Conference of the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy
The Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, organised a conference of the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy. The conference, held as part of the Czech EU Presidency, took place on 19–22 May 2009 in Průhonice.
The objective of the conference was to identify the key research questions that would allow scientists to better address policy needs in the complex area of biodiversity research. The participants discussed the strategy and methods of working with taxonomic information: inventory and identification of species and their protection. Other priority topics included the role of taxonomony in analysis of processes influencing biodiversity, and in assessing impacts of biodiversity changes on ecosystems functions, and the ways of using databases of biodiversity data.
The conference outlined how to help to coordinate, at European level, the fragmented efforts at educating experts, mainly taxonomists and ecologists, in the developing world, how to converge biodiversity projects on the global level and create the appropriate environment in selected developing countries to transfer European data and experience. The conference discussed and produced recommendations on how to develop and better coordinate, at European level, taxonomic research efforts to help European and developing countries to better assess and protect their biodiversity.
This conference has become another of the regular meetings of the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS), one of whose members is the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Like the previous conferences on key topics concerning biodiversity research, this conference was organised with the support of the European BioStrat project. The Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences is also a participant in this project. The conference was opened by Vladimír Mareček, Vice-President of the Czech Academy of Sciences together with Environment Minister Ladislav Miko.
The EPBRS Platform, which was established in 1999, provides recommendations for European and national institutions regarding the priorities and strategy of biodiversity research. These recommendations are always based on expert discussions at conferences that are held bi-annually in the countries that hold the EU Presidency. Each conference offers a platform for dialogue between scientists from the area of life sciences and the humanities and politicians from countries that participate in the European Framework Programme. This conference aims to create contacts between scientists and policy-makers from 32 countries and thus increase the effectiveness and impact of European biodiversity research.
For further information on the EPBRS Platform and the conference visit www.epbrs.org
Contact:
- Jakub Kašpar, Spokesperson of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic
tel.: +420 267 122 040, mobile: +420 724 175 927; e-mail: jakub.kaspar@mzp.cz
- Petr Petřík, Institue of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
tel.: +420 271 015 246, e-mail: petr.petrik@ibot.cas.cz
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:20
