Essex Biodiversity Project

Ahead of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, (COP10) in Nagoya in October 2010, the Natural History Museum plans to launch a project called The Big Nature Debate to get the public talking about biodiversity and the world around them.  The debate will be a platform for information, opinion and discussion about biodiversity.  The IYB-UK secretariat is supporting the debate alongside IYB-UK partners The Zoological Society of London and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The project is planned to go live on 14th September with a news release being issued to the media, and the public will be encouraged to visit www.nhm.ac.uk/bignaturedebate where they will be able to quiz biodiversity experts, debate issues in forums, get updates with the latest biodiversity news through the Museum’s Facebook page or by following the Museum on Twitter.  The site will host thought-provoking blogs from biodiversity experts and other key thinkers on subjects such as’ what the world might look like in 2050’ or ‘has biodiversity loss reached a crisis point’.  IYB-UK will be supporting the debate using Twitter, Facebook and the partnership’s website www.biodiversityislife.net which already has a new section devoted specifically to Nagoya/COP10, as well as seeking to place some articles in the media.

There is also the opportunity to pose questions to a panel of scientists ahead of a live streamed debate on 7 October 2010.  The chair is still to be confirmed but the panel of experts include Professor Jon Hutton, Director of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Professor Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Paul Smith, Director Millennium Seed Bank - Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Dr Chris Lyal, Research Entomologist, Natural History Museum, Jonathan Baillie, Conservation Programmes Director for the Zoological Society of London.