What we do

What we do

What do we do in BCL?

Well, first we seek to understand: How do ecological communities function? How species are related to their environment, which are the mechanisms regulating biodiversity patterns and how they do so? What is the effect of climate change on species communities? What is the impact of anthropogenic pressures to wildlife and natural ecosystems?

Then, we seek to transform knowledge into policy and practice. We address major conservation challenges such as protected areas management, conservation actions for endangered species, sustainable grazing, sustainable spatial planning of windfarms and other infrastructures, climate-biodiversity policy, or human-large carnivore conflict mitigation, to name few of them… Yes, the field of action is broad and still growing, responding to the new challenges emerging… However, all research activities have a common basis: they are in line with conservation biology principles and tend to have an applied character.

Keywords: applied ecology; biodiversity; climate change; community ecology; conflict mitigation; conservation; species ecology; endangered species; environmental policy; indicators; landscape ecology; monitoring; protected areas; reserve design; road ecology; social surveys; spatial planning of RES (Renewable Energy Resources); sustainability (SDGs), wildlife management.

Biodiversity conservation is our main expertise. Our biological research field is broad, and our taxonomic expertise covers πεταλούδων, ορθοπτέρων, Odonata, herpetofauna, birds (passerines, raptors, other birds) and mammals (bats, chamois, wolf), often combining different taxa into compound multi-taxa της βιοποικιλότητας, research. The biodiversity projects menu includes, therefore, the above six subcategories, after the taxa studied.

Sustainable development is the second broad field. We work for the preservation of roadless areas and we promote wilderness culture. We also work on win-win solutions for sustainable spatial planning of windfarms minimizing land and biodiversity impacts without undermining climate goals linked to renewable energy sources (RES) development. Sustainable development includes, therefore, two subcategories.

Each project appears under only one category but can be associated with more categories. Selected projects have their own project website to explore further their outputs and impact. For the full inventory of research projects before BCL birth (2017) see the CV of V. Kati (Who we are).