Biodiversity Science is facing enormous challenges as the pressures upon the earth’s biotic systems are rapidly intensifying and we are unlikely to reach the CBD 2020 Aichi Targets. But how far or close are we to reach the targets?

The GEO BON Open Science Conference on “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Monitoring for the 2020 Targets and beyond” will assess this question. The conference is open to the wide scientific public and is sponsored and co-organized by iDiv, UFZ, SASCAL (others tbc).

The conference will foster scientifically sound biodiversity monitoring by in-situ and remote sensing methodologies, monitoring of ecosystem services, modeling of biodiversity at all scales and in all dimensions and especially encourage interdisciplinary research. It will show ways forward in biodiversity observation and the development of Essential Biodiversity Variables. The conference will accept submissions of abstracts versing any biodiversity monitoring topic, but will prioritize talks associated with the development of monitoring for Essential Biodiversity Variables.

Contributions to the following key topics are invited:

• New monitoring methodologies and technologies and global data standards
• Global data standards and data depositories  – how do they serve the community?
• New visions and pathways for in situ and remote sensing biodiversity monitoring
• Making observations count: Engagements with the policy sector

This conference will include:

• Kick-off and key note presentations
• Oral communications organized into parallel sessions
• A workshop to develop new visions and pathways for biodiversity monitoring

We expect the conference to have a duration of 3 days.