World Biodiversity Forum 2022

After a successful 1^st edition in Davos 2020 and a virtual series in 2021, the World Biodiversity Forum returns in 2022 to Davos.

Un­der the theme 'In­spi­ra­tion for Ac­tion,' the sec­ond World Bio­di­ver­si­ty Fo­rum will bring to­geth­er re­searchers across all dis­ci­plines of bio­di­ver­si­ty sci­ence with prac­ti­tion­ers and so­ci­etal ac­tors. The fo­rum of­fers in­spi­ra­tion and ex­am­ples for ac­tions and so­lu­tions to con­serve bio­di­ver­si­ty, and set us on a path to­wards trans­for­ma­tion for sus­tain­abil­i­ty.  The World Bio­di­ver­si­ty Fo­rum 2022 will be or­gan­ised as a hy­brid event, with the in-per­son meet­ing tak­ing place at Davos Con­gress Cen­tre, Switzer­land from 26 June -1 July 2022.

The MRI will be present at the WBF with in-person presentations from MRI Principal Investigator Adrienne Grêt-Regamey and MRI Scientific Project Officer James Thornton.

Programme

More than 500oral and poster pre­sen­ta­tions in 60 hy­brid ses­sions set the scene for in­no­v­a­tive and time­ly ques­tions, and bring to­geth­er re­searchers and prac­ti­tion­ers from a va­ri­ety of dis­ci­plines. On-site work­shops, train­ing ses­sions and pan­el de­bates al­low to deep­en rel­e­vant top­ics. As a high­light, there are dai­ly ple­nary talks from a range of ex­cel­lent speak­ers.

MRI @ the WBF

Thursday, June 30, 16:00 - 18:00 CEST | MRI Principal Investigator Adrienne Grêt-Regamey
Presentation:209 Participatory development of archetypes for managing ecological infrastructure
In session: SES1 Biodiversity changes in social-ecological systems – use of data and knowledge to support societal transformation towards sustainability
Abstract: Ecological Infrastructure (EI) plays a crucial role in the functioning of ecosystems, but their integrity and thus ecosystem functioning are threatened by global change processes. The newer action plans for biodiversity conservation do however not only target ecosystem functioning, but highlight the importance of fostering the provision of Nature Contributions to People (NCP). Given that conservation interventions often incur high costs, this raises the question if biodiversity hotspots can be managed by free-riding on the management for NCP. 
We tackle this question by developing socio-ecological system archetypes for managing EI. These archetypes comprise of landscape units that are identified by sets of NCPs co-produced by socio-ecological systems. These units are linked to social-ecological interactions including governance mechanisms and policy instruments using a tiered-approach based on Ostrom’s framework. We utilise these archetypes in combination with biodiversity data in an iterative process between scientists and stakeholders to inform conservation, restoration, and management practices to secure a functioning EI in Switzerland. We close by discussing how the development of such archetypes using a combination of qualitative and quantitative, expert-based and computer-aided methods can make data on biodiversity and NCPs tangible for decision-makers.

Thursday, June 30, 16:00 - 18:00 CEST|MRI Project Officer James Thornton
Presentation: 442 Human populations in the world's mountains: Patterns and potential controls
In session: MOU1-a Global mountain biodiversity 
Abstract: Climatic and demographic change in the world's mountains will have increasingly profound ecological and societal consequences. Quantifying the number of people living in mountains is crucial to ensure that interventions in these complex social-ecological systems, including efforts to protect their biodiversity and ecosystems, are proportionally resourced. However, comprehensive and reproducible population analyses have traditionally been lacking lacking. Here, we present an open workflow to quantify the sensitivity of global mountain population estimates, both globally and regionally, to alternative input data choices. We also explored relationships between mean population density and selected potential covariates, including protected area extents, across elevational bands within individual mountain regions. Global mountain population and urban mountain population estimates were found to vary greatly.  Population increased at least twofold between 1975 and 2015 in ~35% of mountain sub-regions. Population densities are more strongly associated with climatic than with topographic and protected area metrics, and these dependencies appear to have strengthened slightly; such insights may contribute to improved predictions of future mountain population distributions. Overall, our work emphasises that irrespective of data choices, many people are likely to be directly affected by – and themselves affect – mountainous environmental and ecological change.

Find more ses­sions, ab­stracts and speak­ers in the on­line pro­gram. Work­shops and ple­nary talks are be­ing up­dat­ed con­tin­u­osly.

Visit the WBF website for more information, follow WBF on twitter at @WorldBioForum, or join the group on LinkedIn for regular updates. 

Related Article: MRI at the World Biodiversity Forum 2020

The 2020 Forum was organized in Davos, and was timed to follow the World Economic Forum to make the case between nature and economy.  Mountains were well-represented among the wide range of per­spec­tives and di­ver­si­ty of vi­sions in many sessions, including a GEO Mountains session hosted by the MRI that aimed to open up the discussion on relevant Essential Mountain Variables needed in the monitoring of global change drivers and processes in mountain environments.

Read more.

Cover image by jplenio from Pixabay