Biodiversity

‘Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science’, published in 2021 in Nature: Human Behaviour, argues that behavioural sciences have a crucial role to play in the field of biodiversity given the importance of human behaviour change in reversing the biodiversity decline’s current trend. The authors suggest that identifying key stakeholders and prioritising behaviour change according to its (technical) potential (the intervention’s potential effectiveness in reducing biodiversity threats) and behaviour’s plasticity (the extent to which a behavioural intervention can change behaviour) will be key to the success of behavioural interventions in this field.

The third Global Bioeconomy Summit #GBS2020 will take place fully virtual from 16 to 20 November 2020 with the support of the German government. Since the first summit in Berlin in 2015, the summits have established themselves as a unique format for global exchange on bioeconomy policy, governance and sustainable development.

The European Commission launched a new Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity: a one-stop shop for science-based evidence to protect the natural ecosystems that provide us with food, medicines, materials, recreation, and wellbeing.

The European Parliament gave a “go” to the Com Agri Report on the “European Forest Strategy – the way forward”. This plenary vote sent a positive signal for forest owners and managers and the 4 million workers involved in the forestry value chains.

Bioeconomy Ireland Week Map Series released by Teagasc.

The theme the of EU Green Week 2020 is nature and biodiversity. After the adoption of a new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 in May, Green Week will highlight the contribution biodiversity can make to society and the economy, and the role it can play in supporting and stimulating recovery in a post-pandemic world, bringing jobs and sustainable growth.

This Policy Brief focuses on the vital role of biodiversity for human life and the importance of integrating biodiversity considerations into the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

A new study published by the European Forest Institute calls for collective action to put nature at the heart of the economy and set the world on a sustainable path.

Productive systems face a fourfold challenge in the face of a global economic downturn exacerbated by COVID 19: produce more efficiently or reinvent themselves, maintain value chains that support jobs and livelihoods, while ensuring the sustainable use and rehabilitation of nature facing climate change.

The Dutch Social Economic Council (SER) in July advised the Dutch government to phase out bioenergy and instead use biomass for high value applications, according to a report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network.

The webinar focused on the European Green Deal and its impacts on forest management and protection in Europe, with a special focus on the integration of biodiversity conservation into sustainable forest management – which is the main focus of the Network.

"Biodiversity is vital to improving agricultural and food production and maintaining our planet's resources and ecosystems," said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, calling for more to be done to prevent the biodiversity loss undermining the resilience of many agricultural systems and posing a serious threat to global food security.

The European Committee of the Regions launches a new working group to ensure that cities and regions can bring the European Green Deal off the ground with concrete projects and direct funding to local and regional authorities.

An article published in Solutions Journal sets out a 10-point Action Plan to create a circular bioeconomy devoted to sustainable wellbeing.

Ensuring that the Green Deal is at the core of the COVID-19 recovery strategy is a top priority for the Commission for the Environment, Climate change and Energy (ENVE) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).

Today, the European Commission adopted a comprehensive new Biodiversity Strategy to bring nature back into our lives and a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. The two strategies are mutually reinforcing, bringing together nature, farmers, business and consumers for jointly working towards a competitively sustainable future.

The EU is putting in place a common classification system to encourage private investment in sustainable growth and contribute to a climate neutral economy.

The conference at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Potsdam, Germany, was focused on addressing climate change impacts, as well as the needs for mitigation and adaptation.

EU's youngest commissioner on how to turn climate crisis around