European policy review

ARTICLE IN PRESS Journal for Nature Conservation 13 (2005) 213—214

www.elsevier.de/jnc

EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR NATURE CONSERVATION

European policy review Biodiversity research to support European policy$ Ben Delbaere European Centre for Nature Conservation, P.O. Box 90154, 5000 LG Tilburg, Netherlands

KEYWORDS ALTER-Net; 2010 biodiversity target; Biodiversity research; Framework Programme for Research and Development

Summary Biodiversity research is essential to underpin the development, implementation and evaluation of policy that impacts on or protects biodiversity. An example is presented on how European terrestrial biodiversity research is being integrated to strengthen policy input. ALTER-Net is a Long-Term Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Awareness Research Network funded by the 6th European Union Framework Programme for Research and Development. & 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Since 1984 research in the Europe Union (and previously the European Economic Community) is strongly led by a series of multi-annual Framework Programmes (FPs) for Research and Development. These FPs cover a wide range of research topics, such as space research, nanotechnology or medical science. Biodiversity research has also been funded by this European policy, with hundreds of projects carried out in Europe and beyond. The current 6th Framework Programme (FP6) has seen a substantial shift in what is being funded, with a strong focus on large scales and big ambitions. With this shift the European Commission (executive body of the European Union—EU) wants

to strengthen research in the EU, which is too often characterised by fragmentation and isolation. A consequence of this is that research is duplicated and makes less of an impact than it could. The FP6 wants to overcome this by joining forces of the many research institutes and by constructing what is called the ‘European Research Area’. In addition to the project types that existed in previous FPs, the FP6 has introduced some new instruments. The most ambitious ones are the ‘Integrated Projects’ and the ‘Networks of Excellence’ (NoE). One of the NoE’s that have been established within the past year to strengthen and integrate

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This section provides a short analysis of and opinion on international biodiversity policymaking throughout Europe. It focuses on highlights and major developments of the last months. The views expressed are those of the authors. E-mail address: [email protected]. 1617-1381/$ - see front matter & 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2005.05.001

ARTICLE IN PRESS 214 research on terrestrial biodiversity in Europe is introduced here. The network is called ALTER-Net, which stands for ‘A Long-Term Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Awareness Research Network’. ALTER-Net aims at durable integration of terrestrial biodiversity research in Europe. This integration should last well beyond the 5-year funding period of the network. Within ALTER-Net the integration focuses on six aspects: institutional integration; integration of environmental and socio-economic approaches; integration of longterm ecosystem research sites; integration between research scientists, science communicators and science-based visitor centres; integration of science and policy and integration of data, information and knowledge management systems. ALTER-Net also encourages research, management and cultural changes within and between its component organisations through support for training and communication activities to promote the spread of excellence. Although the ALTER-Net is not a traditional research project with specific research outputs but a network with an overall aim to ‘integrate’, its integration activities cover six key research topics that define today’s biodiversity research agenda in Europe: socio-economic drivers of biodiversity change; biodiversity assessment and change; impacts of the main natural and anthropogenic drivers and pressures on biodiversity; biodiversity conservation options; public attitudes to biodiversity and its conservation; and forecasting change in biodiversity. A network of 24 research institutes and organisations in 17 European countries carries out the ALTER-Net activities.

B. Delbaere Admittedly, the above description may sound rather vague and intangible. The big challenge for the ALTER-Net community is to demonstrate that the concept has a future and that it succeeds in strengthening Europe’s biodiversity research. The need for this is clear: an endeavour such as ALTER-Net can only reach its objective of durable integration if it is truly embedded in European policy processes; not only in biodiversity policy, but also in research policy and policies that have an impact on biodiversity. Increasingly society demands for policies to be legitimate and accountable, with measurable targets. The targets that have been set to halt biodiversity loss in Europe by 2010 require the research community to work together to monitor and help achieve this target. Also, the more specific targets that have been agreed by the European Council and that have been laid down in the ‘Message from Malahide’ in 2004 require solid underpinning by research. It is only by ensuring that Europe’s wealth of biodiversity expertise is integrated in many ways that convincing answers can be given to policy questions. It is therefore of paramount importance that also in future EU FPs, FP7 is now being prepared, biodiversity research has a clear position. Without it, European policymakers will have little basis to assess whether they have reached the targets that they have jointly set to halt the ongoing loss of biodiversity. Further information: ALTER-Net web site: www.alter-net.info FP6 web site: http://fp6.cordis.lu