DNC2022: Protecting Biodiversity Requires Joint Action

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  • 2022/05/27     Dresden, Germany

    Under the theme “Biodiversity – Stewardship for Vital Resources”, the fourth Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC2022) from 23 to 25 May was dedicated to one of the most pressing questions worldwide – how can biodiversity be preserved and protected?


    The approximately 350 participants from more than 60 countries also discussed the question of what role biodiversity plays or should play in the concept of the Resource Nexus, i.e. integrated perspectives on the use of vital resources. The international online conference was co-organised by UNU‐FLORES, TU Dresden, and IOER.

    Dresden, 27 May 2022. – Just one day after the International Biodiversity Day on 22 May, the Dresden
    Nexus Conference (DNC) series offered a broad platform for inter‐ and transdisciplinary exchange on
    pressing issues of sustainable development for the fourth time. Biodiversity is existential for human
    life and survival and is linked to a whole range of other current challenges. A wide variety of important
    Resource Nexus issues were therefore discussed in 22 sessions, including those related to climate
    change, the agricultural and food economy, urban and regional development, and the circular
    economy. The sessions also focused on the role of biodiversity in the respective thematic context.
    Four keynote speeches by renowned experts provided food for thought for the discussions and exciting
    insights into international activities. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema from the Secretariat of the Convention
    on Biological Diversity (CBD), Hien T. Ngo from the Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources
    for Food and Agriculture of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Prof.
    Tan Puay Yok, Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and scientist at the National University of
    Singapore, and Dr Bram Edens from the United Nations Statistics Division provided insights into
    biodiversity research as well as global efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity.
    The presentations and discussions made it clear: Protecting biodiversity requires joint efforts – across
    disciplinary and sectoral boundaries. Science, politics, administration, and civil society can best protect
    biodiversity if they tackle the challenge together. With the DNC2022, UNU‐FLORES, TU Dresden, and
    IOER serves as a fitting platform for exchange. The organizers are confident that new contacts and
    networks will develop from the event.

    Voices of the Organisers

    Dr David Malone, Rector, United Nations University
    “I am delighted that the Dresden Nexus Conference encourages global dialogue on the value that the
    Nexus Approach brings to solving the challenges faced by our planet. Biodiversity loss will have
    catastrophic implications for generations to come, unless we can take urgent action through
    sustainable, interconnected environmental resource management. The Dresden Nexus Conference
    provides an ideal platform for the much‐needed intersection of policy and science to achieve the
    Sustainable Development Goals.”

    Prof. Edeltraud Guenther, Director, UNU‐FLORES
    “Embedded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the DNC paves the way for an accurate
    and empirically grounded understanding of the Resource Nexus among scientists and the broader
    professional community, as well as for the integration of Resource Nexus concepts into policy design
    and implementation. Perhaps most importantly, this event will foster a community of practice for the
    sustainable management of environmental resources – across academia, policy, practice, and civil
    society. The Resource Nexus goes beyond water, soil, and waste; it encompasses all relevant
    environmental resources, including energy and other geo‐resources as well as biodiversity.”

    Prof. Wolfgang Wende, Head of Research Area Landscape, Ecosystems and Biodiversity, IOER
    “DNC2022 has highlighted many ways in which biodiversity can be conserved and restored. Looking
    ahead to the World Biodiversity Summit in Kunming, China, at the beginning of October, it would be
    very important to agree on ambitious and concrete goals there. Above all, it must be possible to
    operationalize them. This is the only way to measure how well implemented measures help to achieve
    the goals. At the DNC2022, we saw many good examples from practice. They show: Serious biodiversity
    conservation is possible.”

    Dr André Lindner, Managing Director School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, TU Dresden
    “We have to ask ourselves the question – is it really the last chance to see a lot of species alive and in
    their natural habitat? – or the last chance to see the possibility to counteract ongoing biodiversity loss,
    and hence securing the very fundamentals of our development and well‐being. With the DNC
    conference series sustainability as well as transfer and internationalisation as essential key values of
    the organizing institutions are put into action to contribute towards sustaining the environmental life
    support system of our society.”

    View full press release in English and German

    Contact:

    Atiqah Fairuz Salleh
    UNU-FLORES
    Communications, Advocacy, and Public Affairs
    Tel: + 49 (351) 8921 9370
    E-mail: b.m.salleh@unu.edu
    Heike Hensel
    IOER
    Press and Public Relations
    Tel: + 49 (351) 4679 241
    E-mail: H.Hensel@ioer.de
  • Press Release: DNC2022 Protecting Biodiversity Requires Joint Action (2022) (DE)

    (379.9 KB PDF)

    Press Release: DNC2022 Protecting Biodiversity Requires Joint Action (2022) (EN)

    (441.5 KB PDF)