Events

European Conference for More Insect Protection and Biodiversity at Landscape Level  

Tuesday, 20 May 2025, 9:00 am – 4:45 pm

Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt, Römerberg 9, 60331 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Three-quarters of global food crop species depend on pollinators. At the same time, 40% of insects only in temperate countries may face extinction over the next few decades (according to the latest reviews on insect decline).

Please find the Presentations below

Download English Progamme here.

Download German Programme here. 

Press Release: Conference emphasises the need for alliances (text in German, Website of Lake Constance Foundation)

The economic consequences are obvious: if the humming of bees, bumblebees, and others stops, our food economy will soon stop buzzing, too. To counteract this trend, various stakeholders must collaborate to create insect-friendly landscapes. As part of the LIFE Project “Insect Responsible Sourcing Regions,” we specifically focused on this topic. During the conference, we aimed to share our findings and discuss strategies for fostering positive change at the landscape level with different stakeholder groups.

Our interdisciplinary conference invited:

• Farmers
• Farmers’ associations/suppliers
• Food companies
• Other land users
• NGOs
• Political decision-makers
• Authorities of municipalities, counties, and districts at a regional scale
• Civil society
• Scientific institutions

Our conference covered key topics, including:

• Landscape Approach: What are the most effective strategies for fostering connections among stakeholders and encouraging cross-disciplinary teamwork?
• Biodiversity in Land Management: How can we support the embedding of innovative agricultural measures in the landscape context? Which measures have evolved into biodiversity conservation success stories?
• Flourishing Communities: How can municipalities better integrate the topic of biodiversity and insect conservation? What are the success factors for participation at the municipal level?
• Citizen Science & Monitoring: What opportunities does citizen science offer for biodiversity and insect conservation? How can we measure and communicate successes?
• Policy & Incentives: What developments do we need at the political level to support biodiversity and insect conservation at the landscape level? What financing models are available outside of agricultural policy subsidies? How can we create meaningful incentive systems?
• Next Steps: What do future models of insect and biodiversity-responsible sourcing regions look like? How can we promote investment in biologically diverse landscapes?

The project and conference are co-founded by the EU.

Thank you for joining!

Here are the presentations of the conference:

Keynote:

European Perspective for the Protection of Pollinators 

Dr. Andreas Gumbert (EU DG Env.)

Plenary Talks: Better Future for Insects & Biodiversity – Engaging Stakeholders for a Landscape Approach in Europe

The Landscape Approach in LIFE Insect Responsible Sourcing Regions

Patrick Trötschler (Lake Constance Foundation)

The FRAMEwork Project – Advancing Farmers Clusters and Lessons Learnt

Dr. Graham Begg (EU-Horizon FRAMEwork)

Cross-Sector Collaboration for Promoting Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes – The Case of a Local Bottom-up Initiative in Southern Lower Saxony

Jule Huber (KOOPERATIV Project at Georg-August University Göttingen)

Breakout Session 1: From Plots to Landscapes – High Potential Measures in Agriculture

Acceptance, Establishment and Effects of Beneficial Insect Flower Strips in Arable Crops

Dr. Patrick Pyttel (Lake Constance Foundation)

Key Species Plant Lists – A Successful Model for Europe

Dr. Rainer Oppermann (Institute for Agro-ecology and Biodiversity)

Building Resilient Habitat Networks – Implementing Green Infrastructure with Native Wild Plants

Simone Marino Preo (EU-LIFE PollinAction)

Breakout Session 2: Innovationen für Kommunen – Kombination von Biodiversität und Bürger*innenbeteiligung

Klima- & Biodiversitätsschutz zusammen angehen – Erfolgreiche Gemeinschaftsprojekte mit Pflanzenkohle (auf Anfrage erhältlich: Kuerschner@globalnature.org)

Marie Holler (Netzwerk Blühende Landschaft), 

Die Kommunikation von Biodiversitätsmaßnahmen im Ackerland – Der Biodiversitätspfad in Heilbronn, Baden Württemberg

Dr. Jürgen Hetzler (Stadt Heilbronn)

Neukonzeption der landwirtschaftlichen Flächenvergabe –Nachhaltigkeitskriterien in Leipzig

Linn Schaan (Deutsches Zentrum für intergrative Biodiversitätsforschung & Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung)

Breakout Session 3: Von Bürger*innen zur Wissenschaft (und zurück) – 
Einbindung der Bürger*innen in die Förderung und Überwachung der biologischen Vielfalt

Von Wildbienen und Landwirt*innen – Wie wir mit Citizen Science Daten zur biologische Vielfalt erheben und die Agrarlandschaft gestalten

Dr. Anne-Kathrin Schneider-Hohenbrink & Dr. Demetra Rakosy (Thünen Institut)

Viel-Falter-Monitoring aus Österreich – Erfahrungen mit Citizen Science im Tagfaltermonitoring und Übertragung von Erhebungsdaten auf die Landschaftsebene

Friederike Barkmann (Universität Innsbruck)

Citizen Science und die (übersehene) Biodiversität in der Nacht (auf Anfrage erhältlich: Kuerschner@globalnature.org)

Dr. Sarah Kiefer (Leibniz Institut)

Breakout Session 4: More Money for Biodiversity in Europe – New Strategies to Finance Biodiversity in Food Production

Biodiversity-Rich Landscapes – Which Funding Instruments Are Options for the Future?

Christine Kewes (Lake Constance Foundation)

The Renewable Energy Law Approach for Biodiversity – Fresh Money for Farmers?

Kirsten Wiegmann (Institute for Applied Ecology)

How Neumarkter Lammsbräu Measures and Incentivises their Farmers’ –Positive Impact on Biodiversity and Climate

Anna Neubauer (Neumarkter Lammsbräu)