In November 2010, the meeting of the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS) under the Belgian presidency of the EU took place in Brussels and was associated with a large participatory summit “Positive Visions for Biodiversity” (PVB).
This PVB event engaged into an highly participative process over 230 participants from academics to the private sector, philosophers to politicians, architects to journalists etc. The product of PVB was an inspirational vision of a future world where humans have established a sustainable relationship with the rest of the living world. (1)
The EPBRS meeting on November 18-19 engaged over 50 scientists and policy makers from 25 countries in a lively discussion inspired from the World Café format to reflect upon the results of PVB. The objective was to translate the PVB vision framework into research practice by identifying priority research topics and recommendations for science policy strategies (e.g. research organization and structure).
This report presents some key areas where research would be critically needed to implement the PVB vision framework including:
To ensure more transparent and effective governance, research is needed on ways to mainstream biodiversity into governance at each level and in each sector without losing local specificities (cultural, ethical values) through up-scaling
To implement more participatory and efficient management of land, seas and urban areas in the context of global change, research is needed on proactive and creative management connecting monitoring with the development of scenarios in dynamic social-ecological systems
To develop sustainable use of resources (energy, raw materials…), research should focus specifically on building scenarios on dynamic links between carrying capacity and resource use, incorporating: scales (spatial/temporal – incl. migration), Technology (levels, new), Biodiversity and ecosystem services
To contribute to a more sustainable food production, research is needed on new ways of assigning prices to food production, internalizing the diverse and multiple costs of food production related to biodiversity
To contribute to a better communication and more appropriate education to ensure biodiversity is integrated at all levels and into every part of life, research should focus on sociological, philosophical and linguistic studies on the implications of the concepts currently used and to develop new terms for less loaded discussion
To understand the value systems used to account for biodiversity in our economy and in all different fields and sectors, research is needed on different value systems, including their fundamental principles, how value systems can change and how people can get inspired and engaged, especially for biodiversity
In addition some key principles relevant for all research priorities were extracted from the discussion results such as the requirement to engage a wide range of experts and stakeholders outside the usual environmental community, and the need to implement effective Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) and to explore transdisciplinary approaches for knowledge generation that would serve as a tool to reach integrative research and efficient interfaces with stakeholders.
The participatory approach of this EPBRS meeting was an opportunity for scientists from various disciplines and policy makers to have an open, constructive and integrative discussion on the role of research in addressing the current biodiversity crisis and its underlying causes. However, the results of the discussions presented in this report should be seen as a first step in a longer process in which additional workshops could help explore suggested topics and recommendations more comprehensively.
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(1)Report of the Positive Visions for Biodiversity Summit: the 2010 European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS) meeting under the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. EPBRS, Brussels. 47pp. Balian, E.V., Berhault, A., Rode, J., Schindler, S., Sharman M.(eds). 2011.
