Joel Dunn

About Joel Dunn

A committed conservation leader that works with partners to protect natural and cultural…

Experience

1. Director, Spaces Secretariat

   Campaign For Nature

   Jan 2025 — Present · Annapolis, MD, US

   Today roughly 17% of the world’s land and 8% of its seas are currently under protection. However, in December 2022, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed upon a historic new deal for nature – The Kunming-Montreal Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This included the global target to protect at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water and at least 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030. If we are to meet the 30 by 30 goal, world leaders need to dramatically increase and expand protected and conserved areas, ramp up funding and ensure the full inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in conservation measures in order to protect the natural world. That’s why my friends created the Campaign for Nature.SPACES is an initiative empowering low- and middle-income countries to develop comprehensive, costed, and nationally-led plans for achieving nature and climate targets, such as 30x30, aligned with their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Using an integrated spatial planning approach, in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) target 1, these plans include pathways for expanding protected and conserved areas, improving management effectiveness of existing conserved areas, restoring ecosystems, and advancing priorities of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP & LCs). This approach is accompanied by the development of a detailed finance plan to cost the initiatives and identify specific ways to generate the necessary finance.

Education

• Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment

  Master of Environmental Management

  2002 — 2004

• Harvard University

  Certificate, Executive Education, Harvard Business School

  2019 — 2019

• Harvard University

  Certificate, Executive Education, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government

  2010 — 2010

• Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy

  Master of Public Policy

  2002 — 2004

• The Evergreen State College

  Bachelor of Science, Ecology

  1995 — 1999

Skills

• Ecosystem Services
• Gis
• Grants
• Environmental Science
• Environmental Education
• Ecology
• Ecological Restoration
• Wetlands
• Watershed Management
• Water Quality
• Natural Resource Management
• Endangered Species
• Wildlife
• Nonprofits
• Climate Change
• Sustainability
• Sustainable Development
• Fundraising
• Climate Change Adaptation
• Policy
• Conservation Issues
• Biodiversity
• Environmental Policy
• Natural Resources
• Grant Writing
• Environmental Awareness
• Environmental Planning