Biodiversity: is innovation the cure?

Biodiversity, which forms the basis of the services that ecosystems provide to humanity, is undergoing an alarming rate of erosion that has led some experts to talk of the Earth’s sixth mass extinction. Biodiversity loss is closely linked to human activity and the effects of growth and economic development. The extraction of renewable and non-renewable resources, energy and industrial activity, and the expansion of urbanization and agriculture are all sectors of the economy that have an impact on biodiversity.

At the heart of growth and economic development, innovation plays a central role. Indeed, it theoretically enables the growth of productivity gains, lower production costs, increased safety and quality, greater efficiency of resource use and also the creation of new markets.

However, what are the effects of innovation on biodiversity? Is there a risk that it can exacerbate current degradation trends or does it enable such trends to be attenuated? While innovation may be a potential solution to the current decline in biodiversity, it may also put it at greater risk, whether the consequences have already emerged or not. Risks and benefits of innovation for biodiversity are thus the subject of debate, both in the field of research as well as in civil society.

This conference aims to review and assess the possibilities and limitations of new technologies and more generally of innovation as a support for biodiversity conservation. What risks do innovations pose to biodiversity? What are their contributions to the mitigation of the negative impacts on biodiversity? Can we control or channel innovation so that there is synergy, rather than conflict, to enable Earth’s biological diversity to be maintained?