Water Sector

Nature4Life: National knowledge agenda for research into biodiversity, ecology and evolution

State Secretary Sander Dekker receives first copy of national knowledge agenda

On 1 February, State Secretary Sander Dekker was handed the first copy of the national ‘Nature4Life Biodiversity Knowledge Agenda’. The knowledge agenda’s initiator is Koos Biesmeijer, Scientific Director of Naturalis. KWR played a role in the development of the agenda by contributing the ‘Biodiversity as an Environmental Thermometer’ theme.

The aim of Nature4Life Knowledge Agenda is to identify the research that can help answer big societal challenges concerning food, water, the economy, climate and quality of life, health and wellbeing. The agenda consists of three, overarching, integrating scientific themes, as well as a chapter addressing the framework conditions for the agenda’s realisation. The foundation for this knowledge agenda was laid six months ago during a meeting, organised by Naturalis, for representatives of universities and research organisations active in the field of biodiversity research.

State Secretary Sander Dekker admires Trix in Naturalis.

State Secretary Sander Dekker admires Trix in Naturalis.

One of the three prioritised scientific themes is ‘Biodiversity as an Environmental Thermometer’, which is the contribution Michiel Hootsmans, a senior researcher at KWR. This theme dovetails nicely with several of KWR’s TKI projects concerning aquatic biodiversity, such as the ‘Monitoring fish migration through eDNA’ project. Since 2015, KWR has also had a collaboration agreement in this field with Naturalis.

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