Leading Transformation Together
The World Biodiversity Forum was established in 2020 under the auspices auf the University of Zurich Research Priority Program on Global Change and Biodiversity and the Global Research Network bioDISCOVERY. Aim of the World Biodiversity Forum is to create a platform where researchers across all disciplines of biodiversity science, practitioners and societal actors across generations jointly explore options and solutions to foster biodiversity in an equitable and just manner.
The inaugural World Biodiversity Forum, held from 23 – 28 February 2020, hosted more than 550 participants from 60 countries. It served to create a community, and increase the visibility of biodiversity research within Switzerland and internationally. Participants accepted a conference resolution that calls for responsible and immediate action of governments, international organizations, societal actors and stakeholders to safeguard all life on Earth.
From 26 June – 1 July 2022, more than 700 participants came together for the 2nd World Biodiversity Forum under the theme Inspiration for Action. Focus of the sessions and workshops was on how science can identify and address the challenges of ever-increasing human impacts on the biosphere and resulting biodiversity loss, on identifying potential solutions to the biodiversity crisis, and on highlighting actions across different sectors necessary to reverse the trend of biodiversity loss.
The theme of the 3rd World Biodiversity Forum, held from 16 – 21 June 2024 was From Science to Action. It brought together more than 800 participants from 65 countries, responding to the call for urgent and transformative action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss through making connections across available knowledge sources, identifying opportunities, synergies but also trade-offs that can inform policies and actions. A special emphasis in 2024 was placed on the interaction and collaboration of science, arts and society, which opened up opportunities for deeper exploration, creating a differentiated understanding and facilitating the search for creative solutions. The rich resources resulting from 2024 are available here, also watch the video below „Arctic Biodiversity Futures“ from Oliver Wyman.
With its 4th edition, the World Biodiversity Forum 2026 once again convenes the community to build broad and strong leadership and networks for transformation, bringing science, arts, society, and businesses together, across generations. The Theme of the World Biodiversity Forum 2026 is Leading Transformation Together.
The World Biodiversity Forum is a community effort led by and registered as trademark with the University of Zurich, Switzerland, supported by a broad international scientific steering committee, diverse partners, supporters and sponsors.