Looking back on the PBL Academy Lecture: Biodiversity from an integral perspective

Johan Osinga, Director-General for Nature, Fisheries and Rural Affairs at the Dutch Ministery of Agricultural, Nature and Food Quality, and Jolinda van der Endt, Director of BIJ12, discussed her message from a policy perspective translated this into implementation in practice, both in the Netherlands and in Europe. This lecture’s broad approach covered various levels of government, which made it highly on-topic with regard to the second part of the Biodiversity Top that will take place in April in Kunming, China.

Díaz, Professor at the National University of Córdoba (Argentina) and co-chair of the IPBES Global Assessment, elaborated on the metaphor of nature as ‘the fabric of life’ to understand the relationship between humans and nature. Díaz stated the need for a comprehensive set of targets that not only includes those on conservation (such as the proposed 30% protected land and sea areas by 2030), but also addresses the services that nature provides for people which may help to solve societal challenges. All targets need to be sufficiently ambitious and must be addressed in coherence, otherwise the overall long-term goals will fail.
Thanks to Díaz, the co-lecturers and the interesting questions from the audience, it became a very inspiring afternoon, chaired by PBL Director-General Hans Mommaas.