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How can we predict the future of biodiversity? What are the challenges in analysing cause and effect in ecological studies? And is species decline directly linked to climate change? In the new episode of our podcast Bench Talks, biodiversity scientist and Humboldtian Brian McGill (University of Maine) and science journalist Sahana Ghosh (Nature India) get together in Berlin to talk about global data collection, attribution and how smart investments and better communication can help protect life on earth.
It isn’t always easy to communicate the complexity of species loss, of animal migration, or the effects of human land use on biodiversity. But Brian McGill, macroecologist and Humboldt Research Award winner, is not one to shy away from complicated scenarios.
Data Gaps and Investment
One of the biggest problems in assessing and predicting biodiversity is the insecurity and unavailability of data, which makes it difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding of species evolution and variations, and it also impacts global policy action. Science journalist Sahana Ghosh points out that monitoring efforts often don’t include the vulnerable and yet most biodiverse parts of the world, especially those in the Global South. It is time, she says, to confront the blind spots in large-scale global biodiversity studies. Science funding, Ghosh argues, has to focus more on long-term data collections everywhere.
Yet, data is just one aspect of predicting the future of biodiversity. “We are in the middle of a big experiment,” McGill says. He is convinced that a scientifically sound answer to current biodiversity challenges requires a closer look at all methods and approaches to hand. Which structural innovations, which technologies but also which policy actions and changes in the science system itself will really make a difference?
The ecologist also highlights the large gaps in investment in biodiversity research compared to other disciplines, such as space science or physics. According to McGill, the “awe-inspiring” sciences attract more attention even though biodiversity is essentially about protecting the wealth of life on our planet. He calls for a more pragmatic approach where billions spent in space exploration are equalled with protective investments in earth’s natural environments.
Cooperation and Communication
But in the end, communication is key. McGill argues that academics need to have a better understanding of what people are actually interested in. “Scientists have not done a very good job listening,” he says. But scientists are not the only ones. “As societies, we need to have a conversation about the things we care about and what we want to conserve.” Journalists also play a huge part in that conversation and in the way biodiversity issues are represented.
Sahana Ghosh believes that we should also hold the media responsible for more nuanced and attractive storytelling. “There is the tendency to avoid complicating the narrative,” says Ghosh. She calls for science journalism that focuses on long term monitoring, on the local impacts of biodiversity issues, and more immersive and culturally specific storytelling that allows for complexity. Ghosh also stresses the importance of global exchange and cooperation between science and the media. Researchers and journalists have a lot in common, but they need more “quality time” to really understand each other: “Like the birds which fly across the continents, scientists and journalists are finding spaces like the Communication Lab to sit across the table, shake hands and ask the kind of questions which we hope will solve some of these issues.”
About Bench Talks
Two people on a bench. Somewhere in Berlin. A researcher and a journalist discuss current world events and the state of science communication. A dialogue that offers a comparative view of different cultures and languages. An unscripted conversation between two professions that often hardly have the time to engage in an unplanned chat. Here, we take the luxury of drifting and dwelling in interdisciplinary space – which opens up new perspectives for our global community.
Bench Talks is part of the Communication Lab, a joint programme of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the International Journalists’ Programmes.