Climate protection and biodiversity: University participates in institute for biodiversity research

The Hessian Minister of the Environment, Priska Hinz, and the Hessian Minister of Science, Angela Dorn, jointly give the starting signal for the Lore Steubing Institute for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity in Hesse. The Lore Steubing Institute (LSI) is an association of the Hessian State Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG), the Universities of Giessen, Darmstadt, Marburg, Kassel and Frankfurt am Main, the Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences and the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. "With the Lore Steubing Institute, biodiversity research in Hesse will be bundled, and research institutions and official nature conservation in Hesse will work even more closely together for nature and species conservation in the future. It is the first cross-institutional biodiversity research network in Germany," the two ministers explained.

The University of Kassel is participating with the Environmental and Landscape Management Research Network of the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Landscape Planning and with projects from the natural sciences. Cooperations with HLNUG already existed before the LSI was founded. One example: the "Sheep Create Landscape" project, which conducts research on sustainable sheep farming structures and biodiversity. "So we provide a proven infrastructure for further research projects that focus on transdisciplinary research approaches in the fields of biodiversity, landscape ecology, landscape planning and sustainable land use systems," explains Prof. Dr. Gert Rosenthal, head of the Department of Landscape and Vegetation Ecology.

"In Hesse, we have set a lot in motion to protect biodiversity. We are taking care of the networking of biotopes, we are protecting the field hamster and other species of the field, and we have designated 10 percent of our forest as natural forests, in which forest species can develop freely. We have continuously increased funding for nature conservation in recent years, including funding for biodiversity research. We want to halt the loss of species, and that is why we need a sound scientific basis combined with practical experience so that we can continue to set the right conditions in a targeted manner. The Lore Steubing Institute will be an important advisor to us in this major challenge," said Environment Minister Hinz.

"We can only overcome the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity together and thus secure the future of us all. This imperative of cooperation also applies to science," said Science Minister Dorn. "The new Lore Steubing Institute combines know-how and top-class research on biodiversity under one Hessian roof - and is thus an excellent example of the concentrated power of research alliances. With its work, the institute will contribute significantly to the important scientific basis for achieving more for biodiversity in politics."

Through organizational and personnel cooperation and interlocking, the partners of the LSI aim to gain new scientific insights into the various elements of biodiversity and nature conservation in Hesse. In addition, the goal is to promote mutual exchange between science and nature conservation practice. To this end, the partners of the LSI jointly conduct applied research projects on nature conservation and biodiversity topics relevant in Hessen, provide expertise and advise policy makers. The institute also plans to cooperate with nature conservation organizations and foundations, landscape conservation associations and others involved in nature conservation. Topics that the LSI has targeted for its work include insect mortality in Hesse, the effects of climate change on biodiversity, and also the management and monitoring of animal and plant species, as well as innovative methods for environmental and nature conservation monitoring.

The institute's namesake, Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Lore Steubing (1922-2012), did exemplary pioneering work for ecological research in Germany.

More information on the LSI at: https://www.hlnug.de/themen/naturschutz/lore-steubing-institut