Synthesis Centres and the new societal challenges – bottlenecks and lessons to be learnt. Alison Specht (1), the International Synthesis Consortium (2) (1) CEntre for the Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity (CESAB), Foundation for Research on Biodiversity, France, (2) www.synthesis-consortium.org

1. Synthesis Centres and the new
societal challenges – bo5lenecks
and lessons to be learnt
Alison Specht, FRB-CESAB
and the International Synthesis
Consortium

2. Converging trends

3. Converging trends

4. Converging trends

5. Converging trends

6. Converging trends
We are drowning in information while starving
for wisdom.
—Edward O. Wilson (1998) Consilience: The Unity
of Knowledge

7. Complex problems
Per favour Prof. Janet Davies, QUT
Davies et al. (2015) Sci Tot Env. 534: 85-96

8. Complex problems
Per favour Prof. Janet Davies, QUT
Davies et al. (2015) Sci Tot Env. 534: 85-96

9. Eyes (cataracts, etc.)
Skin damage/cancer
Land cover
(forest, etc)
Changes in ecology/numbers of host
species, vectors (mosquitoes, etc.)
Infectious
disease risks
Food yields:
nutrition
and health
Human
predation
Stratospheric
ozone depletion
Poverty, crowding, hygiene;
physical hazards; infectious
disease risks
Avian ‘flu,
Nipah virus,
BSE, etc.
Land use: soils
Water supply
• glaciers
• river flows
• chemistry
Immune suppression
Immune function:
susceptibility
Food production:
systems/methods
Oceans:
• Algal blooms
Climate
change
Impacts on Marine food web
Urbanisation:
popn size/density,
consumerism,
energy use, etc.
Impacts on urban coastal populations, esp.
e.g. pollination
Biodiversity
changes, &
ecosystem
disruption
• Warming
• Acidity (CO2)
Direct
impacts
Thermal stress: death, disease events, trauma
Storms, cyclones, floods, fires
Sea-level rise: physical hazards, food, displacement

10. Eyes (cataracts, etc.)
Skin damage/cancer
Land cover
(forest, etc)
Changes in ecology/numbers of host
species, vectors (mosquitoes, etc.)
Infectious
disease risks
Food yields:
nutrition
and health
Human
predation
Stratospheric
ozone depletion
Poverty, crowding, hygiene;
physical hazards; infectious
disease risks
Avian ‘flu,
Nipah virus,
BSE, etc.
Land use: soils
Water supply
• glaciers
• river flows
• chemistry
Immune suppression
Immune function:
susceptibility
Food production:
systems/methods
Oceans:
• Algal blooms
Climate
change
Impacts on Marine food web
Urbanisation:
popn size/density,
consumerism,
energy use, etc.
Impacts on urban coastal populations, esp.
e.g. pollination
Biodiversity
changes, &
ecosystem
disruption
• Warming
• Acidity (CO2)
Direct
impacts
Thermal stress: death, disease events, trauma
Storms, cyclones, floods, fires
Sea-level rise: physical hazards, food, displacement
It is no longer supportable to
work in disciplinary isola5on
(from McMichael, 2014)

11. This talk
The new challenges
Bo5lenecks to effec>veness
Solu5ons
Lessons to be learnt

12. BoElenecks to effec5veness
Ability to manage data
Collabora5on
Tradi5on

13. BoElenecks to effec5veness
Ability to manage data
Collabora5on
Tradi5on

14. BoElenecks to effec5veness
Ability to manage data
Collabora5on
Tradi5on
challenges

15. BoElenecks to effec5veness
Ability to manage data
Collabora5on
Tradi5on
challenges
some collaborate, most don’t…

17. This talk
The new challenges
BoElenecks to effec5veness
Solu>ons
Lessons to be learnt

18. Synthesis centres
By supporting groups of people to utilise existing
data in a collaborative, supported, environment

19. Synthesis centres
By supporting groups of people to utilise existing
data in a collaborative, supported, environment
synthesis centres catalyze the collision of
disciplines and ideas to promote convergence

28. The data workflow

29. The data workflow

30. The data workflow

31. The data workflow

32. The data workflow

34. Others are advoca5ng what we are doing…
(from Sutherland & Burgman 2015, Nature)

35. h5p://synthesis-consor>um.org

36. This talk
The new challenges
BoElenecks to effec5veness
Solu5ons
Lessons to be learnt

37. Lessons learnt
Synthesis centres are very effec5ve but their
interven5on is hard to prove
Data repositories need a synthesis centre
Without synthesis centres most long-tail data will be
lost: with synthesis centres some can be saved

38. Lessons learnt
Synthesis centres are very effec5ve but their
interven5on is hard to prove
Data repositories need a synthesis centre
Without synthesis centres most long-tail data will be
lost: with synthesis centres some can be saved

39. Lessons learnt
Synthesis centres are very effec5ve but their
interven5on is hard to prove
Data repositories need a synthesis centre
Without synthesis centres most long-tail data will be
lost: with synthesis centres some can be saved

40. Lessons learnt
Synthesis centres are very effec5ve but their
interven5on is hard to prove
Data repositories need a synthesis centre
Without synthesis centres most long-tail data will be
lost: with synthesis centres some can be saved
The focus and collabora5on across disciplinary space
to answer today’s challenges does not happen
automa5cally.

43. We are drowning in information while starving
for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by
synthesizers, people able to put together the right
information at the right time, think critically about
it, and make important choices wisely.
—Edward O. Wilson (1998) Consilience: The Unity of
Knowledge

44. We are drowning in information while starving
for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by
synthesizers, people able to put together the right
information at the right time, think critically about
it, and make important choices wisely.
—Edward O. Wilson (1998) Consilience: The Unity of
Knowledge
thankyou