Event – World Biodiversity Forum 2020

The World Biodiversity Forum 2020 will take place February 23 – 29 at the Congress Centre in Davos, Switzerland. The Forum will provide a platform for exchange, covering a wide range of perspectives, and capturing a diversity of visions. With this, it aims to redefine and set the agenda for biodiversity as a focal point over the next 10 years in current themes and topics across sectors. The aim of the conference is to explore the future of biodiversity.

This first of its kind Fo­rum will bring to­geth­er lead­ing re­searchers, ear­ly ca­reer re­searchers, prac­ti­tion­ers, rep­re­sen­ta­tives from dif­fer­ent sec­tors, de­ci­sion-mak­ers and so­ci­etal ac­tors to have a con­ver­sa­tion on the kind of fu­ture we want (and/or do not want) for bio­di­ver­si­ty. The Fo­rum will pro­vide a plat­form for ex­change, cov­er­ing a wide range of per­spec­tives, and cap­tur­ing a di­ver­si­ty of vi­sions. With this, it aims to re­de­fine and set the agen­da for bio­di­ver­si­ty as a fo­cal point over the next 10 years in cur­rent themes and top­ics across sec­tors.

The Fo­rum sup­ports the “New Deal for Na­ture” to be forged by the Con­ven­tion on Bi­o­log­i­cal Di­ver­si­ty at the end of 2020. It is aligned with Sus­tain­able De­vel­op­ment Goals and achieve­ment of which will re­quire the in­volve­ment of all sec­tors/so­ci­etal ac­tors, so­ci­etal con­sen­sus and col­lec­tive search for so­lu­tions to con­serve bio­di­ver­si­ty.

Conference themes

1. Changing Biodiversity – illustrate the response of biodiversity and ecosystem function to environmental change, explore the impacts of (anthropogenic) drivers of change and their interactions and feedbacks with ecosystems.

2. Values and Concepts – examine the role of humans and human agencies in the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity, and explore what it takes and means for humans to conserve biodiversity.

3. Future of Biodiversity – what are the pathways to desirable futures, which actors need to be involved, and what commitments are required?

4. Making an impact – highlighting the relevance and importance of biodiversity for human well-being, adding value to biodiversity knowledge by making it useful and used, facilitating the implementation of knowledge.
Conference aims

There will be a wide range of sessions and workshops. Sessions provide the platform to discuss topics of interest in an in-depth manner. This includes traditional scientific sessions, as well as panel and round table discussion involving invited participants. The workshops are interactive and require the active participation of the audience. They foster networking, facilitate interaction and contribute to skills development.

The Forum is organized by the international research network bioDISCOVERY, and the University of Zurich Research Priority Programme Global Change and Biodiversity.

For more information click here.
To register click here.

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