Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre

The number of species on our planet decreases rapidly. Beside climate change, loss of biodiversity is one of the central issues of mankind. For this reason, the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK^F) in Frankfurt was founded with ISOE as one of the partners. The new centre is supported by the State of Hesse’s LOEWE (Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz) program for developing scientific and economic excellence in Hesse. The goal of BiK^F is to investigate current and past interactions between climate change and biodiversity at the level of organisms by using innovative research approaches and methods. With the gained knowledge reliable predictions can be made about the future. Prerequisite is a transfer of results and knowledge amongst BiK^F scientists and players in economy, politics and civil society.

At this point, ISOE comes into play: Within BiK^FISOE is responsible for knowledge transfer and social-ecological aspects of climate caused biodiversity changes within Project Area F. To pursue these goals cooperation between societal and business stakeholders have to be facilitated and discourse analysis of societal and scientific debates to be employed. Furthermore, action-oriented plans for the future have to be developed on the basis of scenarios and impact analyses. Important research questions are:

What consequences can be expected for society and economy in the investigated regions as a result of biodiversity loss due to climate change?
Can the social, economic and ecological aspects of IPCC scenarios be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively at the level of the regions of interest?
How can the interface and knowledge transfer between biodiversity related climate research and policy makers in politics, business and society be optimized?
How can impressive images be developed for picturing ecological systems relationships and ecosystems services that show resonance whithin society?
How do we speak to economic agents who can expect losses or changes due to climate caused biodiversity losses?
Which methods can be used in stakeholder workshops, where participants pool their context specific past experiences and create together new ones? And how can be ensured that the results of these workshops are publicized within the wider society and made available to policy makers?

Research at ISOE concentrates in particular on three fields: forest, water and nutrition.

Frequently, the concept of Ecosystem Services is employed in the research. The different values, society is provided with by ecosystems – ecologically, economically and social – can be investigated and assessed by the concept of ecosystem services. In the project „Ecosystem Services“ within BiK^F, scientists find out how Ecosystem Services can be measured in a reliable way. Furthermore, they evaluate options and limitations of the concept. ISOE is in charge of the project together with Prof. Wolfgang Brüggemann, Institute for Ecology, Evolution & Diversity at Goethe-University.

Knowledge Transfer

The work of the LOEWE-Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK^F) stands in many respects at the interface between science and society. The consequences of climate change and loss of biological diversity are not only a matter of concern for scientists but also for policy makers, environmental organisations, business people and society. Thus, Centre’s research has to satisfy not only the quality standards of science but also societal expectations. With respect to the latter, the analysis of the social-ecological and socio-economic effects of altered conditions brought about by climate change, in particular regarding the availability and usability of resources, is of great importance.

Hence the goal of ISOE work on knowledge transfer is to create and maintain the transdisciplinary foundations for the Centre’s work. Transdisciplinarity is essential because both scientific progress and excellence as well as finding solutions to practical problems must are central to the process of research at the Centre. Such an interface between science and society thrives on a constant exchange among various factors and actors: What is on the minds of policy makers, non-governmental organisations and private companies? How can their needs and viewpoints be included in the research process? How can natural science research be integrated into social science research? These questions build the core of ISOE scientific work within BiK^F. The Centre as a whole, as well as its project groups and individual projects, is supported by the designated tasks of this project group: independent analyses, development of methods and concepts, and the provision of platforms for exchange and mutual learning.

Photograph: Sven Traenkner, Research center and museum Senckenberg in Frankfurt/Main

Photo: The presentation of the certificate by Silke Lautenschläger, secretary of the Ministry for Science and the Arts in Hessen, at 26th of September, day of the formation of the Research Center for Biodiversity and Climate (LOEWE-Zentrum)

Research Partner

Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt (FIS) (Head)

Logo Goethe Universität Frankfurt Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main

German National Meteorological Service, Offenbach (DWD)

European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), Darmstadt

project website

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