Visions in biodiversity research – towards a new integrative biodiversity science

The implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity CBD requires sound scientific bases and thus an active role of the research community. The publication «Visions in biodiversity research» is a contribution to this goal.
In this document, members of the Swiss Biodiversity Forum present their ideas for a new and integrative approach to biodiversity research. The ultimate aim of the document is to stimulate research that improves our understanding of the processes affecting biodiversity and which enables us to conserve this vital natural resource and use it sustainably.
Four principal focus areas are identified in the document as essential for an integrated approach to biodiversity science. These are:

• The concept of biodiversity
• Natural and anthopogenic drivers of biodiversity
• Biodiversity as a driver of ecosystem functioning and the basis for human life
• The assessment of biodiversity

As well as identifying research priorities, the document sets out the importance of this research in the wider context of a research strategy to tackle issues connected with sustainability and global change. The importance of such a coherent strategy was emphasised by the Swiss scientific community in the document «Research on Sustainability and Global Change - Visions in Science Policy by Swiss Researchers», CASS/ProClim, 1997.