Програма на научната конференция - Министерство на ...

11:20-12:40Пленарна сесия (продължение)Съпредседатели: П. Берон и С. МончеваPlenary Session (continuation)Co-chairmen: P. Beron and S. Moncheva11:20-12:00BUILDING UP THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA IN BIODIVERSITY:PROMOTING RESEARCH AND SCIENCE-POLICY INTERFACESX. Le RouxFrench Foundation for Research on Biodiversity FRB, Coordinator of the ERA NetBiodivERsA, xavier.leroux@fondationbiodiversite.frBuilding up the ERA on biodiversity at a time of huge biodiversity loss. At thetime when the European Research area in biodiversity is progressively built up,many scientists and international bodies, such as the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, the International Union for Conservation of Nature or the Milleniumecosystem assessment, considered that the rate of species extinctions wasaccelerating. There is now clear evidence that the rates of extinction of biologicalspecies are dozens to hundreds of times the normal background rates. The potentialimpacts of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning are likely to have indirectimpacts on the capacity of natural and managed ecosystems to deliver ecologicalgoods and services, such as food and fibre, carbon storage, soil fertility, nutrientcycles and resistance to environmental change as, for instance, climate change.Several reviews published in the last years support this likeliness, stressing thatsuch losses, often incurred by human activities (habitat loss or disturbance, shifts inland-use, introduction of invasive species, etc.) will reduce nature’s ability tomaintain ecological status and ecosystem services. Furthermore, there is growingevidence that in addition to cultural and ethical values, the biological diversity andabundance of species is a major factor impacting processes and services thatdirectly affect humanity. The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradationtherefore constitutes a major scientific and societal challenge of our times.The challenges of European research in biodiversity. In order to address thesechallenges, adequate financial resources must be allocated to national andEuropean biodiversity research programmes. In addition to the volume ofinvestment, ambitious shared strategy and common agenda have to be defined, andefficient transnational cooperation and joint actions are needed to integratebiodiversity science at national and international levels. In particular, in Europe,the scientific community on biodiversity is still fragmented, misses coordination,and is not visible enough by stakeholders and decision makers. Moreover,biodiversity challenges often have to be addressed at a regional scale and there is aclear need to make a better use of the complementarities among the nationalcommunities and combine skills among European countries.22