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Beyond 2010: strategies for understanding and responding to long-term trends in UK biodiversity

A scientific conference will be held in the UK during 2010 as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity. The aim is to highlight the central role long-term studies play in addressing key biodiversity-related issues, and to explore future directions for this area of research.

  

The focus of the conference, organised by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (co-ordinators of ECN) and the Natural History Museum in London, will be tracking, understanding and reacting to long-term changes in biodiversity. The emphasis will be on the UK but many of the issues raised should be more widely relevant, and  international collaboration will be covered. We shall consider the roles of field monitoring, research and curated collections with respect to terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments.

Through invited plenary presentations and small group discussions, we aim to address the use of long-term data in biodiversity research, access to data, citizen participation, policy needs and future directions.

The initial places will be filled by invitation, with open registration following in spring 2010.

It is anticipated that the conference will yield a statement of recommendations for improving biodiversity monitoring and research in the UK and elsewhere. A special volume is being considered for publication.

   Key conference questions
  • What is the evidence base to inform us on past, current and future changes in biodiversity, particularly in the UK?
  • What does the evidence base tell us about the temporal and spatial extent of change?
  • What are the drivers of changes in biodiversity, particularly in the UK?
  • What are the consequences of changes in biodiversity for ecosystem services?
  • Where are the current gaps in our monitoring of biodiversity?
  • Can we harmonise measurements for assessing biodiversity trends at larger scales?
  • How do we apply data from monitoring and experiments to support policy?
  • How can we broaden public involvement in biodiversity monitoring?
  • How do we best communicate findings to policy makers, land managers and the general public?

 

 

Conference organisers:
 

A contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity

 

 

  
 

 		  
Advisory Board members drawn from:

Countryside Council for Wales ● Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ● Environment Research Funders' Forum ● Marine Biological Association  ● Natural England ● Scottish Natural Heritage