Our Chair and Coordinator, Hilde Eggermont, was at the 8th session of the COP15’s Science-Policy Forum alongside EuropaBON’s Henrique Pereira to present our efforts in setting up a regional observation network for biodiversity monitoring in Europe.
In her presentation, Hilde discussed:
- The context and legal framework of biodiversity monitoring in Europe,
- Current challenges for biodiversity reporting
- The work of EuropaBON and Biodiversa+ and our complementary roles
Biodiversa+ and EuropaBON are addressing the challenges in biodiversity monitoring in Europe including insufficient and inaccessible data, lack of harmonisation in monitoring protocols and methods, high reporting burden, unclear network of knowledge holders and insufficient European IT infrastructure. EuropaBON is assessing the gaps and bottlenecks in the monitoring landscape, providing outcomes, indicators and recommendations, while Biodiversa+ is bridging science and policy.
EuropaBON and Biodiversa+ work together to operationalise the outcomes of EuropaBON and also work with other institutes such as the European Environment Agency and GBIF. EuropaBON conducted a User and Policy Survey to improve biodiversity monitoring in Europe, with the solutions including better coordination, improved data access and harmonisation of monitoring protocols.
