Biodiversity - a shared responsibility that requires more knowledge

(translated and edited excerpt from longer Mistra article in Swedish from seminar 9 april -
Biologisk mångfald – skilda aktörer men ett gemensamt ansvar – Mistra)

How can different actors with different interests and responsibilities come together and cooperate on both land and sea? What governance is required and how do we increase commitment to biodiversity? At Mistra's anniversary seminar in Lund, discussions on biodiversity in relation to food and agriculture and civil society and planning were highlighted.

Eva Krutmeijer and Alexandre Antonelli in the Botanical gardens in Lund, Mistra Day 9 April

Mistra's anniversary seminar began at the Lund Botanic Garden, where Alexandre Antonelli, Head of Research at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and a Mistra BIOPATH researcher, told of how they had given up tending certain areas of the garden so that they could grow freely and thus increase biodiversity. To create understanding and draw visitors' attention to the initiative, they put up signs with explanatory text.

Many agreed that the level of knowledge about biodiversity needs to be raised in order to gain acceptance for future measures. More educators in the field are needed, teachers need to get out into nature more. Then we need professionals who are good at interpreting research and transferring knowledge to different target groups; that could be a professional role in itself, said Jessica Hjerpe Olausson, Mistra Co-creating Better Blue, a new Mistra programme on management of marine offshore environments.

Farmer Peter Borring pointed to the challenges of today's sustainability debate, policy development and decision-making being based on standardised models and values. A palette of tools and strategies is needed to ensure that promoting biodiversity on a farm does not mean reducing production.

Helena Hansson, Programme Director of Mistra Food Future, said that they had identified 20 measures that agriculture could take here and now, considering all aspects of sustainability. She also emphasised that the responsibility and actions of the entire industry needs to be discussed more.

Instead of contracting individual products, food companies could contract an entire crop rotation, as Åsa Domeij, Head of Sustainability at Axfood, also mentioned. In addition, she suggested that farmers could be seen as stewards and sellers of ecosystem services. The EU or the Swedish Board of Agriculture could pay for landscape structure to increase biodiversity in small-scale landscapes.

Concluding the Mistra anniversary seminar in Lund 9 april, Henrik Smith and Eva Krutmeijer

Henrik Smith, professor at Lund University, researcher in Mistra BIOPATH and a member of the Climate Policy Council summarised the day. He believes that more research into the social dimension of biodiversity is an important piece of the puzzle. He sees a lack of knowledge about what biodiversity is in both research and public debate, not least when it comes to the link with the climate issue and whether synergies can be achieved, as well as conflicts of objectives.

- The impact of biodiversity on our climate action is an extremely central issue. Biodiversity has an impact on climate and on climate adaptation. Public education is needed and research can play an important role here. Researchers are supposed to work with the so-called third task, scientific outreach, to ensure that knowledge benefits society, but show me a researcher who has this stated in the job description," said Henrik Smith.