][8] - The 100 hectares (approximately 247 acres) contained 35% of all bird species found in the United States (which has 983 million hectares) [8] - The initial 100 hectares were expanded to 3,050 hectares (approximately 7,537 acres) through the Fundación Futuro [8] - Conservation efforts led to the discovery of 21 new species for science [8] - Protected areas were expanded from 100 hectares to over 34,000 hectares (approximately 84,000 acres), similar in size to Cotopaxi National Park [10] - A collaboration aims to expand protected areas from 35,000 hectares to 500,000 hectares (approximately 1,235,527 acres) from Esmeraldas to Pichincha [12] Financial Mechanisms for Conservation - The speaker highlighted the need to develop financial mechanisms to compensate communities for carbon absorption by forests [13] - The speaker's foundation developed a system for a constant flow of money to communities [14] - $25 million (out of a planned $46 million over 10 years) was raised in a single year for conservation efforts [14] Future Projects - The speaker is planning to build a network of antennas to collect information from satellites in the equatorial and tropical regions [15][16] - The speaker has future plans for a geothermal plant and a 2,000-hectare (approximately 4,942 acres) solar panel plant for green hydrogen production [17] - The speaker has a vision for developing the aerospace industry in Ecuador, leveraging its equatorial location [18]

Core Business & Strategy - Basecamp Research aims to digitize nature and unlock solutions evolved in biodiversity for humanity's benefit [5] - The company is building a bridge between biotechnology and biodiversity, addressing the data wall in biology [6][7] - Basecamp Research positions itself as a data company, utilizing AI models to interrogate and represent biological data [9] - The company's mission is to map global biodiversity, rivaling the Human Genome Project in scientific advancement [32][33] - Basecamp Research is scaling its database by 10x annually, presenting a significant engineering challenge [21] Data & Technology - The company converts biological material into data, processing hundreds of millions of CPU hours with billions of annotations [4][2] - Basecamp Research's data asset aims to represent the diversity in nature, enabling scaling laws in biology and transforming biotechnology [9] - The company collaborates with Microsoft and NVIDIA to scale models on large compute systems, combining data and model scaling expertise [14][26][28] - Basecamp Research leverages Azure and NVIDIA BioNeMo to optimize architectures for its unique data, training foundation models [25][26][27] Biodiversity & Impact - Costa Rica, covering 0.03% of Earth's surface, holds approximately 6% of the world's biodiversity, making it a key location for data collection [3] - Basecamp Research enhances capacity in bioeconomy locations by building labs, sharing data, and training scientists [37] - The company aims to pass revenue back to partner countries, demonstrating the value of biodiversity data [38]

Core Insights - Jeff Bezos is appointing Tom Taylor, a veteran Amazon executive, as the new president and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, which has a capital of $10 billion dedicated to climate and biodiversity initiatives [1][2] - The Bezos Earth Fund was launched in 2020 with the goal of combating climate change by providing grants to various organizations and aims to distribute all its capital by 2030 [3][4] Leadership Transition - Tom Taylor, who previously led Amazon's Alexa division and has over 23 years of experience at Amazon, will replace Andrew Steer, who stepped down in February [2][4] - Taylor expressed enthusiasm for leading the fund, emphasizing a commitment to innovative solutions for environmental challenges [3] Fund Activities - The Bezos Earth Fund has already distributed $2.3 billion in grants to support environmental efforts [4] - Since stepping down as CEO of Amazon in 2021, Bezos has increased his involvement with the fund and has donated Amazon shares to it [4]

Investment Rating - The report highlights the Digital Currency theme as an attractive investment opportunity, ranking it among the top themes for performance and attractiveness [4][10][24]. Core Insights - The Digital Currency theme has shown strong performance, returning 15.1% in June, which is a significant +2 standard deviation compared to the past 12 months [4][24]. - The report indicates a shift in theme rankings, with Cloud Computing replacing Hydro Energy in the top 10 most attractive themes due to improved Estimates Momentum [3][10]. - The overall performance of the themes has been positive, with a return spread of 1.09% between the most and least attractive themes in June [2][15]. Summary by Sections Theme Performance - Digital Currency has been the best-performing theme over various periods, including the last month, year-to-date, and the last three years [4][24]. - The Biodiversity theme is noted as the worst performer [4]. Notable Theme Changes - The only change in the top 10 themes is the introduction of Digital Currency and Cloud Computing, reflecting a positive shift in market sentiment towards these sectors [3][10]. - The report also notes that the Education Tech theme has seen a significant improvement in ranking, moving from 67th to 35th [36]. Investment Style Insights - For value-focused investors, Biofuels and Belt & Road are highlighted as attractive themes [5][40]. - Defensive investors may consider themes like Risky Business and Generics & Biosimilars, which rank highly on Low Risk metrics [5][39].