Author: Dr. Bruce Byers on the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve

Ecologist Dr. Bruce Byers will discuss his book Nature on the Edge: Lessons for the Biosphere from the California Coast, a “biography” of the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve—part of an international network of sites that serve as laboratories for conserving biodiversity, increasing human well-being, and fostering a more harmonious relationship between humans and our home planet. Nature on the Edge explores the ecology and evolution of some iconic Bay Area species and ecosystems, traces the history of efforts to conserve them, and argues that we need to develop an ecologically centered, rather than human supremacist, worldview.

Bruce A. Byers is an ecologist, writer, and international ecological consultant with more than forty years of professional experience in more than forty countries. His work aims to inform and inspire a more ecologically sustainable, equitable, and resilient relationship between humans and our home planet. His experience in thirty-five biosphere reserves in seventeen countries gives him a comparative global perspective on the challenges of conservation and sustainable development. Nature on the Edge is a sequel to his 2020 book, The View from Cascade Head: Lessons for the Biosphere from the Oregon Coast, about Oregon’s only UNESCO biosphere reserve.