This year’s Davos World Biodiversity Forum, themed “From Science to Action,” is scheduled to take place from 16 to 21 June. The event will bring together researchers, practitioners, and societal actors to explore how we can transition from scientific knowledge to practical actions and solutions for conserving biodiversity. Biodiversa+ will be there, wearing several hats!
Nature-based Solutions: Knowledge Gaps and Barriers
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been widely hailed as effective strategies to enhance both biodiversity and human well-being in the face of climate change. However, barriers and knowledge gaps hinder their widespread adoption.
The BiodivClim Knowledge Hub, specialising in this field, will organise a panel debate on 16 June (14:30 – 16:00) on the topic of barriers preventing the implementation of NbS. The panel will feature practitioners representing diverse habitats and aspects of NbS implementation to discuss the challenges encountered and potential strategies for overcoming barriers. This interactive dialogue will aim to gather additional insights and foster a collaborative approach to fostering NbS uptake.
Another session on 20 June (11:30 – 13:00) will set the stage for future research and innovation by examining knowledge gaps. These gaps include uncertainties about the impacts of climate change on ecosystem functioning and resilience, societal and governance issues, and scalability challenges. Experts from the Hub and other NbS-related initiatives will delve into these gaps and the interconnectedness between biodiversity loss and climate change.
Biodiversity monitoring: harmonisation
A key objective of Biodiversa+ is to establish a network of harmonised schemes to improve biodiversity monitoring across Europe. It’s a close collaboration with EuropaBON, GBIF, the European Environment Agency, and the Joint Research Centre, among others, to define a common vision and outline key steps to achieve it.
Petteri Vihervaara, from the Finnish Environment Institute, is leading this work package. On 18 June (11:30-13:00), he will give an overview of the results of Biodiversa+ activities since 2021 and plans for strengthening coordination in 2024-2025.
Aquatic fungi
During the poster session on 19 June (14:30 – 16:00), the FUNACTION project will present its work of bringing aquatic fungi into conservation! These ecologically diverse organisms (decomposers, endophytes, symbionts, predators, parasites, pathogens) play crucial roles in food web dynamics and ecosystem functioning. Despite ongoing efforts to document and protect biodiversity across Europe, aquatic fungi have been largely neglected in conservation plans and policies. FUNACTION aims to bridge this gap by studying the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of aquatic fungi, paving the way for effective conservation strategies on a large scale!
Our monitoring pilot on soil biodiversity will also attend the poster session. The pilot focuses on comparing traditional methods with eDNA techniques to assess soil biodiversity in forests. Soil harbors a diverse array of organisms, many of which remain undiscovered. Challenges include physical inaccessibility due to soil matrix complexity and limited taxonomic knowledge. To address this, the pilot conducted a study across nine European countries, using pitfall traps, soil cores, and eDNA samples. By comparing traditional methods with eDNA analysis, the pilot aims to find the most effective way to assess soil biodiversity in the future.
Read more about all the activities on the Davos World Biodiversity Forum website.
