BioTeam

Biosphere Research - Integrative and Application-Oriented Model Projects

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The diversity of nature is in a permanent state of flux owing to the constant changes in our environment. Even today, new species are emerging while others are dying out. Human activity has disturbed the equilibrium of this process, with the result that biodiversity itself is under threat. It is not too late to reverse this process, but we must gain greater insight into these interrelationships if we are to be successful.

People all around the globe are taking steps aimed at instituting a sustainable approach to the natural world, for it has by now been widely recognized that the very survival of humanity depends on biodiversity. Yet there are still large gaps in our knowledge as to the causes, scale and consequences of biodiversity loss. Indeed, we know relatively little about the current scope of biodiversity; and above all, we have not found a way to use natural resources sustainably.

Against this backdrop, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) decided to launch a research program known as "Biosphere Research - Integrative and Application-Oriented Model Projects," or BioTeam for short. This program aims to investigate the consequences of biodiversity loss, and at the same time shed light on the social factors that provoke it. In order for us to map the boundaries and identify the opportunities associated with the sustainable use of biodiversity, we must gain an understanding of these interrelationships.

The successful achievement of sustainable development hinges on reaching certain ecological, social and economic goals. We will only find the right balance between nature conservation and natural resource use if all relevant factors are taken into consideration. BioTeam researchers look for workable solutions to this problem by creating models based on empirical data from the natural and social sciences, as well as data from the political, economic and cultural realms, with a view to providing political and economic decision makers with tools that will allow for the integration of sustainable development into their everyday praxis.

Many BioTeam research projects have been set up in what are known as biodiversity hotspots, which are areas with a high diversity of locally endemic species, i.e. species that are not found or are rarely found outside the hotspot. These hotspots, whose existence is severely threatened, are home to approximately 45 percent of all plant species and 35 percent of all vertebrates in an area covering just 1.4 percent of the earth's surface, thus making them veritable repositories of biodiversity.

The BioTeam program is tackling the following key issues:

1.   Is the economic value of biodiversity measurable?
In many instances, the only way to affect policymaking relating to the preservation of biodiversity is to hang a price tag on it, which means comparing the value of species loss and the profits that can be generated from the activities that provoke such loss.

2.   How can the benefits associated with the use of biodiversity be distributed fairly?
Developing countries often lack the financial and technological capabilities to use their biological resources. Owing to the current uncertainty concerning the relevant legal issues, many companies from industrial nations are reluctant to commit to cost-intensive investment in research into biological resources. As a result, potential revenue sources for developing countries and opportunities for the sustainable use of biological resources go untapped. An important criterion for sustainable development is the equitable sharing of benefits called for by the Convention on Biological Diversity; in other words the need to allocate fairly the benefits derived from the use of biological diversity.

3.   Biological diversity in Germany: where's the beef?
It is often mistakenly believed that biodiversity loss is primarily a problem affecting countries in tropical regions. But Germany also needs to devise strategies that create a healthy balance between resource use and conservation.

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