FEdA conference on Biodiversity and Human Well Being
The FEdA conference on Biodiversity and Human Well Being took place online between 9-11 November, bringing together representatives across a range of sectors including science, politics and economics to discuss challenges and solutions in current conservation policy and research methods.
A series of workshops engaged participants in important topics such as the role of the economy and private sector in biodiversity conservation, the need for increased research on freshwater biodiversity, the green-green conflict, and ways to ensure food security. Major takeaways from the conference are the need for scientific research to promote synergies between disciplines, recruit more citizen science projects, and engage a new generation of ‘activist’ researchers to propel science into action.
The EU Green Deal and Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework outline biodiversity conservation targets, but scientists from biodiversity-related fields agreed at the FEdA conference last week that transformative change is needed to achieve them. In one session on ‘How to Live in Harmony with Biodiversity’, Prof Dr Berta Martín-López, a Professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg, expressed that without activism, researchers are merely reporters observing the ecological decline and destruction. The Game On! project is running a series of wild camps and e-learning schools to tackle this and engage new generations of scientists and policy-makers equipped with skills to translate knowledge of biodiversity conservation issues into action.
Need to engage stakeholders
A defining takeaway of the FEdA conference was the need to involve a wide array of stakeholders from the initial stages of biodiversity conservation research, policy-making and action in order to achieve a real impact towards targets of the EU Green Deal. Effective science communication and creating a "level playing field" for all stakeholders, where conversations aren’t dominated by scientists, are crucial to engaging stakeholders. The SaveGREEN project is doing just that. Through a series of transnational exchange workshops, SaveGREEN has engaged a wide range of stakeholders to share experiences and recommendations on the maintenance of ecological corridors and biodiversity restoration across the Carpathian-Danube region
The final SaveGREEN conference in Hungarian is being held on the 1st of December in Budapest.