Biodiversity – Significance for Society and the Economy – Webinar

Data: November 18th from 6 – 7:30 PM (CET)
Orador: Dr. Alexis Katechakis (Freelance Corporate Sustainability Consultant, Director Sustainability at Hilda Ltd. Switzerland, Pact4Sustainability)

Temos o prazer de apresentar o próximo webinar da nossa série, Objectivos globais, impacto local: Sustentável para Sempre. The webinars in this series are free of charge and conducted in English.

Biodiversity – Significance for Society and the Economy

A wide variety of species, ecosystems, and gene pools are essential for our well-being and survival. We depend on ecosystem services such as the availability of clean air, drinking water, and food, the buffering of global warming, and the value of nature as a recreational space or for the functioning of corporate value chains. The loss of biodiversity has long since become a geopolitical risk in many regions of the world.

Biodiversity in Europe continues to decline, despite efforts to halt and reverse the loss through the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. The loss is driven by intensive land use, climate change, and pollution, with most habitats and many species in poor or inadequate condition. However, there are also positive developments in certain areas, such as forests and some mammal and bird species, which are benefiting from conservation measures and give hope that we can halt the loss of biodiversity in the medium term and reverse it in the long term if we take decisive action. Biologists play a crucial role in this.

Contents and objectives of the webinar:

• Highlight the relevance of biodiversity for society and the economy
• Communicating biodiversity narratives at the interface between science and the public
• Outline current EU reporting requirements on biodiversity (CSRD, ESRS E4)
• Provide an understanding of the development of a biodiversity strategy in companies
• Present the challenge of measuring biodiversity, ecosystem services, and nature capital and current developments
• Discuss ideas for the current and future role of biologists in cooperation with society and the economy

Dr. Alexis Katechakis has specialized in sustainability and corporate responsibility in science, society, and business for more than 25 years. For 15 years, he has been advising companies of various sizes and from various industries on the development and implementation of sustainability strategies, as well as on organizational development and communication.

His scientific areas of expertise include biodiversity, water, marine ecosystems and ecological economics. Before becoming a consultant, he spent several years conducting marine research in Germany, Spain, and Norway. Alexis holds a PhD in biology and a master’s degree in sustainable resource management. As a member of the board of the UN Ocean Decade Committee in Germany and through his regular support of the NGO Aegean Rebreath in its marine conservation efforts, he remains closely connected to the sea.