A unique celebration of World Wildlife Day, with the top conservationists, scientists, and activists on the planet. This event spotlights Internaiontional projects and initiatives in the quest to preserve, protect, and save the endangered species and live in balance with nature. Meet teachers, students, and young conservation ‘rangers’ who are inspiring their communities to restore and conserve with fresh thinking and bold ideas. 

Nature Connects Us

World Wildlife Day

Bringing together conservationists, scientists, and activists to spotlight the quest to preserve, protect, and save the endangered species and live in balance with nature.

Inside Expo_New

Inside Expo: Sustainability I: The World’s Oldest Innovator

Inside Expo: Sustainability II: Harnessing the Sun

The Powerhouse Pavilions

Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion - Audio Guide

Terra

stamp Terra

Terra offers two different, immersive tracks that take visitors either Under the Forest or Under the Ocean in order to learn more about the beauty of the natural world. 

Under the Ocean Track - Terra

See the Expo Young Innovators exhibition, which brings to life the creativity of students across the UAE who worked on developing solutions to global challenges.

Expo Young Innovators Exhibition Terra 

Terra - Carousel

At Expo 2020, sustainability is an urgent, attainable reality, and Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion is the proof. Both immersive exhibition space and exemplar of environmental self-sufficiency, Terra is a pioneering piece of architecture that pushes the limits of renewable design.

The pavilion’s 130-metre-wide solar canopy – so vast that you could park 10 city buses head-to-tail atop it – converts sunshine into electricity for the exhibits below. Artfully funnelled natural light and local plant species, together with technologies that can reduce water consumption by 75 per cent, show the way to a sustainable future.


3155 Laboratory of Future Values - Terra The Sustainability Pavilion

Inspiring experiential journey through our shared sustainable future

444 Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion Exhibition Renders

Two immersive paths to choose from: beneath a forest and beneath an ocean

3611 The Sustainability Pavilion

LEED Platinum environmental features, including solar power and water recycling

Terra 

terra

3151 Consumption Hall exhibition - Terra The Sustainability Pavilion

The “Sea of Consumption” at Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion Original Image m955

3163 Sea of Consumptions - Terra The Sustainability Pavilion

3170 Under the Sea exhibition as part of Terra The Sustainability Pavilion

Image Gallery

Videos

The Making of Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Drone Footage: Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Hyperlapse: Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Interactive Tour: Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Terra is a super-sized marvel of forward-thinking design. The pavilion’s technology generates enough energy in a year to power a Nissan Leaf to drive halfway to Mars, while another system captures moisture from the air you breathe and turns it into drinkable water. Enter and take a fantastical journey through the wonders of nature, humanity’s challenges and the promise of our shared future. 


terra 

of harmonious living

A model

The Sustainability Pavilion

Terra is home to five thought-provoking art installations from artists around the world, with each piece demonstrating a response to the issue of sustainability.

Directions

Terra Art Installations

Young visitors can explore a fantastical world inspired by Terra's very own octopus, Octavia.

Octavia

Octavia's Playground

Timelapse of Terra 

Co-curated with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on World Wildlife Day, Expo 2020 Dubai advocates for living in harmony with nature, protecting biodiversity and saving our fast-dwindling wildlife from extinction. The core objective of the day is to engage visitors in initiatives around the World Wildlife Day celebrations to discover the importance of wildlife conservation and biodiversity for the sustainable development of our planet.

Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration

World Wildlife Day 2022

A fantastical show for both little and big kids alike! Guided by five hilarious characters, Humanimals will take you on a journey through the animal kingdom. This family show will delight and entertain all who encounter it.

Description

The Humanimals

Humanimals will take you on a journey through the animal kingdom. This family show will delight and entertain all who encounter it in Dubai Millinium Ampitheatre.

The Humanimals 

This conversation between thinkers and practitioners across different geopolitical realities will revolve around the concept of interdependence and how it can play an active part in rethinking the constitutive role of institutions, architecture, art or public health infrastructures. Concrete examples will be discussed about how can one nurture practices of care, what an ecology of a caring practice means, and when and on what terms can it be understood as a sustainable practice. Many sources and tools for thinking and working with the concept of interdependence reside in situated knowledges drawn from millennium old healing, ecological, divination and other communal practices. The invited speakers will explore in what ways these gestures could be part of a larger movement that rethinks our systems of production, distribution and mutual solidarity especially in the domain of contemporary art.

Practices of Care and Commoning

Expo CIC Health and Wellness KV

Coalescing a movement that rethinks our systems of production, distribution and mutual solidarity in service of our collective well-being.

29 JAN - Cultures in Conversation-Practices of Care and Commoning-V1

CIC Practices of Care and Commoning - Agenda

Inside Expo: The Future is Well

The global pandemic has tested our interconnected world. Expo presents an important opportunity for all stakeholders in the health sector to design an inclusive, crisis-proof global health system that is fit for the future. The very latest health and medical technology will also be on display, including systems that are transforming how communities access healthcare and fight disease outbreaks. The programme will highlight how innovation and investment in health and wellness can contribute to a healthier, happier global community. 

health and wellness week

 How can we create a healthy, happy world?

Health & Wellness Week

Cultures in Conversation | Interdependence in Action: Practices of Care and Commoning

World Expos have always been meeting places for people across cultures and geographies; an opportunity to come together and celebrate human ingenuity and forge meaningful human connections. As the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, and with the participation of more than 192 countries, Expo 2020 Dubai looks to take this legacy even further. The Build Bridges track of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Programme for People and Planet features a tapestry of event series and experiences that celebrate our common humanity and the vital connections that can help us prosper together as a worldwide community.

Knowing One Another Better

Build Bridges image

Build Bridges 

Build Bridges Icon

Ever played a game of Jenga and watched the whole structure collapse as your remove one peg? This applies to strong and unexplored links among all species, including our own, and the loss of even one of them impacting many in unexpected ways. 

Nature’s complex web make it possible for all of us to live on earth. As we encroach more on our natural habitats, we are actually growing more disconnected from nature. Because of human activity, close to one million animal and plant species could soon go extinct, leading to a chain of unpredictable consequences. These intrusions are affecting entire communities at an unprecedented scale and frequency, from wildfires to global pandemics and insect invasions. As we continue to weigh this dilemma, it is urgent we find solutions to protect our ecosystems and support our long-term ability to thrive not just alongside nature, but also as part of it. 


Finding Our Place in Nature's Complex Web

World Majlis | Nature’s Game of Jenga: Getting Creative to Fight Biodiversity Loss

Held in collaboration with Switzerland, this World Majlis examines the complexity and interconnectedness of our ecosystems and explores innovative strategies for sustaining biodiversity.

Session programme - Nature's Game of Jenga

Learnings and insights from the World Majlis conversations on Climate and Biodiversity

World Majlis: Insights from Climate & Biodiversity Week

Insight Report from Climate and Biodiversity Week

Nature's Game of Jenga - Documents

World Majlis - Nature

Climate and Biodiversity Week to spur the world into action to protect our planet

We stand at the brink of a crucial moment in time - a moment in which we must take decisive collective action to protect our planet, and the life it sustains, for future generations. It is an opportunity for us to take our place in history as the generation that stepped up to halt climate change, and transform human activity to operate within Earth's planetary boundaries. 

Expo 2020 Dubai's Climate & Biodiversity Week convenes government decision-makers, business leaders, youth advocates and our millions of visitors to address the greatest challenge of our time and generate solutions critical to the future of our civilisation and the health of our planet. 

What's your Promise to our Planet?

Climate and Biodiversity

How do we work together to better manage climate change and protect biodiversity? 

Climate & Biodiversity Week Programme

Natural Resource and Biodiversity Conservation

Climate & Biodiversity Week

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Switzerland Gallery

The magnificent, snow-capped Swiss Alps are renowned for their stunning natural majesty. Now, at Expo 2020, you can have your own breathtaking alpine experience – no climbing boots or ice axe required. The Switzerland Pavilion offers a simulated hike through the country’s mountains, traversing a dense sea of fog. After cresting the spectacular summit, you’ll reach an enchanting city of opportunities where you can explore Swiss innovation, take in traditional performances and sample mouth-watering Swiss chocolate.

  Immersive simulated hike amid the Swiss Alps

High-tech interactive exhibits exploring Swiss innovation

Rooftop terrace bar, and delicious Swiss chocolates at the Sprüngli Café

Switzerland Features

Switzerland

The Switzerland Pavilion's bold, funnel-shaped mirror façade reflects the ground in front of the pavilion: a massive red carpet decorated with a white Swiss cross. The polygonal mirror panels converge at a  doorway in the lower left of the building, crafted from scaffolding and textiles inspired by Bedouin tents. 

in red 

Mirror

Switzerland Pavilion

Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri is the Secretary General of the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), the largest environmental regulator in the Middle East, responsible for protecting and preserving natural 
resources and promoting sustainable development in the emirate. She holds a PhD degree in Wildlife Conservation and Protection from the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, the first Emirati woman to earn the accolade. She has overseen the implementation of innovative programs on biodiversity, protected areas, threatened species and fisheries, including national and global species reintroduction programs.
Among her wide-ranging involvement in national and international committees and organisations working in environmental protection, Dr. Shaikha serves as the Chair of the IUCN UAE National Committee.

2. Her Excellency Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri

Secretary General of the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD)

H.E. Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri

Sir Tim Smit is best known for his achievements in Cornwall. He ‘discovered’ and then restored ‘The Lost Gardens of Heligan’ with John Nelson, which is now one of the UK’s best loved gardens having been named ‘Garden of the Year’ by BBC Countryfile Awards (Mar 2018). Tim’s book ‘The Lost Gardens of Heligan’ won Book of the Year in 1997.

Tim is Executive Vice-Chair and Co-founder of the multi award-winning Eden Project in Cornwall. Since its opening in 2001, over 22 million people have come to see a once sterile pit, turned into a cradle of life containing world-class horticulture and startling architecture symbolic of human endeavour. Tim is also Executive Co-Chair for Eden Project International which aims to have an Eden Project on every habited continent by 2025.

Sir Tim Smit -Eden Project - Head Shot by Chaz Oldham - Colour

Executive Chair and Founding Director, Eden Project, United Kingdom

Sir Tim Smit

Alexandre Roulin is a full professor of biology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and an evolutionary biologist interested in the evolution of life. His atypical career path began with an apprenticeship of civil engineering, followed by night school to get his “maturity degree” before attending university. His main scientific interests are the adaptive function of melanin-based coloration and negotiation processes taking place in animal societies using the barn owl as a model organism. His research is now expanding into other fields such as conservation psychology and social psychology.

4. Professor Alexandre Roulin

Head of the Owl for Peace Initiative, University of Lausanne

Professor Alexandre Roulin

Dr. Emiliano Esterci Ramalho is the Technical-Scientific Director of the Mamirauá Institute, coordinator of Project Providence, and leader of the Amazon Field Ecology and Conservation Research Group. He was a CAPES/Fulbright scholar at the University of Florida, where he earned a Ph.D. in the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. He is a founding member of the Alliance for the Conservation of the Jaguar and a member of the Instituto Pró-Carnívoros. He dedicated the last 16 years of his career to jaguar conservation in the Amazonian Flooded Forests with the aim of reducing the number of jaguars killed by hunters and improving the quality of people who live with the species. He is currently responsible for the largest and oldest jaguar research and conservation program in the Brazilian Amazon.

5. Dr Emiliano Esterci Ramalho, PhD

Technical and Scientific Director, Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, Brazil

Dr. Emiliano Esterci Ramalho, PhD

Up to September 2021, Gerrard Albert has been the Chair of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post-settlement governance body for Whanganui Iwi (Iwi means a Māori tribal grouping) established at settlement of the tribe’s claim with the New Zealand Government in 2014. As a result of the claim settlement, New Zealand accorded legal personhood to the Whanganui River, flipping the existing paradigm by placing the River as the focus of human interaction in line with the indigenous value set of Whanganui Iwi, called Tupua Te Kawa, now shared with the nation. Since then, other nations have followed suit in an effort to protect the environment by according to values, or legal rights to natural resources.

6. Gerrard Albert.jpeg

Chair of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, Whanganui Iwi, New Zealand

Gerrard Albert

Dr. Lalasia Bialic-Murphy is a Lead Scientist in the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich. Lalasia's research bridges population and community ecology, with an emphasis on comparative demography. A central theme of her work is identifying the environmental factors and phylogenetic relationships that shape population and community dynamics. Her work ranges from conducting manipulative field experiments to identify the drivers of elevated extinction risk, to leveraging global demographic datasets to characterize the impacts of global change on forest trees. Lalasia received her Ph.D. in 2017 at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and did a postdoc at the University of Tennessee and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis Center.

Lalasia Bialic-Murphy

Lead Scientist, Crowther Lab ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Lalasia Bialic-Murphy

Professor Dr. Thomas Crowther is a professor in the department of Global Ecosystem Ecology at ETH Zurich, where he founded Crowther Lab, an interdisciplinary group of scientists studying global ecosystems and generating knowledge to protect biodiversity and address climate change, deepening public and scientific understanding of the role of nature-based solutions. 

In 2021, Crowther Lab launched Restor, an independent not-for-profit open data platform that provides transparency and connectivity to conservation and restoration efforts across the globe. Crowther has been named a WEF Young Global Leader for his work and serves on the advisory council of WEF’s Trillion Trees initiative (1T.org). He also serves as co-chair of the advisory board of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, along with Lucy Mulenkei.


Tom Crowther Headshot nature

Ecologist, Professor and Founder of Crowther Lab, ETH Zurich 

Professor Thomas Crowther

10. Pablo Fajardo

Pablo Fajardo

9. Miha Hrovat

Miha Hrovat

Explore a series of exciting conversations inspired by the theme of Expo 2020 Dubai. The World Majlis is a vibrant forum where diverse points of views are shared on important topics of our time. Each conversation brings together globally recognised thought-leaders who are invited for their exceptional contributions to the theme and their unique perspective on the topic. In each Majlis, students and members of the public are also welcome to contribute and engage.

World Majlis

Conversations on complex issues that bring together thought leaders, visionaries and changemakers.

Nature Connects Us

World Wildlife Day 2022.