National Committees
Belgium

Contact(s)

Collaborative Research Network:

Belgian Biodiversity Platform
www.biodiversity.be

Events

21-22 May 2007
2007 Belgian Biodiversity Platform Conference – Biodiversity and Climate Change
The links between biodiversity and climate change run both ways: biodiversity is threatened by human-induced climate change but, biodiversity resources can reduce the impacts of climate change on people and production. The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity can strengthen ecosystem resilience, improving the ability of ecosystems to provide critical services in the face of increasing climatic pressures. These range from reducing the amount of CO2 released in the atmosphere, to mitigating the impacts of climate change effects such as, flooding and drought, famine, and health.
Recognizing this, the Belgian Biodiversity Platform organizes a meeting with an open science conference on Biodiversity and Climate Change. The goal of this meeting is twofold:

• The open science conference will offer an overview of the scientific knowledge on present and predicted impacts of climate change on biodiversity, with a focus on research being conducted in Belgium;
• During an electronic conference and round table discussion suggestions for research priorities will be formulated, in order to optimize the relevance and coherence of the Belgian research policy. In addition, the conference will suggest targeted research and conservation actions to be taken in Belgium to mitigate the impact of climate change on biodiversity.

The open science conference is scheduled for May 21; the outcome of the conference will be presented at a public event during the 2007 Biodiversity Day on May 22.
For more information take a look a the conference website.

1-3 December 2006 – Brussels, Belgium
International workshop on “Cooperative Strategies for current international initiatives on freshwater biodiversity: Exploring the willingness and feasibility of sharing information and expertise on global freshwater biodiversity.” - upon invitation only

Purpose of the workshop:
Several international groups are currently carrying out studies and data compilation on freshwater biodiversity. There is a need to better know their ongoing activities and to identify common actions or strategies where data and expertise could be shared. The purpose of the sharing would be to better address research needs and conservation issues in freshwater biodiversity. Additionally, a similar collaborative effort is currently being undertaken by hydrological/physical organizations and data providers leading, for example, to the development of global database on dams and river discharge regimes.

The objectives of the meeting would be to investigate strategies for collaboration and to initiate an active network for sharing information and developing synergies amongst organizations.

Contact:
Estelle Balian
Belgian Biodiversity Platform- Freshwater Biology Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINSc)

Publications

The Belgian Biodiversity Platform Newsflash
Click here to download the latest issue (issue 13, January 2007)

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