Large EU project starts: BIONEXT wants to mainstream biodiversity into policy-making

News 2022-09-23 at 14:08
BIONEXT project group of SYKE

A new large EU project coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE The Biodiversity Nexus - Triggering transformative change for sustainability (BIONEXT) is launching this Autumn. The project got a funding of EUR 4.1 million from the EU's research and innovation program Horizon Europe. Duration of the project is four years. Ten partners from eight European countries form the consortium. BIONEXT will develop knowledge, tools, and guidance for mainstreaming biodiversity into policy-making and provide concrete options on how to initiate, accelerate and upscale biodiversity relevant transformative change in society.

BIONEXT will involve policy- and decision-makers and allow them to explore the concept of just transformative change.

The project will deliver an innovative Nexus Modelling Framework that will integrate scenarios and pathways modelling interlinkages between biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport, climate, and health, and enabling simulation of the impacts of indirect and direct drivers on biodiversity.

With the involvement of diverse stakeholders, the project will also develop a BIONEXT Pathways App as a novel decision support tool. It allows users to explore transformational building blocks, for formulating policies and implementation pathways for the biodiversity nexus. The results will contribute to science brokerage, capacity building and networking to IPBES, EU policymakers, and civil society.

The project is divided into six work packages:

  • WP1 The biodiversity nexus: current and future interlinkages and their drivers
  • WP2 Triggering transformative change
  • WP3 Demonstrating transformative change in practice
  • WP4 Knowledge and science brokerage for IPBES assessments and EU policy
  • WP5 Facilitating nexus by networking, engagement, and dissemination
  • WP6 Project management

"BIONEXT provides a great opportunity to bring together diverse scientific expertise to explore building blocks for just transformative change aiming to slow down biodiversity loss", says Project Coordinator, Director Anna-Stiina Heiskanen.

Learn more

Website of the project (syke.fi)

More information

Project Manager Jari Koskiaho, Senior Research Scientist, firstname.lastname@syke.fi, p. +358 295 251 312


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