Transfer Office for Marine Biodiversity Change
Climate change and various direct human influences are massively affecting biodiversity in the ocean – not only in terms of the number of species, but also the composition and therefore the functions of biotic communities. For society, this transformation of marine biodiversity could have far-reaching and largely unforeseeable consequences. After all, the ocean provides human beings a range of ecosystem services – through the oxygen produced there; its role as a carbon sink, which is essential to climate protection; fish; and other resources. This makes it important to gain a better grasp of the ongoing changes in marine systems; only then can we develop effective methods for sustainably using and preserving marine resources, ecosystems and species.
Since 2017, the interdisciplinary Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) at the University of Oldenburg has investigated the transformation of biodiversity and its impacts. In addition, it addresses questions on marine nature conservation and related management options. In early 2023, the HIFMB founded the Transfer Office for Marine Biodiversity Change, which serves as an interface for dialogue between the scientific community, politics, nature conservation management, and society.
Advising political decision-makers
The Transfer Office is involved in various projects at the national and international level, in an effort to shape dialogues between the scientific community and politics. Examples include the projects Eklipse and BioAgora, intended to establish, at the European level, structures and mechanisms for efficient and direct knowledge transfer, and for advising on policy-relevant questions on biodiversity.
Stakeholder dialogue
In order to find sustainable solutions for the future use of our oceans and coasts, coordination between various user groups and stakeholders is called for. In this regard, the Transfer Office contributes concepts and facilitates dialogue in multi-stakeholder projects.
Biodiversity assessment and developing indicators
Particularly in the marine context, measuring biodiversity and how it’s changing is complex and requires suitable parameters. The Transfer Office is involved both in developing biodiversity indicators and in biodiversity assessments – in Germany (“Fact Checking Biodiversity”) and at the international level (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)).
