The Woods Institute is playing an important role in helping leaders from the public and private sectors address sustainability challenges through a series of dialogues and workshops focused on key public policy issues. As a trusted and neutral source of research and information, Woods brings business, government and NGO leaders together with experts from Stanford and other academic institutions to create practical solutions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges. In addition, these dialogues create a two-way flow of information to help inform Stanford's environmental research.
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Applied Conservation Science
February 14, 2012
Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment brought together land managers and academic researchers of the San Francisco Bay area interested in ecosystem management. Emphasis was placed on identifying ways to enhance collaboration and create a forum for managers and researchers to share and learn from each other now and in the future.
California Rangelands
May 13, 2011
The purpose of this Uncommon Dialogue was to build on momentum that is developing in California to protect threatened grassland and woodland landscapes that provide an abundance of biophysical and social ecosystem services. The dialogue was hosted by the Woods Institute for the Environment and Bill Lane Center for the American West.
Wastewater as a Resource: Focus on the Bay
May 21, 2010
The Woods Institute hosted an uncommon dialogue on resource recovery from wastewater. Participants discussed strategies on how systems for wastewater management and water reuse should be defined in the coming decades for the San Francisco Bay area. The dialogue brought together consultants, researchers, water quality agencies, and government and industry leaders to inform planning efforts and to align research with those efforts.
Large-Scale Solar Technology and Policy Forum
April 08 - 09, 2010
A technology and policy forum held April 2010 on how to make large-scale solar a viable solution for our energy future. The forum brought together scientists, policy makers, industry and non-governmental organization leaders to develop the blueprint for a plan on technology development, regulatory changes and deployment strategies.
Water, Health and Development
July 02 - 03, 2009
The goal of this July 2009 dialogue was to develop a collaborative group of scholars and practitioners focused on the linkages between urbanization and land-use change, water and waste management, and public health in urban zones of sub-Saharan Africa. The event brought together individuals from a diversity of disciplines, organizations and backgrounds to create opportunities for new ideas and research directions to emerge.
Workshop on Water Banking
May 21 - 22, 2009
The May 2009 workshop served as a launching point for a long-term project to evaluate the costs, benefits and challenges of water banking, with a focus on California and the Kern River Fan aquifer.
Water in the West Workshop - II
March 10 - 11, 2009
The second of two workshops designed to develop a policy-relevant, multidisciplinary research program on addressing issues associated with future water use in the west. Held March 2009 and co-hosted with the Bill Lane Center for the West, this second workshop helped to finalize the plans for the "Joint Program on Water in the West" that was launched January 2010.
Climate & Conservation Workshop
February 23 - 24, 2009
This exploratory workshop in February 2009 brought together leading legal scholars, practitioners, and scientists to examine new ideas and approaches for sustaining effective conservation in the context of a changing climate.
Global Water
January 26 - 27, 2009
This January 2009 workshop was part of a planning effort to develop a strategic research collaboration that will explore drivers of water-supply vulnerability throughout the world and to use the resulting models and analysis to evaluate solution strategies. The planning efforts resulted in the launch of the Sustainable Water Project research program in February 2010.
Groundwater Dialogue
December 05, 2008
This December 2008 workshop evaluated global challenges to groundwater depletion and salinization with the aim of developing a research agenda that contributes to finding practical solutions to sustainable groundwater use.
California Ecosystem Services
December 03, 2008
A December 2008 workshop co-hosted with The Nature Conservancy that brought together leading conservation practitioners, policymakers, and academics to discuss how to use California's policy and regulatory framework to help conserve the state's ecosystem services.
Water in the West Workshop
November 10 - 12, 2008
The first of two workshops designed to develop a policy-relevant, multidisciplinary research program on addressing issues associated with future water use in the west. Held November 2008 and co-hosted with the Bill Lane Center for the West, this first workshop was designed to foster collaborations between university researchers and water management, water users, and water-policy decision makers.
Pacific Salmon Workshop
November 15 - 16, 2007
This November 2007 workshop explored opportunities to reform the Pacific Salmon Treaty and inform renegotiation of Annex IV. Participants examined sustainable business practices for Pacific salmon stocks and identified models that provide the greatest potential for economic and environmental sustainability.
Carbon Offsets Workshop
October 22 - 23, 2007
The Carbon Offsets workshop examined a range of issues associated with implementing a voluntary carbon offset market in the United States. The workshop resulted in a white paper that summarizes key points raised during the dialogue and provides legislative and administrative recommendations for addressing carbon offsets.
Biofuels Workshop
December 05 - 06, 2006
The Biofuels Workshop brought together 40 leading representatives of corporate, investment, government, NGO, and academic communities to examine the challenges and opportunities of biofuels adoption in five important areas: food, agriculture, and trade; land use and conservation; water resources; greenhouse gases and climate (including non-CO2 emissions); and air quality.
The dialogue resulted in a series of findings including: (1) some environmental benefits of corn ethanol and soy biodiesel may be overstated; (2) how a transition to biofuels is implemented will significantly affect biofuels' environmental and social welfare impacts; and (3) innovation in high-leverage areas such as cellulosic technology, variable-feedstock processors and sustainably achieved crop yields should be pursued.
California & Climate Change Workshop
May 18 - 20, 2006
The California Climate Change Policy Workshop brought together researchers and decision-makers to discuss key topics including: transportation emissions reduction strategies; promoting innovation and investment in clean technology; market-based approaches; and strategies for communicating about climate change issues.
U.S. Farm Bill Workshops
February 2006, March 2006, September 2006
Stanford University, in affiliation with Yale University and the American Farmland Trust, hosted three workshops in 2006 to help inform legislative debate on the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill.
Endangered Species Act and Federalism
February 24-26, 2005
The Woods Institute co-sponsored a dialogue with the Stanford Law School on how states can play a more active and effective role in protecting endangered species. Recommendations from the dialogue, including an in-depth policy paper, were provided to Congress to help inform their decisions on the ESA's reauthorization.
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