Annual DICE Lecture

The DICE Lecture is a public event given each year by a distinguished scientist or practitioner on an important conservation topic. It is also annual get-together where we celebrate the achievements of our students, staff and alumni.

The 2024/25 DICE Lecture was given by Sir Charles Burrell, founder of the Knepp Rewilding Project, Chair of Conservation Carpathia and Nattergal, Vice Chair of rePLANET, and member of the board of Rewilding Europe.

Previous DICE lectures

2024/25 - Sir Charles Burrell, founder of the Knepp Rewilding Project

Knepp and the Rewilding Movement: how rewilding might fit into lowland Britain

2023/24 - Professor Juliet Vickery, British Trust for Ornithology

Evidence-based conservation action for birds in farmland, forests and flyways

2022/23 – Professor Dave Goulson, University of Sussex

Silent Earth: averting the insect apocalypse

2021/22 – Professor EJ Milner-Gulland, University of Oxford

Finding optimism in a time of biodiversity crisis

2020/21 – Professor Erik Meijaard, Borneo Futures – Science for Change

When to rescue orangutans, and other conservation dilemmas

2019/20 – Dr Jane Goodall DBE, Jane Goodall Institute
Gombe and beyond: Chimpanzees, conservation and change

2018/19 – Professor Chris Thomas, University of York
Surviving the Anthropocene: a story of biological gains and losses

2017/18 – Cathy Dean, CEO of Save The Rhino International
The appliance of science: thorny issues in rhino conservation

2016/17 – Tony Juniper CBE, independent sustainability and environment adviser
Why ecology and economy must embrace

2015/16 – Professor Rosie Woodroffe, Institute of Zoology, London
Badgering: The Science, Policy and Politics of Managing Cattle TB

2014/15 – Stanley Johnson, Politician and author
Forty years of environmental policy: has it made a difference? A personal perspective

2013/14 – Professor John Mackinnon
Passing the Baton – 50 years in Conservation

2012/13 – Dr Peter Bridgewater, Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Seven Types of Ambiguity: Confusing Conversations in Conservation

2011/12 – Professor Jon Hutton, Director of UNEP-WCMC
Conservation in a Global Garden

2010/11 – Richard Burrett, UNEP Finance Initiative
The Notion of Capital in Biodiversity Conservation

2009/10 – Professor Luigi Boitani
The challenge of large carnivore conservation in Europe

2008/09 – Professor Callum Roberts
The past and future of coral reefs: exploitation, tourism and climate change

2007/08 – Professor Michael Samways FRSSAf
Insect conservation: overcoming the big biodiversity bluff?

2006/07 – Willem Wijnstekers
Can CITES be a guarantee for sustainability?

2005/06 – Professor Bill Adams
Biodiversity, poverty and development: the challenge for conservation

2004/05 – Dr John Robinson
The Bushmeat Crisis: hunting for sustainability in tropical forests

2003/04 – Professor Ian Swingland
Capturing carbon and conserving biodiversity: the market approach

2002/03 – Professor John Croxall CBE FRS
The Southern Ocean: a model system for conserving marine resources?

2001/02 – Professor Norman Myers CMG
Perverse subsidies: bad news for our environments and our economies

2000/01 – Professor Georgina Mace CBE FRS
Endangered species: Red listing for conservation

1999/2000 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison OBE
International conservation and the survival of indigenous people

1998/99 – Professor Sir Ghillean Prance FRS
Forest, fishes, farms and the future of the Amazon region

1997/98 – Professor Ian Newton FRSE FRS
Birds and agriculture: pesticides, hedgerows and land use

1996/97 – Dr Richard Laws CBE FRS
Conserving the world’s largest mammals: elephants, whales and river horses

1995/96 – Sir Crispin Tickell GCMG KCVO
Greenery and governance

1994/95 – Sir Robert May AC FRS
What is biodiversity and does it affect ecosystem stability?

1993/94 – Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP
Sustainable management after Rio

Last updated