United for species knowledge and nature conservation

Knowledge of species and taxonomy is of crucial importance for scientific research and nature conservation. Unfortunately, however, the number of species experts and experts in the field of taxonomy is constantly decreasing. To counteract this trend, we have launched the project "FörTax - Promoting taxonomic knowledge as a basis for nature conservation".

The six-year project has a clear objective: we want to raise awareness of the importance of species knowledge and establish a nationwide network of facilities and institutions that train species experts. To this end, we are working closely with our partners: the Fachdidaktik Biologie der Universität Bonn and the Naturforschenden Gesellschaft des Saarlandes (DELATTINIA).

You can find a detailed overview of the project here.

LIB measures in the joint project

The LIB team is implementing the following measures in the project:

1. Inventory: We are recording the stock of institutions that impart knowledge about species and taxonomy, as well as their respective projects and offers in the field of education and citizen science in German-speaking countries. To this end, we have set up a data portal according to fair data criteria. It is freely accessible at data.foertax.de. We also analyze the specific need for species knowledge for research, nature conservation, expert reports and federal and state reporting obligations.
2. FörTax conferences: For long-term and comprehensive networking of all stakeholders and for knowledge transfer, we invite people to FörTax conferences every 2 years. The first two FörTaxCons took place in 2021 and 2023. FörTaxCon 3 with the topic "Knowledge of species without borders" will follow in fall 2025.
3. Promotion and training: With our courses, we offer interested children and young people the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge of species and get them excited about biodiversity in the long term. To this end, we offer FörTax-Clubs -AGs and excursions, among other things.
4. Public relations and outreach: To get the general public interested in species knowledge and to inform them about our goals and activities, we take part in high-profile events. Anyone can follow our project work via social media. We have also launched the "FörTax on tour" format, which supplements the digital FörTaxCons with face-to-face meetings in various cities and museums.
5. Recommendations for action, list of demands and key points paper: Together, we are developing a final guideline with recommendations for action that will support the training institutions in offering educational programs to increase species knowledge in science and society even after the end of the project period. For politicians, we are drawing up a list of demands and a key issues paper with practical political demands for the areas of taxonomic training, voluntary work and school curricula. In this way, we want to help promote nature and species conservation in the long term.

Measures taken by the partners in the project

The project partners are implementing the following measures in particular:

1. Offers for adults: DELATTINIA implements practical knowledge transfer for adults through basic to advanced courses and excursions. The newly founded Saarland Academy for Species Knowledge (SAKA) is establishing itself as a training center. It offers certified training and further education in the field of taxonomy for both professional and private purposes.
2. Didactic analysis: The biology didactics department at the University of Bonn evaluates all courses and training materials in the project to ensure that we can arouse and maintain the interest of the target groups in species knowledge and biodiversity in the long term.