Scientists unite to promote biodiversity

• A declaration of the ICA before the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference – COP 15.
• Biodiversity is also an important issue for UPWr scientists.
• The World Economic Forum: almost half of the world's GDP – approx. €40 trillion – depends on environmental resources

The European Commission presented a biodiversity strategy in May 2020, according to which EU states are to take a number of actions by 2030, not only to protect nature, but also as key elements of the European Green Deal. The most important are the creation of protected areas (at least 30 percent of the EU's land and sea areas) and extending the current Natura 2000 sites, the reclamation of degraded ecosystems, including through a 50 percent reduction in pesticide use and associated risks, or the planting of 3 billion trees across the EU. The European Commission has also decided to allocate EUR 20 billion each year to the protection and promotion of biodiversity from EU, national and private funds.

Politicians and scientists stand united

Two years after its adoption, a position on biodiversity was agreed at a United Nations summit in October 2022, and on 29 November the European Union, together with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), jointly called for an agreement to protect biodiversity. The annual conference of rectors of the ICA, the Association for European Life Science Universities, is in line with this approach, with the Kaunas meeting not only a great opportunity to discuss global initiatives, but also adopt a resolution that biodiversity conservation should be more strongly promoted in academic circles.

On 7 December the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) kicked off in Canada, with a goal to adopt a global framework for the post-2020 period, with representatives from nearly 200 countries meeting in Montreal. The goals envisaged at the summit are intended to set the direction for global efforts to protect and restore natural resources in the next decade. A declaration was adopted in Kaunas in connection with COP 15, in which the rectors of ICA member universities pledge, among other things, to share knowledge about biodiversity, its heritage, trends and dynamics, and its functional importance for the sustainability of natural and urban ecosystems. They also emphasise combining basic biodiversity research with the search for environmental solutions, which will contribute to the protection, reclamation and enhancement of biodiversity along with climate neutrality and sustainable food production in a sustainable circular bioeconomy.

The rectors also pledged to encourage students – future professionals and decision-makers – not only to understand the importance of biodiversity, but also to take action to conserve, restore and enhance it in all types of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. This involves not only an educational process, but also the involvement of life science universities in the protection and enhancement of biodiversity on their university grounds, campuses, or urban spaces – which are intended as both good examples and for educational purposes.

In the adopted declaration the rectors also wrote: "We will strive for active cooperation with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the European Commission and with urban planning and other economic and social sectors in regions across Europe. We will work with the marine, agri-food, forestry and biobased industries to stimulate and implement concrete changes, both mindset and institutional, to effectively reduce and even reverse the decline in biodiversity and accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral, closed-loop economy."

Biodiversity at the UPWr

Research and projects by scientists from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences are also in line with efforts to preserve biodiversity. The Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production at the UPWr has developed standards for the maintenance of urban green spaces - in cooperation with the Sendzimir Foundation. On request of the Poznań branch of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, a system of monitoring nature compensation was developed, i.e. the creation of fresh meadow habitats and restoration of the Molinia meadow habitat. Scientists from this unit also participated in the development of principles for the control and eradication of invasive alien species, together with pilot activities and public education - a project funded by the European Union under the Infrastructure and Environment Programme 2014-2020.

The Department of Genetics, in turn, deals, among other things, with the analysis of genetic variation in the capercaillie breeding populations in the aviary breeding of capercaillie in the Wisła,  the biodiversity and abundance determination of the capercaillie populations in the reintroduced population of the Lower Silesian Forests, and the genetic structure of the population of dormouse (Glis glis) in the Table Mountains National Park. Scientists from this unit are carrying out mammal inventories and wildlife surveillance during the modernisation of the Wrocław Water Junction, the planned construction of flood control reservoirs near Kłodzko, or the renovation of the Opole-Kędzierzyn Koźle railway line. They also studied the diversity and genetic polymorphism of the grey wolf, badger, beaver, mole, bison, but also sheep and cattle – the latter were studied in the buffer zone of the Table Mountains National Park.

For the past 15 years, the protection of capercaillie in Poland has been handled by the Poultry Breeding Department. Naukowcy z Instytutu Hodowli Zwierząt wykorzystują tu wiedzę i umiejętności dotyczące technik wspomaganego rozrodu, jakie zdobyli w pracy z ptakami użytkowymi. The team from Wrocław is helping to save capercaillie and black grouse in Poland and Lithuania, and recently also in Spain. In 2018 and 2020, together with the Vistula Forest District, UPWr scientists organised a training course for the staff of the Cantabrian Capercaillie Breeding Centre, whom they taught the necessary skills to save the Cantabrian grouse.

Another unit – the Department of Reproduction and Clinic of Farm Animals, is working on saving endangered species of animals, especially those of the feline family. Why? Because 38 out of 39 species are endangered. Only the domestic cat is not near extinction. Together with the SGGW, scientists from this team are creating the world's first and only bison semen bank at the Gene Bank in Kostrzyca. And as part of the project of the National Agency for Academic Exchange – NAWA, ScienceNet, a multicentre international scientific platform for effective research, was created. In addition to the Wroclaw veterinary department, some of the best veterinary faculties in the world are actively participating, including those from the Ghent University, the University of Milan, the Alfort National Veterinary School in Paris, the University of Vienna, Iowa State University and the University of Padua.

The Department of Horticulture, in turn, studies, among other things, the influence of environmental factors on the condition of trees and shrubs and the effect of trees and shrubs on the microclimate of industrial or urbanised areas. Associated scientists not only conduct agrotechnical research into the cultivation of new taxons of trees, shrubs and ornamental herbaceous plants, but have also implemented projects such as "Biodiversity of the Opole region - a treasure of natural heritage",  "A biodiversity garden and roadside old cherry tree avenues in the village of Lipowa", "Piast Eco Garden", or "Ołbin Open Garden: extract, aerate and share!". They also carried out educational activities to preserve old Saxon and Polish fruit varieties in the border region.

For the future of our planet

Experts make no secret of the fact that biodiversity is essential both for humans and for environmental and climate protection purposes. It provides food, drinking water and clean air, plays an important role in maintaining a natural balance, helps combat climate change and prevents the spread of infectious diseases, which became particularly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the World Economic Forum, almost half of the world's GDP (approx. 40 trillion EUR) depends on the environment and its resources. The largest industrial sectors are heavily dependent on nature: construction, agriculture and the food industry, which together generate nearly €7.3 trillion within the global economy. At the same time, human activity causes pollution, habitat change and climate change, and these processes and phenomena exert pressure on species and ecosystems. According to scientists, 1 million species of plants, insects, birds and mammals worldwide are currently threatened with extinction.

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  UPWr scientists in the GENESIS mission team

  The European Space Agency is to allocate EUR 80 million to the GENESIS mission, which goal is to do something that has never been achieved before in satellite and space exploration. The new satellite will help improve the accuracy of geodetic measurements on the Earth's surface. The team preparing the mission concept included four scientists from the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics.

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  Three LIDER awards for UPWr scientists!

  Projects of Dr. Karolina Bierowiec, Dr. Agata Mikołajczyk-Martinez, and Prof. Tomasz Hadaś have been awarded in the 13th edition of the National Centre for Research and Development competition, as part of the LIDER programme. The UPWr scientists are to receive nearly PLN 4.5 million for their research.