Biodiversity and Socio-Ecosystems

Biodiversity

The Biodiversity and Socio-Ecosystems area, which reaches beyond the traditional dichotomy between nature and society, is a perfect example of the interdisciplinary approach that CEI CamBio wishes to take in each of the intended areas of specialisation. In this case, the most directly involved CSIC centres of those based in Andalusia are the Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, the Estación Biológica de Doñana and the Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, all of which are, or will shortly be, based at the University Pablo de Olavide campus.

Among these we must highlight the prominent role played by the Reserva Biológica de Doñana, the only centre of its kind in Spain with the exception of the oceanographic research vessels Cornide de Saavedra, Hespérides and Sarmiento de Gamboa. It is listed among the EU’s Large-Scale Research Facilities, and shows outstanding research results .

Equally, the University Pablo de Olavide campus hosts LifeWatch, a European infrastructure for biodiversity study and management included in ESFRI’s (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure) roadmap. Although the project is largely focused on information and communication technologies, other work avenues are also followed, such as the assessment of socio-economic activities carried out around biodiversity reserves.

Regarding teaching, the coalition members lead post-graduate programmes, such as the Master’s Programme in Biodiversity and Preservation Biology, coordinated by UPO, with the participation of an important number of researchers from CSIC, and the Máster en Management, Access and Conservation of Species in Trade, at UNIA. This programme, which has the support of the Spanish government, has formed professionals from 64 different countries in all continents. Additionally, CEI CamBio is currently developing, within the framework of the Escuela Internacional de Doctorado en Estudios Medio Ambientales (EID-EMA), a joint master’s and doctoral programme in Conservation of Biodiversity in Tropical Enviroments, with the participation of the University of Panama and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

See Biodiversity and Socio-Ecosystems Thematic Aggregation