Opportunities

With the aim to support the bridging of the gap between biodiversity research and the practical needs of decision-makers, BioAgora is set to initiate a series of Science Policy Interface (SPI) training sessions and capacity development initiatives over the next three years. The main objective of these sessions and initiatives is to foster a collaborative environment where scientists and policymakers can jointly address biodiversity-related issues.

The first BioAgora SPI Training will take place on 23-27 September 2024

By facilitating dialogue and exchange between scientists and policymakers, the pilot BioAgora SPI training seeks to address both policy and scientific challenges at the science-policy interface. The training will  take place in person in Drome River Valley, France, and its main goal is to enable participants to share perspectives, constraints, challenges, and methodologies, promoting a co-creation process rather than a traditional top-down approach to capacity building.

To ground the training in practical and policy contexts, each session will focus on a specific case study identified by BioAgora. This approach ensures that the training is relevant and directly applicable to real-world scenarios.

Prerequisites for Participation

The pilot training program is open to mid-career policymakers and scientists with substantial experience in their respective fields. The specific prerequisites are:

• Policymakers: At least 8-10 years of experience at the EU or Member State level in sectors related to nature’s multi-uses, such as agriculture, health, food systems, rural development, climate change, nature conservation, and restoration.
• Scientists: At least 8-10 years of experience in knowledge production within public or civil society organizations, working in disciplines relevant to freshwater multi-uses, such as water management, landscape ecology, river ecology, agronomy, agro-ecology, geography, sociology, economy, and health. A Ph.D. is not required.

For more information on BioAgora, the Pilot Training, and other initiatives, visit BioAgora’s official website.

Couldn’t attend the first Pilot Training webinar? The video recording is available here.

We are looking for thematic experts to engage in their individual capacity in CO-OP4CBD activities. This is an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to join a diverse network of biodiversity experts in Europe and beyond,* as well as take part in formative science-policy processes that will, as appropriate, contribute to the implementation of the CBD at the national and regional levels.The second call for experts is open to experts from various career stages, from early-career to senior roles, who are eager to volunteer their time and expertise to be trained and train others on CBD processes and take part in thematic groups focused on providing technical input, upon request, on the state of knowledge of subject matters featured in the agenda of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA). More specifically, CO-OP4CBD is looking for expertise in the following areas (in alphabetical order):

1. Biodiversity and health.
2. Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources
3. Conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity (see decision 15/24 of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD).
4. Detection and identification of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
5. Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) (see decision 15/26 of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD).
6. Monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (see decision 15/5 of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD).
7. Risk assessment and risk management for LMOs.
8. Synthetic biology.

Do you have the required knowledge and interest to contribute toward impactful policy processes for biodiversity, nationally and regionally? Kindly express your interest in contributing to the CO-OP4CBD project by filling out the form below. If you already responded to our 2023 call, we kindly invite you to submit your information again as we are updating our database. Feel free to broadly share this message with your contacts and networks.