Dear fellow researcher (with apologies to the remaining stakeholders, who are nevertheless welcome to comment),

I am writing in my role as researcher and professor at the Department of Biology of the University of the Azores. I have a proposition to make, but first I need to put it into context.

There are many barriers between researchers in EU's ORs and OCTs: we work for different institutions, in territories that have different political realities and speak different languages. Our research depends on funding whose rules and objectives do not acknowledge the ecological continuities along which projects would have to be structured if they were to give answers relevant for the global reality represented by the EU overseas entities.

However, ORs and OCTs are formidable laboratories to study the importance of biodiversity for human development, and to develop strategies for the sustainable use of natural systems. There are even research lines that can only be conducted across networks such as these: spanning unparalleled geographic, climatic and human pressure gradients. Capitalizing on these assets, the EU overseas researchers can produce world class science which is nevertheless locally relevant. This vision was put forward, for instance, in the Paris roundtable on “Motivated science on biodiversity management and  use  in  support  of  Overseas  sutainable  development".

The regions, countries and territories where we work are also showcases of EU environmental policies for the rest of the world, and they have a decisive role to play in the context of the European Biodiversity Strategy and its contribution to the Aichi targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The EU must lead by example.

As you know, NetBiome ERA-Net was followed by a NetBiome-CSA which will finish by the end of April. Some of the institutional partners in these projects have meanwhile joined BiodivERsA 3 and are working to launch a second NetBiome joint call. The road has not been easy, but I can assure you that a network of people in various regional governments and development agencies is committed to keep pushing for funds and to maintain the NetBiome spirit alive.

The purpose of this email is therefore to challenge you to create an informal network of overseas biodiversity researchers. Building on the personal and professional links established through NetBiome, we could use easy communication tools (like this Forum) to keep each other updated on collaboration possibilities (including training) and to draft research projects that we see as important in the context explained above. Thus, we could be prepared to take full use of research opportunities, particularly those that require coordination between funding entities.

The research emphasis of this network would be on linking biodiversity research with sustainable human development. Its added value, however, would be on research themes that can only be done over a network of isolated territories. It would be hypothesis driven, linking patterns to processes. Thus it would capitalize on “the natural and social sciences to both understand generic global issues and solve real regional/local problems”. In Steve Hawkins’s words, “Excellent science but societally relevant”.

I look forward to your comments. If a couple of us think this is a good idea, we could present it during the NetBiome events in Brussels in early April.