[Nhcoll-l] SPNHC and UN Biodiversity report

[Thiers, Barbara]

As I am sure you are all aware, the summary of the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services<https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/> released on 6 May paints a grim future for biodiversity unless transformative change can be achieved.  By transformative change, they mean "a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values."

A SPNHC member asked me recently what role the society could play in the transformative change that is called for by the report summary.  I am writing on this International Day for Biological Diversity<https://www.cbd.int/idb/2019/>  in order to put this question to SPNHC members and anyone in the collections community.

A significant and growing body of research demonstrates how natural history collections (or data derived from them) inform a wide range studies that predict how biodiversity may respond to environmental change. You can find references for such studies in the iDigBio Bibliography<https://www.idigbio.org/biblio> or in the  BCON Extended Specimen report bibliography<https://bcon.aibs.org/2019/01/16/community-input-requested-extending-u-s-biodiversity-collections-to-address-national-challenges>.  As the Biodiversity Literacy for Undergraduate Education<https://www.biodiversityliteracy.com/> initiative is demonstrating, natural history collections provide an excellent gateway for students to gain an understanding of the importance of biodiversity.   Collections of course also engage the general public not just in museum exhibits but also through citizen science projects such as Notes from Nature<https://www.zooniverse.org/organizations/md68135/notes-from-nature>, and many others.

So, what should SPNHC do to make sure that we contribute to the protection of sustainable ecosystems in an appropriate and meaningful way?  Preliminary conversation among the members of SPNHC Council have yielded the following suggestions:

*        Reach out to the IPBES group working on the report to find out whether or not there is the possibility of including the importance of collections in addressing the biodiversity crisis in their report

*        Have an official response to the full report when it is issued this year

*        Conduct a Twitter campaign to highlight collections and their importance in biodiversity research.

*        Build specific objectives relating to emphasizing the importance of collections in biodiversity conservation into our new strategic plan
Do you think these are appropriate actions? Can you think of other actions we could take as an organization to contribute to the discussion in a meaningful way?

I hope you will share your thoughts on this subject, either through this list or in discussions next week at our Conference in Chicago.

Dr. Barbara M. Thiers
Vice President
Patricia K. Holmgren Director of the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium
Curator of Bryophytes
Editor, Index Herbariorum
President, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458-5126
bthiers at nybg.org<mailto:bthiers at nybg.org>
718-817-8626

Download:
The World's Herbaria 2017<http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/docs/The_Worlds_Herbaria_2017_5_Jan_2018.pdf>  (second Index Herbariorum annual report)
Index Herbariorum Registration Form<http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/IH_Questionnaire_2009.doc>
Index Herbariorum Registration Form Example<http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/IH_Questionnaire_2009_example.doc>

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