Speaker
Description
Reversing the decline of biodiversity requires that scientists work with society to achieve comprehensive and efficient conservation of habitats and species. Scientists can contribute in many ways, e.g. by informing on current and new policies and aiding their implementation through expert advice, development of definitions, indices and standards, or evaluations of current status.
The European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (ETC BE) is a consortium of 24 European research institutions, organizations, and national agencies with expertise in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Coordinated by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), the ETC BE supports the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission in their mission to implement EU directives, strategies and policies, and to provide information to policymakers and the public.
Our team collaborates on the implementation of EU biodiversity legislation (e.g. Nature Directives, Invasive Alien Species, Nature Restoration Law, Natura 2000), their data reporting and analysis, as well as in the maintenance and further development of Information Systems (e.g. BISE).
Participation in this project requires overcoming challenges related to worldviews and procedures unfamiliar to academics. Exciting, ground-breaking work combines with repetitive technical tasks; with EEA and Commission counterparts often more interested in the latter. Political processes can have massive impacts, such as when adoptions of new data standards were rejected by EU Member States, and when the delayed adoption of the Nature Restoration Law resulted in freezing related actions and budgets for extended periods. Particularities of different Member States result in varying data quality and structure, and render task automation challenging. Furthermore, many tasks draw on the expertise of diverse teams distributed among partner organisations, necessitating coordination within and among scientists and public officers.
Although challenging, biodiversity scientists should get involved in policy and implementation, and collaborate in order to impact biodiversity conservation.
| Status Group | Postdoctoral Researcher |
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