4rt Jornada IRBio new strategies in the management and conservation of biodiversity in the context of global change

On December 11 the 4th Conference of the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona took place that was organized to reflect on new strategies in the management and conservation of biodiversity in the context of global change. At the morning session, a hundred attendees had the opportunity to expand their knowledge about biodiversity and their conservation through a guest lecture and three lectures by members of the Institute that offered four complementary views on the topic The subsequent debate revealed the complexity of the term biodiversity, the need to develop strategies for its conservation not only for utilitarian reasons, among others, ecosystem functions, obtaining natural products useful for society and preventing them the spread of viral diseases, but also for ethical reasons.

The afternoon session was attended by the General Director of Environmental and Natural Environment Policies of the Generalitat of Catalonia and researchers and technicians from public administrations and private entities that work in the conservation of nature. The Director General emphasized the need to create the Catalan Nature Agency to face up to the problems of conservation in Catalonia effectively. The debate table and the audience agreed that it is not necessary to establish new protected spaces in Catalonia but to manage the existing ones correctly and extend this management to the whole of the territory. The importance of the participation of civil society and the various administrations of Catalonia was also emphasized in order to expand and improve management outside of protected natural areas. The public focused on the need for education on this subject, opening a debate on what should be the recipient of this education, because forty years of environmental education aimed at children seem to have failed, no have made nature conservation a priority.