Theme 2: Biodiversity & Ecosystems
Theme 2 Biodiversity and ecosystems
Previous dramatic climate changes have led to the re-organisation of ecosystems and sometimes to massive losses of species. Temperature is presently changing at a very fast rate; by the year 2100 average global temperature may well have risen to levels unknown for several million years. The latest IPCC report concludes that even a 2°C increase could put 30% of species at risk for extinction, but exact predictions are difficult to make due to complex interactions between the direct effects of changing atmospheric CO2-concentration, temperature, and rainfall, and the indirect effects caused by changes in biological processes and human land use.
Ecosystems are being severely affected by human activities, which may limit their ability to adapt to climate change. Major climate-driven structural or functional shifts in ecosystems may have considerable consequences for the human exploitation of natural resources and may feed back to climate systems through the capture and release of GHGs. Healthy ecosystems may offer the best defences against the disruption that will be brought by climate change, however, there is an urgent need to develop advanced predictive tools and management practices. These discussions will centre on the scientific basis for predicting the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems, the possible management of mitigation and adaptation in relation to natural ecosystems, the interactions with agriculture, and the role played by global environmental conventions.
5 MARCH 13:30-15:30
THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR PREDICTING THE IMPACTS OF FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE
Mitigation and adaptation need to be based on robust scientific understanding. In this session, leading researchers will establish the scientific basis for predicting these impacts. A key focus of this theme is how to combine empirical data and knowledge of biodiversity, bio-complexity, and ecosystem functioning with advanced data handling and computer modelling to further the development of integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies. Tools and methods for assessing and predicting the impacts of climate change are also an important topic, and best-practice examples will be highlighted.
Chair: Professor Jens-Christian Svenning, Aarhus University, Denmark
Rapporteur: Sine Beuse Fauerby, Danish Society for Nature Protection, Denmark
Speakers:
13.30-14.10: Professor, Dr. Andreas Fischlin
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, ETHZ, Switzerland; first author of IPCC WGII 2007 reports chapter on Ecosystems
Climate change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems - key messages from the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
14.10-14.50: Wolfgang Cramer
Co-chair for Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor of Global Ecology at the Institute of Geoecology, Potsdam University, Germany
Process-based modelling of climate change impacts on ecosystem services on the European scale
14.50-15.30: Josef Settele
Research Scientist at the UFZ Centre for Environmental Research. Head and scientific co-ordinator of the EC FP6 Integrated Project ALARM. Deputy co-ordinator of the EC FP6 Policy support project MACIS.
Large-scale biodiversity risk assessment - core results of the ALARM project
5 MARCH 16:00-18:00
MITIGATION BY MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL AREAS
As sinks, ecosystems can significantly help reduce the build-up of GHGs in the atmosphere. Scientists and representatives from the private and public development sectors will discuss scientific potential, economic possibilities, and policy tools for mitigation of GHGs through management of natural areas, e.g. by reducing emissions from deforestation and land degradation, and from aforestation schemes. The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change underlined the importance of assessing the economic value of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water purification, food and forestry production, flood control, etc. The economic potential of different mitigation schemes and the evaluation of impacts are issues to be discussed. In this session, the social responsibility of corporate enterprises, as well as of the authorities, in relation to mitigation by management of natural areas could also be addressed, as could the use of climate change mitigation investment programmes, and the benchmarks for activities that have consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Chair: Professor Jens-Christian Svenning, Aarhus University, Denmark
Rapporteur: Sine Beuse Fauerby, Danish Society for Nature Protection, Denmark
Speakers:
16.00-16.40: Dr.ir. Gert Jan Nabuurs
ALTERRA, Wageningen University, Holland
High Resolution Analyses of the Role of European Forests in Climate Mitigation
16.40-17.20: Valerie Kapos
Secretary, Cambridge Convervation Forum & Senior Advisor in Forest Ecology and Conservation
UNEP- World Conservation Monitoring
Carbon biodiversity and people: maximising benefits from REDD
17.20-18.00: Andrew Mitchell
Director, Global Canopy Programme, UK
Beyond Carbon: Trading Regional to Global Scale Forest Ecosystem Services
6 MARCH 8:00-10:00
THE DESIGN OF THE EU ETS AND ORGANIC FARMING
Chair: Professor Henrik Balslev, Institute of Biology, Aarhus University
Rapporteur: Sine Beuse Fauerby, Danish Society for Nature Protection, Denmark
Speakers:
08.00-08.20: Martin Holmstrup
Professor, National Enviromental Research Institute, Aarhus University
Manipulations of CO2, temperature and precipitation in the field: a multifactorial field experiment in a Danish heath ecosystem
08.15-08.30: Jens-Christian Svenning
Professor, Faculty of Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Plant mitigations under climate change - implications for conservation planning
08.30-08.45: Rolf Johnsen
Lead Partner and Project manager, Central Denmark Region
Adaptive and sustainable water management and protection of society and nature in an extreme climate. Presentation of CLIWAT a collaboration project in the North Sea Region
08.45-09.00: Jonathan Lenoir
Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Recent upward shift in forest plant species' optimum elevation in relation to climate warming
09.00-09.20: Margaretha Blom-Zandstra
Wageningen University and Research Centre, Plant Sciences Group, NL
How will climate change affect spatial planning in agriculture and nature?
09.20-09.35: Toke Thomas Høye
National Enviromental Research Institute, Aarhus University
Indirect ecological effects of climate change through agriculture: a high resolution dynamic simulation model as a framework tool
09.35-09.55: K. Shadananan Nair
Senior Research Scientist, Nansen Environmental Research Centre, India
Developing an appropriate climate change policy and adaptation strategy in India in a changing environment
6 MARCH 10:30-12:30
ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT OF LAND- AND SEASCAPES
This session focuses on the possibilities for minimising climate change-induced losses of biodiversity and bio-complexity by the integrated management of land- and seascapes. Top scientists will share views on this key issue with international conservation planning experts from the public and private sectors, and innovative approaches to adaptive management will be emphasised. Even with strong efforts to curb and mitigate GHG emissions, some climate change and sea level rise is inevitable. Property owners and authorities are already taking measures to prepare for the consequences of the rising sea level, but so far there has been little focus on the consequences for biodiversity. Discussions on adaptation possibilities with respect to biodiversity and on best-practices for adaptive management of land- and seascapes, as well as their coastal transition zones, will be included in this session.
Chair: Director of Research Flemming Skov, Aarhus University, Denmark
Rapporteur: Sine Beuse Fauerby, Danish Society for Nature Protection, Denmark
Speakers:
10.30-11.15: Dr. Pam Berry
Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Leader of the Ecosystems Research Theme, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
Mitigation and Adaptation: Opportunities and Threats for Biodiversity
11.15-12.00: Dr. Ingolf Kühn
Dept. Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Protected areas under climate change - risks and management options
12.00-12.30: Brian R. Mackenzie
National Institute for Aquatic Resources (DTU-Aqua)
Fishing and Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainability of Marine Populations and Ecosystems
6 MARCH 14:00-16:00
THE ROLE OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT CONVENTIONS IN PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEMS IN A PHASE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the most important international instrument for the protection of biodiversity. The relationship between the objectives of CBD and the problems caused by climate change is the subject of this session. Intellectual property rights protected by the CBD protocol may influence the transfer of technology important to biodiversity; patent protection will also be relevant to adaptation. The social, cultural, and economic benefits of using biodiversity resources for climate change adaptation will be included. An important part of this session will be enforcement of the Convention. Leading scientists will discuss the CBD and the protection of biodiversity with representatives from law and consulting firms, from private agricultural and public development sectors, and from NGOs.
Chair: Associate Professor Tine Sommer, Aarhus University, Denmark
Rapporteur: Sine Beuse Fauerby, Danish Society for Nature Protection, Denmark
Speakers:
14.00-14-35: Peter Schultz
Director, US Climate Change Science Program Office
Global Change Research Approaches to Meet Emerging Climate Response Needs
14.35-15.10: Andrew Long
Assistant Professor of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law, Jacksonville, USA
Linkages & Opportunities: Preserving Biodiversity in a Changing Climate
15.10-15.45: Geert van Calster
Professor, K.U. Leuven Institute for Environmental and Energy Law, Belgium
Technology transfer and international trade How law brokers and bothers climate change mitigation