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The Centre of Competence for Biodiversity, Water Management and Climate Change, established at the University of Debrecen in 2023, will play a key role in the future climate strategy, enabling professionals to provide responsible and credible answers to emerging ecological issues. The international scientific meeting, held on Friday at the HAS Debrecen Committee headquarters, focused on the current and future challenges of biodiversity.
- In recent decades, the University of Debrecen has been at the forefront of research in ecology, conservation and biodiversity. The Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity, Water Management and Climate Change continues this noble vocation. The primary task of the environmental monitoring system being set up in Debrecen is to monitor biodiversity. The aim of the conference is also to discuss the theoretical and practical background of monitoring, its development and the social use of the information obtained. Only by using data acquired with scientific rigor can we achieve biodiversity conservation, and knowledge can open up new perspectives and strengthen our commitment to a sustainable urban future," said György Kossa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Count István Tisza Foundation for the University of Debrecen, which maintains the University of Debrecen.
In his speech, Zoltán Bács, Chancellor of the University of Debrecen, emphasized the university's decades-long commitment to the protection of the environment, and also highlighted the forward-looking and exemplary cooperation between the city and UD.
- At the University of Debrecen, the study of ecology and natural ecosystems has always been important. In recent years, we have discovered the need for a more focused, concentrated and organized approach to this field, which is why the Centre was created, based on the University's internal scientific needs and the industrial development of the city, to coordinate biodiversity-related activities of the faculties and the environmental monitoring work with the city, in addition to its independent tasks. We are proud of the establishment of the Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity, Water Management and Climate Change and of the cooperation with the city. We are confident that the system will serve as an example and will provide useful information not only for Debrecen but also for other municipalities," the Chancellor stressed.
Szabolcs Lengyel, director of the Centre of Competence for Biodiversity, Water Management and Climate Change at the University of Debrecen, said that the monitoring system is well underway, and the conference was largely organized to strengthen this work.
- The centre's task is to monitor the city's biodiversity, and the framework for this will be provided by the environmental monitoring system, which will include biodiversity, soil, water and air. There are many uncertainties about biodiversity, which we want to dispel at the conference, and we are looking for answers to how the information obtained can be used for municipal tasks and city management. The monitoring system is currently being set up and equipment is being purchased, but a baseline survey could be launched this year," said the head of the centre.
Róbert Gábriel, professor at the University of Pécs, deputy director of the DE Biodiversity, Water Management and Climate Change Competence Centre, told hirek.unideb.hu that biodiversity is declining worldwide, and the number of specimens in nature has also decreased significantly, so we must pay attention to ensure that this does not happen in Debrecen.
- Biodiversity research is a global programmed on which the future of humanity really depends. Regardless of the growth of the city, the biodiversity of the environment must remain at least at the same level as it is now, but efforts must be made to create new hotspots. The conference will present the state of biodiversity conservation in Debrecen and the results of systematic surveys that have been launched in the last year. This could provide a basis for regular local monitoring," the Deputy Director stressed.
The event was also attended by Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs, who said that the cooperation between the university and the city could bring unique results in the field of biodiversity. He said that together with UD’s staff they will prepare the operational protocol for the monitoring system, which will be based on scientific needs and background.
At the 1st Biodiversity Conference, experts learned about the operating principles and objectives of the Debrecen Environmental Monitoring System, the results of efforts to implement biodiversity monitoring on a large scale, as well as about measuring and modeling biodiversity change.
Press Centre - BZ
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