This wide-ranging talk will explore what it means to inhabit a certain place or territory and our shared territory, Terra and Earth, in a time of man-made upheaval. The myths of Eden, an earthly paradise shared with a wealth of thriving wild species, have deep roots in reality and our prehistory. Our home planet is supremely habitable, but today, more and more human societies and vulnerable species find themselves struggling to adapt to their changing surroundings, and many are forced to flee from landscapes rendered uninhabitable.
We are in 'unknown territory' concerning climate change as well as the biodiversity crisis: this is the message of leading scientists, activists like Greta Thunberg, conservation organizations, as well as the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. What does it mean for us humans to journey into an unpredictable age of upheaval dangers together with all of Earth’s other creatures? What are the consequences when territories change drastically, reshuffling the living conditions for all their inhabitants?
Adam Welz has journeyed the planet, investigating how climate change affects the millions of wild species in his book The End of Eden – Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown. In addition to all the pressures we humans put upon wild nature, climate change pushes the limits of adaptation – causing them to diminish in numbers, perish, or migrate. He invites us to meet wild species on their own terms in a range of ecosystems spanning the globe.
Welz is also featured as one of 17 conversation partners in Anders Dunker’s new book, Unknown Territory, which addresses the climate and biodiversity crisis from a wide range of perspectives with some of the leading thinkers, scientists, and activists of our time. Dunker and Welz will discuss resilience, activism, and the future of nature, touching on dialogues from the book. They will explore what deep time perspectives on the Earth’s past can (and cannot) teach us about what lies ahead – and how the challenges of planetary coexistence breed both conflict and collective learning.
In conversation -
Adam Welz is a South African writer, photographer, and filmmaker based in Cape Town. He was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, and has lived, worked, and traveled on six continents. He consults on conservation projects and is an experienced birder and keen all-round naturalist. His writing focuses on wildlife, nature conservation, and climate change, and has appeared in numerous publications worldwide, including The Guardian, The Atlantic, and Yale Environment 360. His latest work, The End of Eden – Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown, has received wide praise for – in the words of Bill McKibben – being a book that 'goes deeper than any before into the meaning of climate breakdown for all the rest of creation that shares this planet uneasily with us'. Welz is currently working on his next book, which will be about the future of nature and conservation.
Anders Dunker is a Norwegian writer and philosophical journalist based in Los Angeles and an associate professor at Oslo International School of Philosophy. In contributions across a range of publications, including Le Monde diplomatique, Ny Tid, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, he writes about nature, technology, social change, and the planetary future. He is the editor of the book series 'futurum' at Existenz Forlag and a regular contributor and board member in the Norwegian Writers’ Climate Campaign, as well as a collaborator in Technophany – A Journal of Philosophy and Technology. In 2019, he published Rediscovering Earth (Spartacus and O/R books). In 2022, his collection of essays, Thinking on the Planet, was published by Existenz Publishers. Unknown Territory is his third book.
Moderator: Klaus Mohn, rector and professor at the University of Stavanger, member of the The 2050 Climate Change Committee (Regjeringens klimautvalg 2050)