The purpose of the conference is to share the achievements of EuropaBON and the proposal for a Biodiversity Monitoring Coordination Centre of EU (EBOCC).
After three years of successful cooperation and numerous established partnerships with many experts and organizations in the field of biodiversity, including Dicon Group, the EuropaBON Consortium and stakeholders will present the main results of their joint efforts, including the proposed EU Biodiversity Monitoring Coordination Centre (EBOCC).
The European Parliament allocated a budget of 5 million Euros to test the development and establishment of the coordination centre. The aim is to meet the urgent need to coordinate, integrate, harmonize and strengthen the collection and analysis of biodiversity data to support policy-making at local, national, European and international levels. Efforts will focus on the application of a set of key biodiversity variables that have direct application in policy and decision-making. This includes capacity building, including taxonomic expertise and citizen science.
The Terms of Reference for the EBOCC, the result of the joint efforts of all EuropaBON partners, is built on a comprehensive review of existing monitoring schemes, identifying data gaps and workflow bottlenecks. It also outlines the coordinating role of the EBOCC to support existing monitoring programs in Europe and to develop new ones to overcome the gaps preventing adequate reporting and informed decision-making on biodiversity-related policies.
The European Commission should complete this task in 2024.
