Digitalisiation and Biodiversity: Policies, governance and tools for biodiversity conservation and societal well-being

The world is losing wildlife species and ecosystems at an alarming rate, and Europe is no exception. Biodiversity is the cornerstone of functioning ecosystems, which provide essential goods and services for humans and all other life forms on Earth. Therefore, reversing the loss of biodiversity in the near future is crucial. This requires transformative change. But what does this change look like, and how can we guide our society in a way that benefits both biodiversity and society as a whole?

GoDigiBioS addresses the underlying indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, such as consumption patterns, norms, and values. The project mainly follows the strategy of double decoupling: decoupling consumption from the overuse of natural resources and  decoupling the satisfaction of needs from consumption.Such transformative change requires social innovation and improved, systemic governance approaches. Additionally, digitalisation and new technologies offer the potential to support the preservation of biodiversity and enhance social and economic well-being. GoDigiBioS explores ways to leverage these opportunities while mitigating their potential negative impacts.

Overal, GoDigiBios aims to support biodiversity-relevant transformative change towards a nature-positive economy and society. To achieve this, the project develops innovative governance approaches and policy mixes, ensuring that digital and other new technologies are utilised to support and promote the conservation and restoration of species and ecosystems. Specifically, GoDigiBioS will deliver the following outcomes: 

1. A comprehensive understanding of the interactions between biodiversity, social and economic well-being, and technological development, supplemented by new insights and practical knowledge;
2. Tools to support biodiversity-relevant decisions, foremost a gamified decision support tool;
3. improved, systemic policy mixes and governance approaches. 

To co-produce this knowledge, these tools, and governance approaches, GoDigiBioS will leverage the expertise and experience of researchers, stakeholders, and citizens from transformation laboratories in four peri-urban regions in Europe. Additionally, the project applies specific approaches to ensure the scalability and replicability of the developed solutions.

adelphi research leads the work package for implementing transdisciplinary transformation laboratories (T-labs) in the four peri-urban regions Llobregat Delta (Spain), Zealand (Denmark), Matosinhos (Portugal), and Ruse (Bulgaria). The work of adelphi research will particularly focus on: 

• Conducting a participatory foresight study in collaboration with stakeholders from the T-lab regions and experts, examining future megatrends of digitalisation and emerging technologies, and their impacts on  biodiversity and societal well-being;
• Co-creating innovative governance approaches and policy mixes to maximise the positive impacts of digitalisation and new technologies while minimising negative effects.

Furthermore, adelphi research will create several case studies on best practices and common pitfalls in the governance of technological developments and support a comprehensive cross-case analysis.