BIOSPACE25 Conference
Biodiversity Insight from Space
10-14 February 2025, ESA ESRIN, Frascati (Rome), Italy
BIOSPACE25 is the first international conference exclusively dedicated to the application of Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) across the various dimensions of biodiversity, and addressing the use of Earth Observations in all realms, from terrestrial, freshwater, coastal to marine ecosystems.
It is the first edition of a series of BIOSPACE conferences that ESA and its partners intend to organise on a regular basis and which aim to bring together an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral community of experts in biodiversity and conservation, made of specialists in satellite remote sensing for biodiversity, biodiversity scientists, field ecologists, biodiversity monitoring practitioners, data providers and biodiversity policy stakeholders from governments, international organizations and NGOs.
The goal of the BIOSPACE conferences is to offer insightful exploration of critical biodiversity challenges that Earth Observation systems should primarily address, to showcase cutting-edge SRS solutions in different biodiversity domains, and to foster collaborative efforts to advance the use and impact of Earth Observation in biodiversity science, monitoring and policy implementation.
The BIOSPACE25 conference is organised jointly by the European Space Agency, the European Commission, the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), in collaboration with a number of partner organisations.
OBJECTIVES
The BIOSPACE25 conference aims to present state-of-the-art SRS methodologies and technological solutions for biodiversity, to explore their uptake across various biodiversity domains, and to review the challenges that need to be primarily addressed to enhance the use of Earth Observations in biodiversity research and monitoring. The ultimate objective is to highlight the importance of collaborative efforts to integrate SRS technology at the forefront of biodiversity research, monitoring systems, and policy development and implementation strategies, and provide robust and cost-effective EO solutions that help countries implement effective National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
Participants will gain insights into the latest development in Space-based biodiversity monitoring, engage in discussions on the integration of SRS technology into biodiversity research, monitoring, and policy development and implementation, and contribute to shaping future directions in the field of biodiversity monitoring from Space.
Key scientific discussion topics include:
- enhancing the fundamental understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics;
- exploring the links between biodiversity and ecosystem integrity;
- assessing the status of ecosystems and quantifying the impacts of the main direct drivers of changes;
- understanding the adverse impacts of climate change on biodiversity;
- investigating the main evolutionary changes of biodiversity and better predicting their trajectories;
- implementing transformative changes such as Nature-Based Solutions (NBS);
- prioritizing, designing and monitoring conservation/restoration actions.
The conference will also cover policy-related aspects such as the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, as well as the needs for financial institutions and companies to integrate nature-related risks and dependencies into their decision-making processes (e.g. TNFD).
CONFERENCE STRUCTURE
The conference is designed to be dynamic and participatory, featuring interactive sessions to review the importance of SRS technology in the different biodiversity domains.
The BIOSPACE25 conference will include:
- plenary sessions with invited speakers to present and discuss the importance of Earth Observations to address critical biodiversity issues.
- thematic sessions (based on abstracts submissions) that will provide insights into the latest advancements in leveraging SRS technology for biodiversity science and monitoring.
- small participatory workshops (based on workshop proposals) to foster dialogues on key aspects of biodiversity.
- poster sessions providing a platform for participants to showcase their projects, facilitating networking and exchange of ideas.