The Bonn Rhine/Sieg Biodiversity Network was founded to network the various institutions in the region that deal with biodiversity and to jointly implement projects in the field of environmental education and research on nature conservation. For example, BION produced a report on biodiversity in the region and another on biodiversity education. Other joint projects included taxonomy, the clear classification of species.
Mayor Katja Dörner is delighted with BION's vibrant network culture: “BION has successfully networked research disciplines and key players from the United Nations, the federal government, the education sector and civil society for more than ten years. The network, in which the City of Bonn is actively involved, is a fine example of how people here in Bonn work together for sustainability.”
On Thursday, November 28, 2024, network co-founders Wilhelm Barthlott and Walter Erdelen, together with current chairpersons Wiltrud Terlau and Lisa Biber-Freudenberger, will give an overview of the network's beginnings and current activities in the Old Town Hall. This will be followed by two international panel discussions, each of which will be introduced by keynote speeches. Barbara Hedden-Dunckhorst from the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation will provide insights into Germany's commitment to international nature conservation. Boris Erg, Executive Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Europe, will provide a link to the European level. From knowledge, from science to action - the title says it all. Practitioners, researchers and policy advisors will be on the panels.
Not only on stage, but also in the dialog between members and interested parties, the focus will be on how science can play a positive role in shaping the future. The vision for BION 2030 is to be developed in a collection of ideas - and a list of very specific contributions that BION members can and wish to make on the way there and what the Bonn site and the BION network can contribute to the preservation of biodiversity as a whole.