Human activity has always been associated with changes in the environment. However, it is undeniable that the pace of environmental degradation and natural resource degradation was accelerated by the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century and accelerated in subsequent centuries with the expansion of the world’s population and consumption. The main result of this process has been the loss of biodiversity and its negative impact on the provision of ecosystem services such as food production, climate regulation and drinking water supply.
The current level of pressure on the planetary system could lead to a humanitarian emergency with an increase in environmental, economic and social crises on a global scale. Social mobilization to overcome today’s major problems necessarily involves transdisciplinary research, which makes it possible to find nature-based solutions to improve life in society at the frontiers of knowledge. Thus, a pact between society and science, with a more solid relationship between the leaders of the different sectors, is central to overcoming the problems. It is worth noting that this idea gained momentum in the 1980s with the publication of the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, an important milestone for the sustainable development agenda, which converges with the recent launch by the UN of global action plans to protect the environment and climate and to end poverty, including the “Sustainable Development Goals” and the Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. All of these plans involve complex problems that require transdisciplinary action.
In this context, the science of transformation aims to contribute to transitions towards sustainability. This science is socially oriented, recognizes the dynamics and interrelationships of complex systems, and aims to foster new ways of thinking and acting that can contribute to transformative change. This new approach goes beyond understanding the problem, as it aims to generate practical and valid knowledge within and beyond academia, i.e. it is based on science-policy-society collaboration, bringing together different disciplines and research approaches to contribute to transitions towards sustainability.
Since its inception, the Biota Program has fostered dialogue between decision-makers and scientists, stimulated research aimed at solving problems related to biodiversity conservation, and supported public policy and decision-making. This established base is fertile ground for the Biota Program to leverage transformative science initiatives for sustainability, addressing both governance issues (i.e., how decisions are made) and thematic and practical issues involving priorities for action in time and space.
MAIN GOAL
To advance transdisciplinary knowledge on the role of biodiversity as a central element in the transition to sustainability of socio-ecological systems.
CHALLENGES TO BE ADDRESSED
- Enhancing the capacity of public, private and civil society organizations to manage, monitor, protect, restore and sustainably use biodiversity;
- Improve the theoretical and practical foundations of socio-environmental governance;
- Supporting decision-making on plans, policies and projects to ensure sustainable development in complex adaptive systems, in different sectors of society, in support of the Sustainable Development Goals and other national and international agendas;
- Developing socio-environmental scenarios and assessing their consequences for society and the environment, as well as the potential and challenges of different mitigation and adaptation measures;
- Experimenting with and proposing strategies for communicating and co-producing knowledge with society and decision-makers on the characteristics, challenges and consequences of the biodiversity crisis and on the effectiveness of actions to address it;
- Increased integration among the various fields of the natural sciences and between them and the social sciences to advance systemic and transdisciplinary knowledge of socio-ecological systems that will enable the transition to sustainability. This integration can take place through synthesis initiatives, as described above, but also through other research approaches or dynamics. This will involve interaction between the Biota program and other FAPESP programs, such as Climate Change, eScience, Bioen, Innovative Research and Public Policies, in order to create innovative opportunities to include biodiversity as a driving force for sustainable development.
ACTIONS
- Stimulate inter- and transdisciplinary research aimed at solving nature-based problems through specific calls for proposals;
- Disseminate the principles and objectives of Biota Transformation, involving scientists and public, private and civil society organizations to stimulate the development of projects on this topic;
- Promote the learning and practice of different approaches to sustainable transition based on biodiversity, with a focus on young researchers;
- Promote the dissemination of sustainable transition initiatives through the Biota Program, Agência Fapesp and Revista Fapesp.
GOALS
- Launch at least one transformation call every two or three years;
- Support at least four Calls for Advanced Science Schools focused on the science of transformation;
- Stimulate at least four transdisciplinary calls aimed at co-producing public policies and knowledge for biodiversity management and conservation, in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental partners;
- Support at least one workshop or similar event every two years to disseminate the science of transformation and stimulate collaborative and transdisciplinary partnerships;
- Promote at least one publication per year to disseminate sustainable transition initiatives, preferably in conjunction with other FAPESP thematic programs.
