In July 2018, a team of 50 researchers from several Brazilian universities plans to launch the first national assessment of biodiversity and what are known as ecosystem services—benefits created directly or indirectly by nature, such as plant pollination and the supply of clean water and air. The initiative is linked to the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES), launched in February 2017. The group’s mission is to synthesize knowledge about these subjects and help officials develop actions that focus on conservation and sustainable development. In comments to Agência FAPESP, Carlos Joly of the University of Campinas and coordinator of the Biota-FAPESP program, which supports the platform in partnership with the CNPq and the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development, said, ”We want to produce a document that is truly useful, one that transmits the leading suggestions for options and directions to take.”
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