2009 Ontario Biodiversity Science Forum Workshop

Introduction

The Ontario Biodiversity Science Forum Workshop was held on 4 May 2009 at the University of Toronto. It engaged the broader biodiversity community in the Science Forum's activities and allowed this community to honestly analyze and give feed back on achieving the goals set out by Ontario's Biodiversity Strategy (PDF 1980KB) (2005). It provided a better understanding of the linkages between science and policy, and was a place for participants to comment on white papers that Science Forum members have written. Eighty-five people attended the workshop, coming from industry, academia, government (federal and provincial), ENGOs, museums, and more.

Goals

1. Focus the biodiversity science agenda and foster science partnerships by:
   
   • Identifying the State of Science and Knowledge and Critical Gaps
     
     • Improving our understanding of ecosystem functions and relationships
     • Identifying gaps in available expertise (e.g. Ontario taxonomy/systematics) and recommending solutions to address such gaps
   • Evaluating existing and aiding the development of new habitat/ecosystem and species/population management guides, best management practices, and other conservation tools
     • Identify indicators
     • Assess outcomes
     • Conduct adaptive management
2. Highlight the role of science, determine how to achieve biodiversity goals, and identify linkages between science and policy

Workshop Format

The workshop consisted of presentations by leaders in biodiversity science and interactive segments where participants provided feedback on the state of biodiversity science. An agenda for the workshop can be found here. Questions posed during these interactive segments included:

Question 1: Did we get it* right? (Is there anything to delete or add?)
Question 2: How do we know we're on the right course?
Question 3: What do we need to do about any gaps or duplication?
Question 4: Who should be involved?
Question 5: What is the first next step that the Science Forum ought to take?
Question 6: What is the first next step that policy makers ought to take?

*In this case, "it" refers to two things: 1) the speakers' message/presentation content and 2) Ontario's Biodiversity Strategy.

The results of these feedback sessions are presented on the Key Findings page under major categories that naturally evolved during the workshop and represented a consensus among participants.

Agenda and Presentations

The speakers, topics, and PDFs of their presentations:

	Topic: Opening address (PDF 2.0MB) Speaker: Tattersall Smith, University of Toronto
	Topic: How is policy informed by science? (PDF 488KB) Speaker: Cheryl Lewis, Ministry of Natural Resources
	Topic: State of Ontario's Forest Birds (PDF 2.0MB) Speaker: Debbie Badzinski, Bird Studies Canada
	Topic: Evaluating the effectiveness of forest management guidelines for conserving biodiversity and ecological processes (PDF 780KB) Speaker: Rob Rempel, Ministry of Natural Resources
	Topic: Allowable Harm Analysis, Restoration Potential of Species at Risk (PDF 534KB) Speaker: Marten Koops, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
	Topic: Ontario Biodiversity Knowledge/Information/Expertise Gaps (PDF 1.3MB) Speaker: Bill Crins, Ministry of Natural Resources

Outcomes

The Key Findings of the Ontario Biodiversity Science Forum Workshop are available here.

For more information about the workshop, please visit the Ontario Biodiversity Science Forum Workshop website.