ENABLElocal – Enabling use of biodiversity monitoring data in local conservation management

The project ENABLElocal develops participatory dialog formats to promote the exchange of biodiversity monitoring data. By fostering the exchange between local actors from nature conservation and land-use management and also national, European and global monitoring initiatives, the projectaims to promote evidence-based decisions in applied biodiversity conservation.

Research approach

In three case studies in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany, “living labs” will be conducted as a series of workshops and interviews with local stakeholders, namely land use and nature conservation managers, researchers, and decision-makers. In these participatory research settings, questions relevant to local practice are being identified and an exchange of knowledge will be facilitated. Feasible ways of integrating data, for example with the help of existing data platforms, are being explored and evaluated through dialogue. The interdisciplinary project combines expertise from political science and ecology, incorporating spatial data analysis and transdisciplinary research. 

As part of the German case study, ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research is looking at extensive orchards in the Rhine-Main region. Extensive orchard meadows provide a habitat for numerous animal and plant species. However, climate change and changes in agriculture are jeopardizing this habitat. This is why orchard meadows have been put under special protection in the state of Hesse and are also listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. With practitioners in nature conservation, administration and research we are therefore discussing the question of how data from biodiversity monitoring can be incorporated into local conservation management, aiming to maintain and protect these species-rich cultural landscapes.

Background 

The biodiversity-enhancing design of nature conservation and land-use measures for certain habitats is essential for reversing the trend of species extinction. So far, however, data from national and international biodiversity monitoring schemes have only to a limited extend been taken into account in local conservation practice, for example when it comes to evaluating the success of measures or in order to prioritize areas for future measures. ENABLElocal aims to support data flows between local actors such as nature conservation organizations, municipal administrations or environmental experts as well as national, European and global biodiversity monitoring initiatives and data infrastructures in order to enable evidence-based decisions in applied biodiversity conservation. In addition to the immediate transformative effects in the local case study environments, the project will develop recommendations for biodiversity policy, for administration and research on a national and international level.

Research and project partners

  • Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (UVGZ), Brno, Czech Republic
  • Lund University, Department of Biology & Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund, Sweden

Funding 

The project “ENABLElocal – Enabling use of biodiversity monitoring data in local conservation management” is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Biodiversa+ funding program “BiodivMon – Improved transnational monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change for science and society”.

Duration

2024/02 – 2027/01