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.”

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