Two Sides of the same coin: Biodiversity and Climate Change
Intact Ecosystems are vital for Humankind. They are the source of clean water, food, healing plants and herbs, they permit polenization, develop and regenerate the soil and much more. On top of these services, intact ecosystems regulate temperatures and the climate.
This year’s focus is on the interrelation between Biodiversity and Climate Change. How species and whole ecosystems are under threat because of climate change and consequently, how vital ecosystem services for Humankind are lost. At the same time the point is to present the regulating role of intact ecosystems on climate change and the importance of their resilience.
The integration of ecosystem services plays a growing role in landscape management and planning all over the world. This is also true for the International Cooperation: In order to ensure the sustainability of projects, the interrelation between ecosystem service and climate change needs to be integrated in the development and in the implementation processes.
Ecosystems are as diverse as the climate can be. In order to illustrate the diversity of ecological and climate conditions, as well as of adjustment mechanisms from nature but also from Man, these projects and countries have been chosen:
Brazil (Mata Atlantica), Ecuador (Páramo), Laos (Hin Nam No Region),Mexico (Sierra Madre Oriental), Morocco (Argan Forest), Mongolia ( Forest and Steppe), Namibia (Gobabeb), Philippines (Marine Protected Area), Tunisia (Hazoua Oasis).