Integrative Biodiversity Conservation Science

To rethink conservation, the Research & Innovation team on Integrative Biodiversity Conservation Science, led by Prof. Dr. Margaret Owuor, experiments with new approaches and focuses on addressing three main questions: How can the management of different conservation areas be designed to benefit both nature and people? How can conflicts between conservation and local livelihoods be turned into co-benefits? Which innovative institutional arrangements and partnerships can render nature conservation beneficial for local communities? Using inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, this team analyzes ecosystem services, polycentric governance, nature-based solutions, and sustainable finance for nature. They combine integrative and fundamental science with engagement and involvement methods to maximize co-benefits for the environment and society. Furthermore, they incentivize cross-scale involvement in terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity conservation.

Main achievements in 2023

1. Support for research and teaching

The team was established and has been fully functional since February 2023. From then on, they engaged in different activities with other Wyss Academy units, including Hub East Africa, other research teams and the Global Policy Outreach & Synthesis team, building a joint understanding and solid basis for collaboration. They also launched a seminar series and designed a bachelor’s course on “Integrative Biodiversity Conservation Science”, which was presented to the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, and which will be included in the curriculum from the spring semester of 2024.

2. Facilitation of science-based policy discussions

The team’s research assesses governance capacity for translating the Global Biodiversity Framework into sustainable and equitable practices within biodiversity governance networks. Significant milestones were achieved in 2023. Contributing to various global assessment research, the team highlighted significant trends in confronting the biodiversity loss curve and advocated for the transformation of biodiversity conservation science to become more responsive to diverse societal and policy needs. They argued that biodiversity loss is not just a crisis of biodiversity, but more fundamentally a crisis of existing governance capacity to deal with it. By publishing journal articles and facilitating science-based policy discussion on the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework in diverse local contexts both within the Wyss Academy and at international conferences, they laid the foundations for further research and outreach activities within the coming years.

3. First steps in monitoring solutions for water and biodiversity conservation

As part of the research project on nature-based solutions and ecosystem services, the team started to monitor the impact of semi-circular bunds on biodiversity conservation and water resources and how they contribute toward a healthy, functional landscape. As an initial step, in collaboration with their partner Natural State, they designed a set of indicators for monitoring the ecological and social impacts of the semi-circular bunds. They worked with partners from the University of Nairobi and the National Museums of Kenya to carry out an ecological dry season baseline survey using different biodiversity indicators where the bunds are located. The results of the study show an abundance of biodiversity (vegetation, invertebrates, amphibians, birds and mammals). The study also identified the socio-economic needs of local communities and the sources and extent of human–wildlife conflicts in the area. The team used the eDNA technique to discover and further identify biodiversity within the microbiome of the semi-circular bunds. This was done in collaboration with SimplexDNA, who supported them with DNA sequencing.

4. Global North–South and South–South collaboration strengthened

In 2023, the team initiated, facilitated and realized a collaborative framework with the University of Nairobi through the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies in Kenya. This collaboration represents a milestone for the Wyss Academy’s presence in Kenya. It will strengthen research, education, training, and outreach activities between institutions in the Global North and South in biodiversity conservation, climate change, governance, and sustainability. It will also merge the University of Nairobi’s substantial and diverse expertise with the Wyss Academy’s unique approach to translating knowledge into action.  

5. PhD projects initiated

Two PhD students have defined their research topics and completed initial fieldwork. The first dissertation focuses on ecosystem services assessment and scenario building in Lamu, Kenya, while the second one focuses on seagrass blue carbon assessment for sustainable financing in Kenya and South Africa. These two topics contribute to the team’s objective of maximizing co-benefits for humans and nature using the Nature’s Contribution to People framework of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.