GEO BON together with bioDISCOVERY (Future Earth) led a group of 50 experts to produce a large synthesis for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework which is being negotiated by Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The report was released as a CBD information document and was featured by various international news sources, including The Guardian, Le Monde, The Globe and Mail, Heute and Nature.The main findings and key messages of the document were presented during the CBD’s ongoing series of Webinars to Support the Discussions at the Resumed Sessions of SBSTTA-24, SBI-3 and WG2020-3.

CBD/SBSTTA/24/INF/31: “Transformative actions on all drivers of biodiversity loss are urgently required to achieve the global goals by 2050” — Main findings:

1. Action targets are linked to multiple milestones and goals. 
2. Transformative change is essential.
3. All five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss have substantial impacts on biodiversity.
4. Act across levels.
5. Include managed ecosystems.
6. Act on all dimensions of biodiversity.
7. Immediate and sustained action to ensure recovery.
8. Coordinate actions across scales.
9. Invest in monitoring.

Read more

Monitoring Essential Ecosystem Service Variables (EESVs) can provide a comprehensive picture of how links between nature and people are changing. The GEO BON Ecosystem Services Working Group has gone through several steps over the past 10 years to iteratively ponder, test, adapt, identify, select, define and explore the feasibility of the operationalization of a first set of EESV classes which represent shared and grouped key attributes for all ecosystem services to be monitored across space and time.
The first proposed set of EESV classes comprises:  

• Ecological supply, the ecosystem structure and functions that underlie the potential capacity of ecosystems to provide ecosystem services,  

• Anthropogenic contribution, the efforts that humans invest to enhance ecological supply and to make use of ecosystem services, 

• Demand, the explicitly or implicitly expressed human desire or need for an ecosystem service, in terms of its quantity or quality, irrespective of whether awareness exists about such need 

• Use, the active or passive appropriation of an ecosystem service by people 

• Instrumental value, the importance of an ecosystem service to societies or individuals as a means to achieve a specific end (e.g. some dimension of human well-being), and 

• Relational value, the importance ascribed to how ecosystems contribute to desirable and meaningful interactions between humans and nature and between humans in relation to nature.  

The EESVs can fill the gap left by previous complementary and interdependent efforts to highlight how achieving societal goals is dependent on nature and on its interlinkages with society. 
Development of specific indicators of these classes for three exemplary ecosystem services (food from fisheries, crop pollination and wildlife viewing) confirms their readiness for global operationalization. The EESV classes will advance our ability to monitor progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  

The article is now available online and available for free download until 7 April 2022. A webinar explaining EESVs is scheduled for 8 March 2022. Stay tuned!

Patricia Balvanera, Kate A. Brauman, Anna F. Cord, Evangelia G. Drakou, Ilse R. Geijzendorffer, Daniel S. Karp, Berta Martín-López, Tuyeni H. Mwampamba, and Matthias Schröter 

Maggie Hunter and Sean Hoban, co-leads of the Genetic Composition Working Group (CGWG), are leading a new conservation genetics working group on macrogenetics and genetic synthesis funded by the John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis. The project, “Standardizing, aggregating, analyzing and disseminating global wildlife genetic and genomic data for improved management and advancement of community best practices”, investigates the spatio-environmental distribution of genetic diversity to better inform biodiversity management and conservation. Funds were received for a Research Fellow and travel to two workshops. The working group includes other GCWG members and interdisciplinary researchers from government, academia, and non-governmental organizations from numerous countries. 

The article, "What Is Genetic Diversity and Why Does it Matter?" was published in Frontiers for Young Minds and coauthored by members from the GEO BON Genetic Composition Working Group. The article discusses the importance of genetic diversity, how it is formed and maintained in wild populations, how it is lost and why that is dangerous, and what we can do to conserve it. 

https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2021.656168?fbclid=IwAR2QIBJ0NJnulmbVJxIUeWZjUTZtycX_7b_FNNllhz90oza4kWjDZG2kgec 

Maggie Hunter
USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Because data integration with different ecological scales in biodiversity science is complex, the biodiversity community (scientists, policy makers, managers, citizen, NGOs) needs to build a strong data framework to observe, measure and understand the spatio-temporal dynamic of biodiversity from local to global scale. One of the most relevant approaches to disentangle biodiversity architecture and dynamics is the EBV concept. Because we can potentially extract a lot of information from raw datasets sampled at different ecological scales, thanks to FAIR data and source code implementation, we could extract these EBVs to design our global biodiversity monitoring for generating operational indicators. 

PNDB is proposing a GOSC case study inline with the GO FAIR initiative and in collaboration with the GEO BON network to focus on conceptual approaches (complementarity between the EBVs and the DPSIR frameworks (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response), and the research/expertise approaches), implementations (scientific, strategic and policy makers), and technologies (ecological metadata language, analytic tools like Galaxy). All of this will benefit other national BONs and will help open science clouds ecosystems. 
Here’s a V0 EBV data portal 

Olivier Norvez and Yvan Le Bras
French Biodiversity Data Hub PNDB / French BON 

Jessi Junker
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig 
Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg 

The Tropical Andes Biodiversity Observatory: from data to decisions (TAO) is approaching its final phase. After two years of work with different stakeholders in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, the TAO project partners, led by the University of Cordoba in Spain, will launch three training modules focused on three key aspects of the biodiversity mainstreaming process: biodiversity data collection, analysis and decisions (more details here: https://taoformacion.github.io/TAO-web/). In parallel, led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), will hold the last regional workshop to design Essential Biodiversity Variable-based indicators tailored to the needs of the users in the region. During this event, two topics will be addressed: 1) Land use planning and risk management focused on large development and infrastructure Projects, and 2) Intergovernmental agreements and commitments focused on the use of natural resources by local communities.
We look forward to seeing the GEO BON community represented at these events! 

Miguel Fernandez
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
(Photo credit: Michel Livet)

Once an ecosystem's composition, structure, and function are no longer sustainable, it collapses. How can we forecast the ecosystem collapse? 
Different methods, datasets, and interpretations have constrained ecosystem collapse assessments. This has hampered regional and global policy coordination, as well as decision-making. 
On this basis, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) framework was developed. It uses a scientific, transparent, and repeatable method to estimate ecosystem collapse risk. It works across ecosystem types and scales. It can incorporate a range of data and approaches, including assessment of area loss, biotic/abiotic deterioration, and modeling. 
Researchers from CORDIO East Africa, nine WIO countries (and collaborators from farther afield) and over 35 organizations joined forces to apply the RLE framework to study the vulnerability of WIO coral reefs. This collaboration was facilitated through the regional coral reef network, which has streamlined the data provision processes with its roots in the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). The results were published in the Nature sustainability (Doi: 10.1038/s41893-021-00817-0).  
The study shows that we are not doing enough to save WIO coral reefs, which are all vulnerable to collapse in the next 50 years. Global warming and overfishing are the principal threats driving reefs towards the collapse, reinforcing the need for nations covered by this assessment to take coordinated efforts ranging from tackling climate change to addressing local threats. 

Swaleh Aboud, Mishal Gudka and David Obura 
CORDIO East Africa 

Given that human land-use is a primary cause of biodiversity loss, and that changes in natural and semi-natural vegetated land can be a fairly accurate proxy for pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems, GEO Associate Esri would like to share an important mapping project in collaboration with the Impact Observatory and the Microsoft Planetary Computer. Some products are freely available now, but further developments are under consideration for presentation at April’s European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna. We announce the world’s first publicly available 10-m land use/land cover (LULC) map, along with the automated deep-learning model that was run on over 450,000 Sentinel-2 scenes. The resulting map, released freely on Esri’s Living Atlas in June 2021, displays ten classes across the globe: built area, trees, scrub/shrub, cropland, bare ground, flooded vegetation, water, grassland, permanent snow/ice, clouds. Key findings to be presented in detail at EGU, include our quantitative analyses for detecting small, low density urban areas as compared to other LULC products such as the Copernicus CGLS-LC100 100-m global map. In the coming weeks we will also be releasing a new, globally-consistent 2017-2021 annual LULC dataset across the entire Sentinel-2 archive.  
We will continue to make these products freely available to provide critical information to GEO BON, and to allied governments, land use planners, and decision-makers.  

For more information, visit:
Land Cover 2020 web site - https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/landcover/ 
Land Cover 2020 interactive story map - https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/486cd2ae2016454f951c97f802f125b3 
Parallel Land Cover 2050 project - https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/landcover-2050/  

Sean Breyer and Dawn Wright
ESRI
(Figure above: Swipe comparison between new 10-m land cover product (right) and 300-m ESA data (left), India and Bangladesh)

The beginning of 2022 was joyous for wetland and mangrove experts in India. A field-based workshop on “Building Ecological Resilience in Vulnerable Mangroves of the Indian Sundarbans: Sustainable and Equitable Management of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the era of Climate Change” was jointly organized by West Bengal State University, India and Newcastle University, UK. This workshop was supported by the Newton Bhabha Fund and co-funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India, and delivered by the British Council. This Newton-Bhabha Researcher Links Workshop provided opportunities for researchers from India and UK to interact, learn from each other and explore opportunities for building future research collaborations. 

The five-day workshop was conducted at the Sundarbans. It was led by Dr. Krishna Ray (West Bengal State University, Kolkata), and it included visits to mangrove restoration sites.
At the model restored site at Ramganga, participants were shown artificial pollination and familiarised themselves with various mangroves, including near threatened species such as Brownlowia tersa, Ceriops decandra, Phoenix paludosa, Intsia bijuga etc. At the Lothian pristine mangrove forests (Sundarbans Biosphere reserve), participants acquainted themselves with many phyto-sociological studies. It was incredible to experience the unique adaptations of different mangrove species, watch the unique ‘breathing roots’ (pneumatophores) and learn more about the self-cleaning and medicinal properties of the trees. For instance, the ‘Mangrove Tea’ can be prepared from Ceriops decandra which has tested as beneficial for treating diabetes, oral cancer, jaundice etc. Similarly, the latex of Excoecaria sp. can cause blindness despite simultaneously possessing excellent medicinal properties. This blindness can also be treated by another species, Suaeda sp.

It was a fantastic opportunity to listen to and interact with fellow early career researchers,  all hailing from different research institutions of India and knowledgeable on diverse subjects ranging from remote sensing, economics, aquaculture, taxonomy, ecology, biotechnology, biochemistry to  molecular sciences. The workshop aroused our curiosity for future research and collaborations.  

The visits to shoreline mangroves and erosion prone riverbanks gave us an insight into the local livelihood, fishing gears and aided us in understanding its pros and cons. Getting down at mudflats gave an idea of the mangrove associated flora and fauna. Interestingly, some of us were lucky enough to see the Royal Bengal Tiger and their pug marks along the shore of the Sundarbans, an unforgettable occasion for all of us. 

Following the workshop, there was an online conference on 13 January 2022 where the researchers from India and the UK jointly presented ideas on various themes: 
-Drivers of salinity in the Sundarbans;
-Livelihoods in the Sundarbans and interactions with mangrove resources;
-Land use and management and interactions with mangroves;
-Ecological networks and their importance for the function of the system;

The meeting also discussed the stakeholders socio-ecological system, interlinking terms of information exchange, the barriers they faced and how to further facilitate them.

Anila Ajayan
Chinese Academy of Sciences 
(Photo credit: A. Ajayan)

In a new episode of BioScience Talks, Rick Bonney (Cornell University) and Finn Danielsen (Nordic Foundation for Development and Ecology, NORDECO), discuss an open-access special section of BioScience on community-based monitoring programs (already downloaded three thousand times) and the broader future for the field.

Link: https://bioscience-talks.aibs.org/episodes/empowering-communities-through-local-monitoring 

Finn Danielsen
NORDECO
(Photo credit: F. Danielsen)

The UN Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020) is now followed by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). A set of partners, actors and implementers has been initiated and is constantly growing. The Chloride Free Foundation was selected as an official Actor, currently the only organization working to promote soil biodiversity.

‘Actors’ are entities who are actively developing restoration programs and advising, supporting, or facilitating restoration activities on the ground. The UN Decade selects leading voices in their respective fields/regions and entities which make specific long-term commitments to the UN Decade such as building evidence-based recommendations and help the UN Decade to reach out into new sectors and communities.

Learn more about #GenerationRestoration through the UN Environment Programme.

Carol Viana
Chloride Free Foundation

On March 6-10, 2023, CEBioS (together with the Centre de Surveillance de la Biodiversité in Kisangani, DR Congo) will organise the 2nd International Conference on Biodiversity in the Congo Basin. A first edition took place in 2014. 
The conference will address themes linking biodiversity, climate change and public health. This will include biodiversity and food security, valorisation of ecosystem services, biodiversity and climate change, sustainable agriculture, developing and facilitating supra-national and interregional cooperation in scientific research, new approaches to conservation, sustainable exploitation of natural resources, forestry and biodiversity, industrial development and biodiversity, availability of official environmental data, urban biodiversity, and policymaking. Links to the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to the Sustainable Development Goals will be highlighted and discussed.  

For more information : https://congobiodiv23.naturalsciences.be/en 

1. Scientific Programmer – MBON
The Atlantic International Research Centre (AIR Centre) is hiring a Scientific Programmer to support the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) Secretariat. The successful candidate will be part of a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers who conduct research in a variety of geographic areas and will support their work, pushing the boundaries of satellite data applications.
Contract: 2 years
Deadline: 7 March 2022
Details: here!


2. Postdoctoral positions
As part of a new cohort hire postdoctoral positions are available in association with the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change (BGC Center), the Max Planck-Yale Center for Biodiversity Movement and Global Change, and Map of Life. These are 2-3-year positions, some with the potential for longer-term (non-ladder faculty) employment.  

-Quantitative Conservation Science - https://bgc.yale.edu/opportunities/pd-conservation 
-Global Macroecology and Macroevolution - https://bgc.yale.edu/opportunities/pd-macroecology 
-Quantitative Ecology - https://bgc.yale.edu/opportunities/pd-quantitativeecology 
-Animal Movement and Global Change -  https://bgc.yale.edu/opportunities/pd-mpyc 
-Global Marine Biodiversity Conservation - https://bgc.yale.edu/opportunities/pd-marine 
-Global Biodiversity of Vascular Plants - https://bgc.yale.edu/opportunities/pd-plants 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of the Center, and we are committed to ensuring our workplace reflects those values. As such, we strongly encourage applications from researchers identifying as a member of a historically marginalized group. The Yale BGC Center connects biodiversity scientists from across campus and hosts a range of training events. The Center supports research and training around the use of new technologies and data flows for model-based inference and prediction of biodiversity change. One flagship BGC Center project is Map of Life and its associated activities supporting the GEO BON Species Population Essential Biodiversity Variables, biodiversity change indicators, and the Half-Earth Map. Other initiatives associated with the Center include the integration of spatial, phylogenetic,  and functional dimensions of biodiversity (e.g., VertLife, ButterflyNet), NASA-supported remote sensing-informed layers and tools for biodiversity modelling EarthEnv,  biodiversity movement analysis (through the Max-Planck Yale Center), and the Wildlife Insights initiative for camera trapping data.