Celebrate Earth Day: Saving Bonobos&the Congo RainForest with Michael Hurley '75
After dinner and drinks, receive a new book about this work , “Empty Hands, Open Arms”, This program was recently presented at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and at The Explorers Club in New York and enjoyed a great response.
New Book ‘Empty Hands, Open Arms’ explores
groundbreaking approach to saving the Congo rainforest
and humankind’s closest relative, the bonobo.
Please note that the evening will begin with wine, beer and a full dinner catered by Chef Chris of Hogan Lovells
MENU
Chicken Pillard lightly breaded chicken breast topped with mesclun salad
Cumin roasted Verlasso salmon filet with pico de gallo and cilantro-lime cream sauce
Mushroom agnolotti with sautéed wild mushrooms and pesto cream (vegetarian Entrée)
Sea salt roasted fingerling potatoes with marjoram
Steamed mixed garden vegetables tossed in olive oil
Black Forest Cake
$45. Harvard Club Members/$65. Nonmembers
Learn how having more sex can promote peace and tranquility in society!
Celebrate Earth Day with a presentation on “Saving Bonobos & the Congo Rain Forest” by Michael Hurley '75, Executive Director of the Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI).
Did you know:
Bonobos use sex to promote peace and harmony, and that perhaps we can do the same.
Bonobos are the only great ape that has not been known to kill its own kind.
Bonobos live in a matriarchal society where cooperation and sharing are the norm.
Exciting update: BCI’s work was just featured in Solutions Magazine, which highlights bold and innovative ideas for solving the world's integrated ecological, social, and economic problems. http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/237106.
Attendees will be presented with a complimentary copy of the new book, “Empty Hands, Open Arms” which explores BCI’s groundbreaking approach to saving the Congo rainforest
and humankind’s closest relative, the bonobo.
This program was enthusiastically received at recent presentations at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and at The Explorers Club in New York City.
Please note that the evening will begin with wine, beer and a full dinner catered by Chef Chris of Hogan Lovells.
Michael Hurley will be presenting on his exciting and innovative conservation work in the heart of the Congo’s rainforest. His presentation will feature the acclaimed new book about his work, Empty Hands, Open Arms: The Race to Save Bonobos in the Congo and Make Conservation Go Viral by Commonwealth Award winning author, Deni Béchard. This poignant, illuminating work chronicles Béchard’s travels through the Congo with Hurley’s organization, The Bonobo Conservation Initiative.
Many are praising Empty Hands, Open Arms, including Robert Coles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Coles writes, “Here is the matter of conservation given profound explanation—a searching and knowing consideration that enables an important social and political and cultural struggle in Africa to become a needed lesson for us who live elsewhere to ponder, take to heart.”
Bonobos, humankind’s closest living great ape relatives, are only found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, within the world’s second largest rainforest. Bonobos are distinguished by their peaceful, cooperative, matriarchal society, their sexual nature, and their remarkable intelligence. They serve as a powerful flagship both for conservation and for peace. Sadly, these magnificent great apes face extinction due to hunting and habitat destruction. The Congo War left the country devastated, lacking infrastructure, and left many Congolese people without livelihood options. Immediate conservation efforts are necessary for the survival of the bonobos and their rainforest home, but traditional models of conservation may not be up to the task.
Weaving together environmental, political, historical, and anthropological narratives, Béchard captures the challenging context in which Coxe and Hurley have worked for many years. BCI has worked with local leaders to develop the Bonobo Peace Forest, an integrated network of nature reserves that are managed by local communities and supported by sustainable development. Béchard chronicles how, despite overwhelming obstacles and limited funding, BCI’s inclusive and participatory approach to conservation has achieved remarkable success. This includes the official creation of over 13,000 square miles of protected areas, which by this measure alone places BCI firmly in the ranks of the largest and most accomplished conservation organizations on earth in spite of having a budget that averages less than one percent of the other major conservation NGOs.
Others have lauded Béchard’s book:
· “Béchard’s riveting journey through the ‘dark continent’ provides a surprisingly uplifting story about a radically different and successful conservation program,” writes David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our Place in Nature.
· “In a story at once captivating and shocking, he shows us that Western scientific experts do not have all of the answers and cannot simply impose programs developed in the US and Europe, but that committed, visionary individuals who are ready to make sacrifices and listen to the voices of the forest can also have a profound and lasting impact.” - Writes Wade Davis, National Geographic explorer-in-residence, and author of One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest
· “Deni Béchard in Empty Hands, Open Arms has accomplished no less than a tour de force in recounting the improbable and inspiring efforts of a small non-governmental group, the Bonobo Conservation initiative, that together with local indigenous leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is working to save one of the world’s most important rainforests and the living creature genetically closest to humankind, the bonobo.” According to Bruce Rich, former International Director of the Environmental Defense Fund.
Hurley will present stories and images of their many years of explorations, surveys and conservation work in the Congo, as well as information about the remarkable bonobos, and will be available for questions and answers.
A book signing will follow the presentation.
Presenter
Michael Hurley, known in the Congo as “Papa Bonobo”, is a driving force behind the Bonobo Conservation Initiative. He has been a tireless champion for Congolese forests and villages in Kinshasa’s corridors of power. BCI has galvanized the Congolese to protect bonobos by establishing vast swaths of official protected areas. BCI has received awards for conservation including the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, COP 15 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) Award for outstanding REDD Project, shared with Jane Goodall, Wangari Maathai and others. They were the first non-Congolese to received the Nkoyi Merit Award of Goodwill for "outstanding achievements in community development and nature conservation” given by the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their work has been featured in National Geographic, Time Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, and The New York Times.