Pardee Center Hosts Workshop for Climate-Biodiversity Initiative for Ocean Managed Ecosystems

Last week, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study for the Longer Range Future at Boston University hosted a meeting of the Climate-Biodiversity Initiative for Ocean Managed Ecosystems (C-BIOME). The initiative, sponsored by Conservation International and convened at the Pardee Center by Faculty Associate Prof. Randi Rotjan, brought together an international group of biodiversity experts from McGill University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Nord University, Dalhousie University, University of Miami, University of British Columbia, the Blue Nature Alliance, and Boston University.

The team discussed the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, specifically with regard to biogenic habitats and shifting species ranges. They are also working on a global prioritization framework for biodiversity protection in the anthropocene, especially in the context of the “30×30” push to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030. Importantly, they discussed the strengths and challenges of climate change protections for biodiversity in marine versus terrestrial habitats, noting the need for a complex and dynamic strategy.

The mix of academic and practitioner scientists in the working group is aimed at developing predictive and practical science to understand the role of marine protected areas in conserving biodiversity. This is the third meeting (of four) of this group, and their output tools and papers will be publicly available.