EPBRS meeting under the Danish Presidency of the EU 16-18th January 2012

The EPBRS meeting under Danish presidency took place in Copenhagen from the 16-18th January 2012. The results from this meeting will feed into the intersessional discussions on the proposed work programme for the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The results from the Danish meeting will be available here by January 27th 2012.

EPBRS meeting under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU 26-30th April 2011

The EPBRS meeting, held in Budapest, titled  “Research priorities to sustain ecosystem services”  supported the implementation of the European Biodiversity Research Strategy 2010-2020 adopted by the EPBRS plenary in Palma de Mallorca in 2010.

The intention of the strategy is to generate and share the knowledge necessary to bring human societies into a sustainable and mutually beneficial relationship with the living world. Click here for the recommendations of the Hungarian EPBRS meeting.

Comhar (SDC) Report on creating Green Infrastructure for Ireland

Comhar was first set up in 1999, as Comhar the National Sustainable Development Partnership. It is now known as Comhar, . Comhar is the Irish word for partnership. Comhar SDC is the key organisation in Ireland providing for sectoral and stakeholder engagement on implementing sustainable development.

Comhar have launched a research report focusing on Green Infrastructure, entitled ‘Creating Green Infrastructure for Ireland’. The report sets out a broad definition of Green Infrastructure and explores and proposes an approach and a set of principles that should be followed in Green Infrastructure planning. Please click here to view the report.

The BioChange project

BioChange was a large scale, integrative and multi-disciplinary research framework designed to support national and local biodiversity policy in Ireland. The project was funded by the EPA from 2006 to 2010

Its main aim was to develop an integrative research activity that would, now and in the future, address important issues affecting Irish biodiversity, with outputs directly linked to policy support both regionally and nationally. BioChange would also produce high quality biological and sociological data. Four work packages addressed the main drivers of biodiversity loss – habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive nonnative species, pollution and over-exploitation – in a variety of habitats and at differing spatial scales. Two crosscutting projects provided accessible information on biodiversity, and made recommendations on improved biodiversity governance.
Click here for the final Biochange Synthesis report.

Mulkear Life Project: Restoration of the Lower Shannon Special Area of Conservation for Sea Lamprey, Atlantic Salmon and European Otter

This is one of the most exciting and important fish and nature conservation projects ever undertaken on a river catchment basis anywhere in Ireland and hopefully will be a conservation blueprint for future integrated catchment management. For further information on this project please go to the project website at: http://www.mulkearlife.com

Review of the Biodiversity Knowledge Programme for Ireland

During the term of the first NPBR (2003-2006) a working group of experts from within the platform membership produced a Biodiversity Knowledge Programme for Ireland. This document is currently the subject of review by the secretariat. Your views and comments on the research programme are welcome at this time by contacting the secretariat. A brief synopsis of the Biodiversity Knowledge Programme and a link to the full document are provided below.

There is currently a lack of understanding and knowledge regarding biological diversity and an urgent need to develop scientific, technical and institutional capacities to provide basic understanding upon which to plan and improve appropriate conservation measures. This lack of hard scientific data has been highlighted by the CBD, by the various other national, European and international regulations and by the National Biodiversity Plan.

The initiation, development and delivery of appropriate policy to meet national and EU obligations must be based on relevant and rigorous research knowledge (either collating existing knowledge or conducting appropriate new research where knowledge gaps are shown to exist). Since the conservation, enhancement and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity and biological resources must underpin all areas of environmentally based legislation; there is a clear necessity for the integration of scientific advice into policy-making and delivery.

This document aims to address and support Ireland’s biodiversity commitments by identifying a programme of research that is considered to be of high priority and by suggesting methods to implement that programme.