The future challenge is to develop analytic strengths that span the organisation and not just areas of expertise.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance’s Chief Information & Digital Officer, Goutam Datta leveraged technology for enabling all business functions and meeting the digital demands of its employees, partners and customers amid lockdown and enabled new services to prevent any impact on business.

The world's most comprehensive digital biodiversity database has been developed, enabling access to over 177 million records. However, over two-thirds of the records are from just three countries: the USA, Sweden and the UK, and focus on certain groups such as birds. Changes in policy and funding could help widen the scope of the data.

A new global study on the economics of ecosystem services and biodiversity loss suggests that governments can achieve more resilient economies and receive higher rates of return on their public investment strategies when they recognise and target the value of ecosystem services.

New research in Estonia indicates that plant biodiversity in field boundaries varies with features, such as ditches, trees and nearby roads. It suggests that, in addition to common non-weedy plants, more consideration should be given to rare weeds by broadening of field boundaries and reducing the use of agrochemicals and fertilisers near these boundaries.

Establishing ecological networks across national boundaries is recognised as essential to supporting biodiversity. New research in Germany has indicated that these networks could be improved through greater exchange of knowledge and better links with land planning.

New research has updated a major report on the monetary value of biodiversity. The second EU-funded Cost of Policy Inaction (COPI II) report has expanded the existing valuation database to include more regions, more ecosystems and more information on the services they provide and their economic values. The new data could be used to calculate a more accurate figure for the global value of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Old mining sites, such as quarries or pits, could provide refuges for endangered species, according to new research from the Czech Republic. Benefits are greater if the sites are allowed to recover naturally rather than being artificially restored with the use of topsoil, ground-levelling and seed planting.

The urbanisation of coastal areas and introduction of man-made structures, such as jetties and seawalls, are changing marine environments. A new analysis highlights the impacts of these changes on marine plants and animals and suggests options to manage the detrimental effects.

Recent research has established how forest, wetland and agricultural ecosystems could affect economic growth in Sweden. The findings suggest that regions conventionally considered to be of low economic benefit, are in fact rich in valuable ecosystem resources.

Planting vegetation to protect coasts from natural disasters, such as tsunamis and cyclones, may damage native ecosystems, according to a new study. As there is also questionable evidence on the effectiveness of these 'bioshields', the study suggested a re-think on coastal vegetation policy and research.

A report commissioned by the French Government has calculated reference values for French ecosystems. These range from ???600 per hectare/per year for pastureland to ???2000 per hectare/per year for some types of forest. The methods used to calculate these values were carefully analysed.

It is important to have a single definition of 'ecosystem services', but a single classification scheme for services is not appropriate, according to researchers. There are many contexts in which ecosystem services can be used and the context should help to determine which classification scheme is the most appropriate for decision making.

New Europe-wide maps show the potential of landscapes to provide ecosystem goods and services over the next 20-30 years.

New research indicates that successful integration of conservation into local land-use planning needs a combination of regulatory measures and community values. This could be encouraged by better education on conservation, and greater collaboration between neighbouring geographical areas.

Assessing the environmental condition of sediments and bottom waters of coastal and marine ecosystems over wide geographic areas can be a problem when indicators used to evaluate specific ecological conditions cannot be easily compared. A recent study suggests that a common scale of assessment can be established by experts from different regions using "best professional judgement".

In theory, payment for environmental services (PES) is a market mechanism but, in practice, it depends on intervention from the state or community. This is the conclusion of a new review of case studies that indicates that PES relies on public bodies and communities to act as intermediaries in the trading of services.

A new internet-based tool for tracking the changing boundaries of nature protected areas has been developed for Catalonia, which the researchers say could be used to help evaluate conservation in the Natura 2000 network.

Wealthier, more populated regions of Europe are more likely to have greater numbers of invasive alien species, according to researchers. A new study has indicated that human factors are more influential in encouraging alien invasions than the climate or whether the species are introduced to an island or a mainland region.

New research has found a consensus amongst experts on which environmentally friendly agricultural practices are most effective at protecting four endangered birds in Spain. Experts agreed that maintaining fallow land, preventing the use of agrochemicals and stopping agricultural practices that disrupted nesting were the most valuable measures.

Grassland bird species of European conservation concern are potentially threatened by changes in land use in the Iberian cereal-steppes. However, a recent study suggests not all bird species respond in the same way to similar management guidelines and agri-environmental schemes need to be adjusted to local conditions.

A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report analyses approaches to estimating the value of ecosystem services on a large scale. The report provides suggestions for combining and scaling up data from individual, local studies to generate European or global valuations of ecosystems.

A recent study has developed a mapping system to show the impact on habitats and species caused by construction projects, such as dams, near Natura 2000 conservation areas. Using a Greek case study, the system was able to identify risks from a dam construction project to species including otters, toads and tortoises.

Mosses are an important but sometimes overlooked group of plants, which play a significant role in cycling in carbon and nitrogen between the land and the air. A new study proposes that scientists could use mosses as a model to investigate the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity and nature.

A recent study has developed a method of diagnosing the environmental condition of wildlife habitats in forest areas. This allows biodiversity conservation to be integrated into the planning and management of the European-wide Natura 2000 nature protection areas.

Indications suggest global biodiversity mostly continues to decline, confirming that the goal of halting the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010 has not been met, according to a recent study. Pressures on biodiversity are increasing despite increasing policy and management responses. However, with greater resources and political will, the researchers argue that the loss of biodiversity could be halted or even reversed.

National lists of threatened species contribute to the monitoring of biodiversity, but new research has discovered a lack of these lists in certain countries, such as Pacific Island states, and for certain groups of wildlife, such as invertebrates. Targeted financial support, better knowledge sharing and standard systems of data collection could help bridge these gaps.

A study of how the Natura 2000 network was implemented in the Netherlands and in Italy has been conducted. From this analysis, recommendations have been made to help other EU Member States implement and manage the network, which include providing local authorities with better information on and understanding of Natura 2000 and how to balance ecological, social and economic needs.

Although the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services has been recognised, it is still not fully integrated into policy-making. A new report has developed an action plan that recommends that governments create a 'Natural Capital' minister in the Finance Ministry, develop a set of Natural Capital Accounts and form an inter-departmental committee to oversee programmes in this area.

Restoring ecosystems in estuaries and along coasts is an important part of European environmental policy. A new analysis of degraded ecosystems has indicated that, although some restoration can take less than five years, when there has been a century of degradation, it can take a minimum of 15-25 years.

Solar panels are attractive to aquatic insects because they reflect light in a similar way to water, indicates recent research. This has ecological implications, especially if insects lay eggs on the panels. However, if panels are surrounded by white borders and divided by white grids, they are considerably less attractive to the insects.

Social and economic aspects should be considered alongside environmental issues when valuing benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity. A recently published study outlines the use of multi-criteria assessment methods for valuation that simultaneously take into account a wide variety of economic, social and environmental decision criteria.

Past economic activity is more likely to explain the current pattern of biological invasions across Europe than recent human activities, according to a new study. It can take several decades before a newly introduced species becomes established and spreads, which may mean that recent invasions caused by current economic activities could create an 'invasion debt' for future generations.

A recent study has examined the effects of different farming practices on bird numbers and species found on farmland during the winter in six European countries. Overall, the greatest number of birds and species were on organic farms, especially when the farms were in landscapes where 80-99 per cent of the land was used for agriculture.

A recent analysis highlights the difference between the academic concept and the practical concept of ecosystem services. It suggests that academic science aims to discover and apply general and timeless concepts to measure ecosystem services, whereas in practice, stakeholders' valuations of ecosystem services vary with place and time.

Researchers have demonstrated how the ERICA Integrated Approach can be used to assess the effect of releasing radiation into the environment on local wildlife in a real-world situation. The study applied ERICA to a river in Norway and found that local wildlife was only exposed to low levels of radioactivity from the routine aquatic discharges of a nearby research reactor, although historical exposure was higher.

Climate change will cause widespread biodiversity loss in Europe, but is unlikely to wipe out entire groups of closely related species, according to a new study. The researchers made their predictions using cutting edge modelling techniques to assess the impact of climate change on the "tree of life".

Conservation efforts should focus on species that have recently declined in number, are harmless or are perceived as high value, according to a European public survey. Participants also felt that disappearing habitats should be targeted for protection. The results suggest that, by choosing different criteria that more closely match the public's values and criteria, conservationists could improve public support for their work.

Urban planning policy has had a powerful influence on the amount of green space in cities, according to a recent UK study. It found that a change in planning policy in 2000 led to a decline in urban green space in nine cities between 2001 and 2006, although the amount of green space in all but one of the cities studied has increased overall since 1991.

A review of a decade of environmental citizen science ??? where the general public are involved in science as researchers ??? concludes that its benefits to science and society far outweigh concerns over data quality. Challenges can be overcome through volunteer training and should not be used to devalue citizen science programmes, say the researchers.

There is a need for conservation strategies to consider the changing factors that threaten endangered species, such as climate change. Focusing on the European otter, new research has indicated that climate change will change this important freshwater species' distribution, which may mean that existing conservation areas no longer offer protection.

Conservation researchers have warned against acting on the findings of a previous study that argued for the eradication of several invasive birds, including the Canada goose and sacred ibis, in Europe. They suggest the results are based on anecdotal rather than scientific evidence, and that detailed feasibility studies are needed before such management decisions are made.

Crop pollination is a vital ecosystem service, yet the numbers of animal pollinator species, such as bees, are in decline. Now, a team of German and American researchers have demonstrated how crops that provide the highest levels of vitamins and minerals essential to our diet globally depend heavily on animals for pollination.

A new study suggests that improving the quality of existing wildlife habitat is more important than creating new habitat, when attempting to counteract the negative effects of climate change on species survival. This suggests that resources would be better directed towards habitat rehabilitation and reforestation than building new habitat features.

A new study has identified several differences between two major European databases on alien species, which could be communicating mixed messages for biodiversity policymakers. Researchers recommend creating a single pan-European database to address these differences.

Preserving species and the ecosystems in which they live is highly important to the progress of biomedical research. This is the conclusion made by researchers in an analysis of biodiversity's significance, which highlights the role of animals and microbes in improving our understanding of genetics, the regeneration of tissues and organs, and immunity.

Gardens are good for biodiversity, according to a study of intensively managed farmland in Sweden. The study has found that abundance and species richness of pollinating bees is higher near domestic gardens, with the pollination of a native plant also greater at these sites. Domestic gardens play a role in complementing 'natural' habitats for pollinators in impoverished environments.

Researchers argue that of the five mechanisms available for ensuring the provision of ecosystem services ??? prescription, penalties, persuasion, property rights and payments ??? only payments are likely to be effective at the global level. However, while a number of international Payments for Ecosystem Services (IPES) schemes exist, their impact on ecosystem services remains negligible.

An international group of researchers has proposed a new way of describing payments for environmental services (PES). The new definition supplies a framework, incorporating the social aspects of PES, which can be used by practitioners, such as governments, to design and implement a variety of PES schemes.

High Nature Value (HNV) farmland is agricultural land that supports biodiversity and can be identified by its environmentally sound farming practices. New research on bird biodiversity on French HNV farmland has concluded that conservation of HNV farmland is important as well as conserving areas that were previously HNV and have undergone recent agricultural intensification.