|
WK-27:
The 2010 biodiversity target: Implications for ecologists
Tuesday, August 9, 11:30 AM -
1:15 PM, Meeting Room 512a, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Fee:
None – includes
Grab-and-Go Lunch ticket.
Minimum:
12
Maximum: 30
Organizer:
David Ainsworth
(david.ainsworth@biodiv.org)
Description:
The
globally endorsed target to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss
by 2010 presents significant political and scientific challenges. Assessments
indicate that an unprecedented effort would be needed to achieve this target at
the global, regional, and national levels. The magnitude of the challenge of
slowing the rate of biodiversity loss is demonstrated by the fact that most of
the direct drivers of biodiversity loss are projected to either remain constant
or to increase in the near future. Moreover, inertia in natural and human
institutional systems results in time lags–of years, decades or even
centuries–between the time when actions are taken and when their impact on
biodiversity and ecosystems is apparent. Existing biodiversity indicators are
helping to communicate trends in biodiversity and highlight its importance to
human well-being. However, there is a critical need for improved measures of
biodiversity, which would aid decision making, at global, regional, and national
levels. Models could be developed and used to make better use of limited
observational data. Additional effort is also required to reduce critical
uncertainties, including those associated with thresholds of biodiversity
related to the provision of ecosystem goods and services. The workshop will
address the 2010 biodiversity target and the role ecologists can play in
contributing to its achievement.
|
