Written with Skúli Skúlason and Rannveig Magnúsdóttir.

BIODICE proudly supports Ice Fish Research

We at BIODICE are a network of universities, institutions, individuals and companies in Iceland. The network started in 2020 with the goal to talk to people about what biodiversity is, why it is so important and what we can do to help protect nature. Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, which includes all living things like animals and plants but also mushrooms and bacteria. We need to protect diversity at all stages, including the variation found within species. But just protecting the living things is not enough. We need to protect their habitats and all their characteristics. So, another goal of ours is to help protect entire ecosystems, like a lake with all the living things in it. To do so we encourage research and education as well as helping people in power to make guidelines to protect the biodiversity in Iceland. That is why we at BIODICE are excited to support Ice Fish Research, where studies and the works of scientists are shared with the public in an inspiring way. 

From top left to bottom right: Ole Sandberg, Ragnhildur Guðmundsdóttir, Rannveig Magnúsdóttir, Skúli Skúlason, Sæunn Júlía Sigurjónsdóttir

On April 23, 2024, BIODICE organised a full-day workshop on biodiversity in Iceland. The workshop took place at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute in Iceland and the aim was to find out if and in which ways biodiversity is included in Icelandic policy. The topic is related to the project The Nordic Biodiversity Framework, in which BIODICE partnered up with Denmark and Finland with a grant from the Nordic Working Group on Biodiversity (of the Nordic Council of Ministers). Our main goal of the project is to find out where these countries stand when it comes to biodiversity in their policy and find ways to reach the targets of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The GBF is an agreement in which countries all over the world come together to work towards living in harmony with nature. This means conserving and restoring nature and making sure it is being used sustainably and in a fair way. In the project Nordic Biodiversity Framework, we are collecting existing knowledge on biodiversity and setting up a network of scientists, experts, policy makers and other stakeholders. By comparing research and policies across the Nordic countries we can collaborate and learn from each other in order  to reach our goals. The results of the project in 2024 will help us to make realistic plans and actions for reaching the GBF targets.