A study identifies knowledge gaps crucial for addressing the causes of biodiversity loss

International sustainability policies establish clear goals for protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, but in practice it is difficult to achieve those objectives, and the loss of biodiversity continues to be a source of major concern. This context is the starting point for a new study published last Monday by the scientific journal Nature Sustainability, which identifies the need for greater understanding of environmental governance, institutional arrangements and the feedbacks between social and ecological systems, in order to overcome the loss of biodiversity.

The project was led by Matias Mastrangelo, researcher at the National University of Mar del Plata in Argentina, and is also authored by Elisa Oteros-Rozas, a Juan de la Cierva researcher of the Chair in Agroecology and Food Systems at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC). The new study, carried out by an international team of 32 experts, identifies the main knowledge gaps that must be addressed to deal with the fundamental causes of the loss of biodiversity, and calls for research aimed at finding solutions to the socio-ecological crisis.

To that end, it discusses seven recent assessments made by the scientific-regulatory body IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. These evaluations "summarise our current knowledge about the relationship between society and nature, including the role of people in the management of ecosystems to provide benefits to people," explains Elisa Oteros-Rozas. According to the researcher, the IPBES reports are "a critical tool for information, for both formulating evidence-based policies and establishing scientific research agendas."

The authors compared the knowledge gaps identified in the IPBES reports with the key international sustainability goals established by the United Nations in order to achieve the Aichi Targets for Biological Biodiversity, agreed in 2010 within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Effective, fair and inclusive strategies

"We found that global sustainability goals cannot be achieved without improved knowledge on feedbacks between social and ecological systems, and on effective governance systems and institutions that can equitably deliver ecosystem services and protect vulnerable people," explains Matias Mastrangelo. The director of the study says that "we need to identify management and policy strategies for ecosystems and biodiversity that are effective, just, inclusive and promote good quality of life."

The analysis concludes that "some progress has been made to remedy the knowledge gaps previously identified in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005, including a better understanding of the long-term trends in ecological change," explains Oteros-Rozas. However, "some knowledge gaps persist after decades of research, and new ones have emerged."

"We've made great strides forward in global assessments. But the most urgent research gap hasn't changed since 2005: we need effective strategies to meet our sustainability goals," adds the co-author Elena Bennett, a lecturer at the McGill School of Environment (Canada). "In this latest assessment, the role of indigenous and local knowledge to sustain nature's benefits to people has emerged as a key knowledge gap," explains Bennett, who says that "now we need to get those with deep expertise in social change and governance to the table, including local actors and decision makers."

New ways of assessing human welfare and the protection of biodiversity

The assessment by the IPBES reflects a growing consensus on the need for new ways of assessing both human welfare and the protection of biodiversity. Kimberly Nicholas, another of the authors and a lecturer in sustainability studies at the University of Lund (Sweden), points out that "mark an paradigm emerging shift: the emphasis we found on the importance of human values and institutions puts people at the heart of nature protection," which is why "we need new ways to value human and natural well-being, beyond defining a good life based just on gross domestic product."

Finally, the authors argue that the knowledge gaps they have identified must be an important contribution to the new global biodiversity goals to be adopted in the United Nations Framework Convention on Biodiversity by 2020. "All the actors involved must urgently focus on improving knowledge about the gaps identified, especially in regions where it is currently lacking," says Natalia Pérez-Harguindeguy, a lecturer at the Universidad Nacional in Córdoba (Argentina) and a co-author of the study. "The future of humanity depends on how we respond to the current socio-ecological crisis," he concludes.

Reference

Study: "Key knowledge gaps to achieve global sustainability goals" in  Nature Sustainability (DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0412-1)