Data is the Shared Language: A Workshop on Business and Biodiversity at Ekenäs Herrgård
In collaboration with Tobias Andermann and Jakob Nyström from the Biodiversity Data Lab at Uppsala University, we hosted a workshop titled Business and Biodiversity: Data is the Shared Language at Ekenäs Herrgård, Sweden. The event brought together an interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners to explore how biodiversity data can better support business decision-making.
The workshop focused on designing an end-to-end framework that links biodiversity data to concrete business use cases. We explored data sources from GBIF and natural history collections to new technologies like eDNA and computer vision, and proposed quality markers for selecting appropriate data products. I was pleased to introduce the idea of biodiversity data certificates as an innovative financing model to incentivise investment in high-quality, FAIR and open data.
Participants at the workshop represented a range of institutions including the Evolutionsmuseet, the Department of Organismal Biology at Uppsala University, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and the Science for Life Laboratory. Additional representation came from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Sweden, the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Industry and applied perspectives were brought in by participants from Knowit AB, Sveaskog, and new nature tech company based in Zurich, DNAir AG.
We are grateful to all the participants whose expertise and diverse perspectives made for an engaging and collaborative atmosphere throughout the two days: Carina Andersson, André da Silva, Alice Högström, Mats Eriksson, Robert Goodsell, Fabian Roger, Fredrik Ronquist, Tomas Roslin, Olga Pettersson, and Veronika Johansson. We thank Stiftelsen Oscar och Lili Lamms Minne for funding the workshop and supporting this important conversation at the intersection of biodiversity science and business.
