The WSL Biodiversity Center and the Blue-Green Biodiversity Research Initiative are pleased to announce their upcoming “Summer school: Blue-green biodiversity. Research and practice and the interface of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems”, to be held in August 2023 in Davos, Switzerland.
Freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems are closely interconnected, but they are often studied in isolation from each other. In the context of global change, it is urgent to understand how blue (water) and green (land) ecosystems are similar or different in terms of biodiversity patterns, ecological and evolutionary processes, and their responses to global drivers. Evidence-based understanding of blue-green biodiversity is necessary to inform policies and action to halt and reverse nature loss that threatens human well-being.
The goal of the “Summer School: Blue-green biodiversity. Research and practice and the interface of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems” is to provide an in-depth understanding of the linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and the interdependencies between social and ecological systems. While focusing on Swiss habitats, we will highlight how an integrated approach that considers the ecological, evolutionary, and social dimensions of blue and green ecosystems benefits the conservation, maintenance, and restoration of biodiversity.
The program consists of lectures, field excursions, and group work led by WSL and Eawag researchers and invited speakers. State-of-the-art knowledge and approaches will be presented and discussed considering the expectations of current and future blue and green ecosystems from scientific, nature conservation, management, and socio-economic perspectives. The participants will reflect on their own scientific work with respect to other disciplinary methods and discuss possible benefits of interdisciplinary approaches in their field.
The preliminary list of speakers includes Cécile Auberson (info fauna - Centre Suisse de Cartographie de la Faune CSCF), Ariel Bergamini (WSL), Kurt Bollmann (WSL), Matthias Buchecker (WSL), Lauren Cook (Eawag), Giulia Donati (Eawag), Marius Fankhauser (WSL), Sabine Fink (WSL), Cristian Gees (ecowert), Marco Moretti (WSL), Anita Narwani (Eawag), Luca Pegoraro (WSL), Francesca Pittino (WSL), Benedikt Schmidt (UZH), Danina Schmidt (Eawag), Ryan Shipley (WSL), Ross Shackleton (WSL), and Cornelia Twining (Eawag).
You can find the preliminary program here.
Applications are now open. Deadline: 14 May 2023.
* We are pleased to offer registration fee reductions for qualified participants affiliated to/working for an institution located in a Low- Income (LIC), Lower-Middle Income (LMIC) or Upper-Middle Income Country (UMIC) as per the current World Bank Country Classification. See details below.
