What's the state of Ireland's Biodiversity?

A major meeting of scientists will take place in Waterford this month to discuss the state of knowledge on Ireland's biodiversity in 2010.

The 'Biodiversity Knowledge Quest' conference is organised by the National Biodiversity Data Centre based at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT)and will take place on the 26th and 27th of August.

The meeting is being held as part of Ireland's contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity 2010.

A range of Irish experts on a variety of different groups of organisms will speak at the conference. For example, Prof. Mike Guiry of NUI Galway with speak on Algae biodiversity on the first day, while Dr. Matthew Jebb  of the National Botanical Gardens will speak about vascular plant biodiversity on the following day.

Dr. Niamh Roche from Bat Conservation Ireland will talk about the challenges of conserving bat populations and Dr. Michael Simms from National Museums Northern Ireland will deal with Lichen biodiversity.

The full programme for the two days is available here.

A spokesperson for the organisers said: "The event will provide a major benchmark on the state of biodiversity knowledge in Ireland in 2010 and assist prioritisation of work to fill the remaining knowledge gaps in time for 2020, to coincide with the next international biodiversity target.

"The event will be of interest to anyone involved with surveying and researching the distribution and conservation of Ireland’s species and habitats. It will provide an opportunity to contribute to the knowledge base on Ireland’s biological diversity and to influence the future direction of survey priorities needs in Ireland."

The National Biodiversity Data Centre is the national centre dedicated to the collation, management, analysis and dissemination of data and information on Ireland’s biological diversity.