Climate & Biodiversity Initiative
Discover the program
Meet the 9 laureates of the Climate & Biodiversity initiative of the BNP Paribas Foundation
20.11.2019 | Corporate philanthropy
Between 2020 and 2022, the BNP Paribas Foundation will fund its programme Climate & Biodiversity Initiative with 6 million euros in order to finance and put forward 9 international research projects. These projects cover various pressing scientific issues and topics related to interactions between climate and biodiversity, such as the impact of the melting of the ice caps on the world’s biodiversity, resilience of coastal ecosystems faced with extreme weather events or even reforestation of endangered ecosystems.
The 9 laureates of the 2019 call for projects
The projects laureates of the Climate & Biodiversity Initiative programme share various key aspects: a strong international dimension by implicating collaborations between research organizations from various horizons, interdisciplinarity and finally their focus of study are all high stakes scientific issues.
If most projects study the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and its adaptation, some projects tackle more specifically the development of new solutions and new modelling tools to increase the resilience of ecosystems to climate change.
- BIOCLIMATE – Addressing knowledge gaps by adopting novel and well established methods to compile an extensive evaluation, specifically focused on the biodiversity and associated ecosystem processes within climate-affected and human-modified Amazonian forests in the Santarém region in Brazil. Project led by the University of Lancaster (United Kingdom).
- NOTION – Determining how future climate change will alter the diversity and activity of marine diazotrophs (planktonic cells), and how these changes will impact global ocean productivity. Project led by the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (France)
- SABERES - Promoting the preservation of the Amazon river floodplain biodiversity and ecosystem services under climate change by developing a management and policy framework to increase socio-environmental and biodiversity resilience. Project led by the Institute of Research for Development (IRD, France).
- LIFE WITHOUT ICE – Studying the consequences of glacier extinction for biodiversity and people at a global scale, with focuses in both temperate (France) and tropical regions (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, Uganda, and Venezuela). The project will aim to move along to solutions through a knowledge-based dialogue (from scientists and local people). Project led by the Institute of Research for Development (IRD, France).
- CAMBIO - Identifying which tree species mixtures can optimize climate mitigation and adaptation (resilience to extreme events) with the aim of optimizing afforestation as a solution for climate change. Project led by the University of Ghent (Belgium).
- MOMMY KNOWS BEST - Understanding how various environmental conditions affect the ability to display plasticity through evaluating how multidimensional and novel environments affect the different steps underpinning adaptive plasticity is needed. Project led by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS, France).
- CORESCAM - Studying the vulnerability and resilience of coastal biodiversity to the increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes and droughts in the Central American region. Project led by the Museum National de Sciences Naturelles espagnol (Spain).
- TREE BODYGUARDS - Understanding the effect of current climate on tree resistance to herbivores and on biocontrol in order to predict the potential consequences of climate change on tree and forest's health. Project led by the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA, France).
- HUM-ANI - Identifying how the impact of climate change and biodiversity erosion modifies interactions between fauna, flora and mankind, and how it is linked to increasing infectious diseases’ threats and multi-hosts transmission in in Austral African socio-ecosystems. Project led by the Institute of Research for Development (IRD, France).
The BNP Paribas Foundation provides support to the scientists leading these research projects through funding but also by ensuring they benefit from the best work conditions for the projects. The Foundation will support these projects financially from 2020 to 2022 with a total budget of 6 million euros, and will also highlight them by organizing conferences, or educational exhibitions opened to the public.
A sustainable ambition in favor of the enhancement of scientific knowledge on climate change and biodiversity erosion.
The programme Climate Initiative was launched in 2010 by the BNP Paribas Foundation with the ambition of increasing knowledge on interactions between climate and biodiversity, about climate system dysfunction and evaluating the consequences on our environment and allow all the players to change their behaviour.
In 2019, when it launched its 4th call for projects, the Foundation renamed the programme “Climate & Biodiversity Initiative” in order to jointly address two of today’s most pressing environmental issues: climate change and biodiversity erosion.
Since 2010, the BNP Paribas Foundation has significantly contributed to supporting environmental research. In total, 18 research projects have been financed and highlighted and we have raised awareness for about 340 000 people towards the impact of climate change thanks to a budget of 12 million euros.
The impact of the Climate Initiative programme in 10 years
18
research teams supported
12M€
budget
340 000
PEople reached since 2010
Photo Header Araucaria araucana forest Northern Patagonie - THEMES project led by Valérie Daux ©R. Villalba