Overture and The Nature Conservancy Partner to Address World's Major Water Challenges
Summit Seeks to Provide Actionable Solutions to Most Pressing Water Scarcity and Security Issues
NEW YORK, Sept. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Overture, a company that sits at the nexus of technology and humanitarianism, today announced its new partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to convene leading corporate and technology executives—along with global environmental experts—to develop and advance solutions addressing water scarcity and security, and the health of our world's oceans.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranks the water crisis among the top global risks to prosperity for the last ten years—making it the highest risk to global prosperity of the decade. With more than half of the world's 100 largest cities living in water-stressed areas, water security has risen to a crisis-level imperative. Our oceans are not faring much better. As much as 40 percent of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities, disrupting global fisheries, coastal habitats and the three billion people who depend on them to survive.
Overture and the Conservancy will kick-off their partnership with a full-day event to address our world's most pressing water and ocean challenges. Among other topics, the organizations will work to find actionable solutions for:
- Green Infrastructure: By 2030, the world will need to spend an estimated USD $10 trillion to repair and expand water infrastructure to support a growing population and protect against climate-related events.[i] But nature and tech have a role to play. Overture and TNC will explore how natural solutions can protect our coasts, combat droughts and provide water for cities with the help of technology.
- Water security: With implications for economic growth, political stability, agriculture production and energy access, water security is critical to ensuring a future world is prosperous for all. Overture and TNC will convene leaders and innovators to discuss why a reliable source of clean water can be transformative for people and nature.
- Healthy Oceans: With stakeholders spread across industry, government, NGOs, public consumers and local communities, guaranteeing a healthy ocean for people and nature is a complex issue. Overture and TNC will focus on how the tech industry can contribute to sustainable development goals – reducing plastics and nutrient pollution, protecting coastal ecosystems, and ensuring sustainable fisheries for food security – and leverage technology to solve the problem.
The event will bring together leaders from corporations, nonprofits and academic institutions to move towards collaborative solutions. A report, as well as ongoing content, will be produced by and for event attendees. Visit us here to see our ongoing work.
"We are inspired by this important partnership with The Nature Conservancy and can't wait to put thoughts into action," said Donnovan Andrews, CEO of Overture. "Over the past 18 months, Overture has brought leaders together on global humanitarian issues such as the refugee crisis and gender equality. We're confident that together with TNC and other global leaders, we will have the expertise and passion to gather the best perspectives, leaders and organizations whom are aware of the current problems and the potential solutions."
Many leaders and brands are already seeing this as an opportunity to get involved and pull together the resources needed to combat these problems. With that, companies are partnering to put a large effort towards working with Overture and TNC on solving water issues.
"These issues are complex and dynamic. They challenge us to bring our best thinking to the table, to work across sectors, and to come up with innovative solutions that can get to scale," said Andrea Erickson of The Nature Conservancy. "We are excited to combine Overture's convening power and expertise on humanitarian issues with the Conservancy's global, science-driven conservation. I'm confident that this collaboration, inclusive of many other partners, can help realize new ways for people and nature to thrive together."
Overture is a nearly two-year old company bringing together major technology, corporate, pharmaceutical and governmental companies and organizations to enact change, advance technological innovation and incite constructive conversations that have the power to benefit mankind across the globe. With a passion to accelerate change through collaboration and technology, Overture has already brought some of the biggest names aboard to help tackle global humanitarian issues, including companies such as Spotify, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, United Nations, T3, DataKind, UN OCHA, USAID, World Policy Institute and S'well, among others.
About Overture
Overture is headquartered in New York. Our goal is to advance and curate the intersection between technology and humanitarianism: Digital Humanitarianism™. We foster periodic gatherings to establish meaningful dialogues, and to strategically activate the development and support of regional and global tech solutions to help solve issues plaguing humanity. www.overtureglobal.io
About The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at unprecedented scale, and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in more than 65 countries, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit www.nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.
[i] Development Finance, 2016.
Contact: Todd Ringler – 617.872.1235
SOURCE OVERTURE
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