DIVERSITAS session at the 8th Biennial Scientific Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) (25) 11th-14th July 2004, Montréal, Canada

bioSUSTAINABILITY organised two symposium sessions in the main ISEE meeting in order to promote DIVERSITAS activities within that community of researchers.

The first symposium “Assessing impacts of biodiversity changes on ecosystem functioning and services” presented research topics that are a part of the ecoSERVICES (core project 2 of DIVERSITAS) science agenda. The second symposium “Developing the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity” included presentations using the interdisciplinary science approach that is at the core of the bioSUSTAINABILITY science agenda.

These two symposia allowed bioSUSTAINABILITY to promote the research within its science agenda, enabled international researchers to present their work as part of the bioSUSTAINABILITY framework and network along with other researchers who have similar goals. Much of this research has been completed within the UK and the UK science community has benefited through this direct communication of science at a major international meeting and by engaging scientists not yet involved with interdisciplinary programmes at the symposium. Substantive collaborations have emerged from this meeting, including the UK’s inclusion in European initiatives in Framework 6 and in the ESF EUROCORES EuroDiversity. The York office of bioSUSTAINABILITY is viewed by the international community as the core of this activity.