On June 13th, 2018, at the inaugural session of the 24th ISDRS Conference at Messina (Sicily, Italy), the International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS) , represented by its President, Prof. Walter Vermeulen, and the International University Network on Cultural and Biological Diversity (IUNCBD), represented by its President Prof. Pierluigi Bozzi, signed an agreement of cooperation. The objective of the agreement is to stimulate and facilitate common participation of ISDRS members and universities of the IUNCBD in programs of sustainable development and conservation of cultural and biological diversity at all the administrative and spatial scales and to contribute together to integrate the principles and practices of sustainable development and diversity conservation in international, regional and national forums.

Please look for more information on the track at the 2019 Nanjing Conference coming soon

Messina, Italy,  2018

Our two tracks 3A and 3B addressed  the SDGs “Life on land” and “Life under water”. The presentations covered a diverse set of topics and case studies that, in essence, examined the question whether it is possible to have development of human communities without compromising existing biodiversity. We also acknowledged the great benefits high biodiversity can provide humanity and whether it is possible to restore deleteriously altered ecosystems to enhance biodiversity.

Below a few key results of the 3a Life on Land track at the Bogotá Conference (2017) are displayed. A wide variety of interesting talks led to the following general conclusions;

• Ecosystem services (ESS) are a bridge concept linking natural, social and cultural sciences with decision makers from different walks of life.
(read more)

State of the Art
(to be added soon)

Recommended Sources:
1) Recent insights and state of the art knowledge on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity be found on the intergovernmental knowledge platform IPBES - Science and Policy for People and Nature (read more)
2) Look at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Forests, Oceans, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services
3) Useful courses available at the UN SDG Academy; see for example From the Ground Up: Managing and Preserving Our Terrestrial Ecosystems 
4) Recent IPBES report: Main cause of species loss & driver of the migration of millions of people by 2050 In landmark 3-year assessment report, 100+ experts outline costs, dangers & options

5) All information about and reports linked to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Recent discourses on the ISDRS LinkedIn discussion group:

The International University Network on Cultural and Biological Diversity  (IUNCBD) is an active partner of the ISDRS on this topic. Read more about the IUNCBD here.