Richard G. Pearson 1 , * , Enrique Martínez-Meyer 2 , 3 , Mercedes Andrade Velázquez 3 , Mercedes Caron 4 , Rogelio O. Corona-Núñez 5 , Katrina Davis 6 , América Paz Durán 7 , Rodrigo García-Morales 3 , Talya D. Hackett 8 , Daniel J. Ingram 1 , Rafael Loyola Díaz 3 , Julián Lescano 9 , Andrés Lira-Noriega 10 , Yolanda López-Maldonado 11 , Daniela Manuschevich 12 , Alma Mendoza 13 , Ben Milligan 14 , Simon C. Mills 15 , Darío Moreira-Arce 16 , Luzma F. Nava 3 , 13 , Vicencio Oostra 1 , 17 , Nathan Owen 6 , David Prieto-Torres 18 , Clarita Rodríguez Soto 19 , Thomas Smith 20 , Andrew J. Suggitt 21 , Camila Tejo Haristoy 22 , 23 , Jorge Velásquez-Tibatá 24 , Sandra Díaz 25 , Pablo A. Marquet 26 , 27
08 August 2019
2019
ecosystem services, environmental change, capacity building, investment in research, data availability, knowledge systems, governance
Maintaining biodiversity is crucial for ensuring human well-being. The authors participated in a workshop held in Palenque, Mexico, in August 2018, that brought together 30 mostly early-career scientists working in different disciplines (natural, social and economic sciences) with the aim of identifying research priorities for studying the contributions of biodiversity to people and how these contributions might be impacted by environmental change. Five main groups of questions emerged: (1) Enhancing the quantity, quality, and availability of biodiversity data; (2) Integrating different knowledge systems; (3) Improved methods for integrating diverse data; (4) Fundamental questions in ecology and evolution; and (5) Multi-level governance across boundaries. We discuss the need for increased capacity building and investment in research programmes to address these challenges.
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