There has never been more interest in allocating resources to reversing biodiversity loss. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is a theory of change with an explicit focus on addressing the causes of biodiversity loss and the action needed to reverse current biodiversity trends. Bending the curve for biodiversity is possible, but only if actions are implemented urgently and in an integrated manner across all sectors of society. This requires knowledge of where, why, and how fast biodiversity is changing. The implementation of the GBF is hindered because information about biodiversity change is geographically patchy, and our estimates of trends in biodiversity and ecosystem metrics are highly uncertain. I will present an overview of our work addressing these challenges. First, I will present a detection and attribution framework for biodiversity change needed to guide action; I will include examples that show the value of science to support targets for ecological connectivity and protected areas. Then I will present a proposal to establish a Global Biodiversity Observing System (GBiOS) to fill a large knowledge gap at the science-policy interface. I will motivate the need for GBiOS through an assessment of our capability to detect changes in global biodiversity trends and how this capability can be improved over time.
Short Bio:
Andrew Gonzalez is Professor and Liber Ero Chair in Biodiversity Conservation in the Department of Biology, McGill University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He obtained his PhD from Imperial College (Silwood Park), London. He has published more than 180 articles on the causes and consequences of biodiversity and ecosystem change, including ecological and evolutionary dimensions of human impacts. He is also the founding Director of the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science and a co-Chair of the international network the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON). He is co-chair of the IPBES assessment on monitoring biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. He provided science input during the development of the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by the UN CBD in December 2022. He has spoken widely on biodiversity change including at TEDx and the World Economic Forum in Davos. He is the cofounder of Habitat, a biodiversity consultancy company providing science advice and design principles for conserving and restoring biodiversity.
The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Biodiversity Network, or its researchers.
