Sustainability Call: “Human-Biodiversity Relationships Across Scales”

Our workshop aims to develop a transdisciplinary approach to biodiversity loss while identifying emerging principles related to synergies and mismatches among scales (e.g., temporal, spatial, taxonomic, disciplinary), in line with a new understanding of how ecological and social processes interrelate with each other. Together, we seek to delve into the transition from the scientific understanding of scales to concrete actions or solutions that foster a biodiverse and sustainable transformation, all the while considering culturally sensitive connotations. By bringing together natural, social and political scientists, with stakeholders and indigenous voices, we expect to identify two distinct types of scaling mismatches/synergies and their mutual interactions: (i) temporal and spatial scales of ecosystems and their biological entities; and (ii) governance and administrative scales, from municipalities to international organizations. We will synthesize the obtained insights in a collaborative way, with the aim of overcoming them and translating our findings into an effective, socially-oriented research agenda and opinion paper towards decreasing biodiversity loss.