What Is The People For Planet Summit?

Can forests adapt to wildfires? How is AI supporting conservation efforts? And what is the nature finance gap? These are just some of the questions being discussed at the second People For Planet Summit, a one-day event centred around protecting our natural world. 

The People For Planet Summit 2025: What To Expect

Taking place on 8 October 2025 at the Royal Institution in London, the People For Planet Summit is an environmental initiative run by the Whitley Fund for Nature, an NGO backed by Sir David Attenborough, with The Princess Royal as Patron. It includes a team of 226 people who Attenborough describes as among ‘the best in the world’ when it comes to grassroots conservation.

The focus of the summit is biodiversity, the vast variety of different species living on planet Earth. Healthy ecosystems depend on biodiversity: we rely on it for food, energy, medicine, breaking down waste, fresh water and much more. Yet it’s dropping at a worrying rate: according to the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024, the average size of wildlife populations has dropped by 73 percent since 1970. 

So what can we do to save it? The People For Planet Summit aims to inspire and teach visitors with a programme of talks from both conservationists and leading experts in technology, science and finance.

(c) Max Planck

Highlights will include a fireside talk from Dr Drew Purves, Nature Lead at Google DeepMind, which will explore the concept of mapping the biosphere for the first time, enabling researchers to identify areas which need the most protection. Meanwhile, Brazilian Professor Alexandre Antonelli, Executive Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, will delve into the issues faced by the world’s tropical rainforests. And another talk will look at how tiny AI sensors are being used to track species from space.

There will also be a programme of talks from Whitley Award winners: visionaries who have launched pioneering projects around the world.

Speakers include:

Farwiza Farhan

Farwiza Farhan is the founder of Yayasan HAkA, an Sumatra-based NGO working to restore the Leuser Ecosystem: the last place on earth where orangutans, elephants, rhinos and tigers co-exist. Alongside this, she has spearheaded projects including taking legal action against palm oil companies, and monitoring illegal logging and poaching.

Farwiza Farhan (c) Magdalena Stawinski

Dr Fernando Trujullo

Colombia-born Dr Fernando Trujullo is an expert in river dolphins, who founded the Omacha Fountain, an NGO which addresses the challenges faced by dolphins – from deforestation to mercy pollution from illegal gold mining. 

Dr Rachel Graham

For the past three decades, Dr Rachel Graham has been working to save threatened ocean species, with a particular focus on sharks. She founded the MarAlliance and is working on building the world’s first shark ‘superhighway’ in the South Pacific, which would help sharks, turtles and other endangered species to recover.

Anjali Watson

Co-founder of the Wilderness & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Anjali Watson’s focus is on protecting the habitat of the Sri Lankan leopard. She also launched the Corridors for Conservation initiative, reaching an agreement with tea estate owners in the Central Highlands to reforest ‘corridors’ of land, allowing leopards and other wildlife to roam freely.

Dr Munir Virani

Nairobi-born Dr Munir Virani is the chief executive of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, which supports the protection of threatened birds of prey around the world. His TED talk ‘Why I Love Vultures’ garnered over one million views, and he has written nearly 200 scientific articles, as well as creating award-winning wildlife films.

The full programme will launch later this week.

When Is The Summit?

The summit takes place from 1–8pm on 8 October 2025.

Where Is The Summit?

The Royal Institution: 21 Albemarle St, London W1S 4BS.

How To Get Tickets

Tickets are on sale now from £15 via Eventbrite. The Full Pass Ticket gives you access to all sessions, with drinks and light fare included, and the Evening Pass Ticket is for the evening of storytelling only (doors open from 6.30pm, event from 7–8pm).

Find out more at whitleyaward.co.uk