Linnaeus Lecture Series Booklet #1
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Convention on Biological Diversity Linnaeus Lecture Series Photo courtsey of Colin Purrington/flickr.com Photo courtesy of C. Buddle Photo courtesy of C. Buddle www.cbd.int © 2007 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Preface Linnaeus: The Father of Sustainable Development On 23 May 2007, the world celebrated the 300th an- niversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish scientist who created the science and system used to Students are the best harbinger of the future. When Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy, uniquely classify all living things. To mark this tricen- presented his bid for a professor’s chair at Uppsala University, students did not look kindly tennial anniversary, the Secretariat of the Convention to his competitor. In a riotous gesture, they ripped the competitor’s dissertation into pieces on Biological Diversity, in collaboration with the King- during his defence. Like his students, Linnaeus tore through previous systems of naming dom of Sweden and the United Nations Educational, organisms and bequeathed to the world the most enduring tool for remembering life on Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has earth. launched the Linnaeus Lecture series. In doing so, the As the father of taxonomy, Linnaeus was inspired by the desire to find plants and other Secretariat pays tribute to an historic citizen of Sweden Photo courtesy of CBD organisms of practical utility to Sweden. He strongly believed in “botanical innovation” as for his unique contribution in promoting taxonomy and substitute for military conquest as a way to secure the resources needed for the welfare of advancing the knowledge of nature and at the same time honors Sweden for hosting the the Swedish people. By focusing on botanical innovation, Linnaeus helped to lay the foun- United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 that led to creation of dation for what we today call “sustainable development”. But more importantly, Linnaeus’ the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the host organization of the Conven- most enduring contribution is bringing the best scientific and technological knowledge to tion on Biological Diversity (CBD) and 18 other multilateral environmental agreements. The address sustainability challenges. inaugural Linnaeus lecture took place on Wednesday, 23 May 2007, at the CBD Secre- tariat in Montreal, Canada. Mr. Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Linnaeus proclaimed that “each country produces something especially useful”. But it is Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Mr. Peter Bridgewater, the Secre- only “by the help of reason man tames the fiercest animals, pursues and catches the swift- tary-General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and Mr. Frederik Alfer, the Second est, nay he is able to reach even those, which lye hidden in the bottom of the sea.” But Secretary at the Embassy of Sweden in Ottawa were the guest speakers. In line with the drawing our attention to the role of species in human welfare and focusing on self-suf- theme for the 2007 International Day for Biological Diversity, the first lecture, on “What Lin- ficiency, Linnaeus also provided initial ideas that have come to shape our thinking about naeus would have thought of climate change”, focused on the links between climate change sustainable development. and biodiversity. The 300th anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus coincides with the 20th anniversary of the The CBD Linnaeus Lectures will be organized on a regular basis at the margins of major release of Our Common Future, the report of the World Commission on Environment and meetings of the Convention and in particular during the meetings of the Conference of the Development (chaired by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland). There can be no bet- Parties. Eminent personalities will be invited to share their perspectives and visions on ter moment than now to reflect on 300 years of conservation practice and to map a new the challenges to biodiversity and opportunities it provides within the context of achieving vision for the future that brings scientific and technological knowledge to bear on conserva- sustainable development. It is expected that the next CBD Linnaeus Lecture will take place tion. It is the dawn of the age of conservation innovation. at the margins of the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to be held in Bonn, Germany from 19 to 30 May 2008. I also sincerely hope that, in the future, the CBD and Sweden can jointly establish a Linnaeus award to honour scientists who bridge science and Calestous Juma PhD, FRS policy. Professor of the Practice of International Development Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Ahmed Djoghlaf Former Executive Secretary Executive Secretary United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity The Biography of Carl Linnaeus The Legacy of Linnaeus (1707-1778) Carl Linnaeus was a renowned botanist, physician and zoologist and one of the most in- fluential scientists in history. He attempted to describe the natural world in its entirety and l Born 23 May 1707 in the southern Swedish province, of Småland. explore the relationships between groups of organisms and individual species. He is known l Studied medicine in Sweden at Lund University, transferring after a year to Uppsala as “the father of modern taxonomy,” “the father of botany” and has also been called the first University. He finished his medical degree at the University of Harderwijk in the Neth- ecologist. He was the first to define the human being as an animal among other animals, erlands in 1735, and then enrolled in the University of Leiden. naming us Homo sapiens. l During his studies at Uppsala, Linnaeus organized botanical and ethnographical Linnaeus’ most famous contributions to science: expeditions to the largely unexplored Lapland region and to central Sweden. Lin- Popularization of Binomial Nomenclature naeus traveled extensively, undertaking many research trips to England, France and Germany but spent most of his time in Holland, where he was extremely productive Binomial nomenclature is the Latin scientific name of a species that is formed by the com- in publishing many important works. bination of the genus and species name (e.g. Homo sapiens). Although Linnaeus was not the first to use binomial nomenclature, he was the first to use it consistently, and it is now l Although he published over 180 works, one of his most famous is Systema Naturae the scientific standard internationally. (1735-70), which began as an 11-page pamphlet but expanded into a multi-volume work encompassing some 15,000 species. Another famous work is Species Plan- Taxonomic Classification System tarum (1753), where every known species of plant at the time was identified and Linnaeus sought a universal classification of all creation within a hierarchy based on mor- documented. phological characteristics. At the top were three Kingdoms: Animalia for animals, Vegetabi- l Linnaeus returned to Sweden in 1738 where he practiced medicine in Stockholm, lia for plants and Mineralia for minerals. Kingdoms were divided into Classes, Classes into specializing in the treatment of syphilis. Orders, Orders into Genera, which were in turn divided into Species. Although, the clas- sification system used today is based on Linnaean taxonomy, much has been re-classified l Married Sara Elizabeth Moraea in 1739 and had two sons and four daughters. due to new discoveries and scientific progress, especially with the advent of phylogenetic l Appointed chair of medicine at Uppsala University in 1741. In 1742, he exchanged systematics and genomics. his chairmanship to botany and made three more expeditions to various parts of Sweden. l His lectures attracted students from all over the world and he arranged to send many of them on expeditions abroad. l Linnaeus became chief royal physician in 1747. l In 1761 he was ennobled by the King of Sweden and became Carl von Linné. l He retired in 1776 and was permitted to appoint as his successor his son Carl the Younger at the University. l Linnaeus died on 10 January 1778 in Uppsala, after a lengthy period of deteriorat- ing health. He is buried in Uppsala Cathedral. Photo courtesy of C. Buddle Photo courtesy of Micheal Wallace/flickr.com Linnaeus borealis: Linnaeus’ favorite plant and per- Statue of Linnaeus at Woodward Park sonal symbol when he was ennobled. This plant is also in Tulsa, Oklahoma the emblem of Linnaeus’ home province. Linnaeus Lectures Linnaeus Lectures Summary of presentations from the Presentation by Mr. Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the inaugural Linnaeus Lecture United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Climate Change Challenges Remarks by Mr. Fredrik Alfer, Second Secretary, Embassy of Swe- The CBD and the UNFCCC have a long tradition of collaboration. Many linkages between climate den in Ottawa change and biodiversity exist, and experts have Noting that Linnaeus developed the binary sys- been exploring ways to address these linkages tem of nomenclature for classifying animals and and identify synergies. Mr. de Boer focused on plants, and was also a medical doctor, zoolo- elements of the climate change process that are gist and writer, Mr. Alfer said that when reading of interest to the CBD, as well as their directions what Linnaeus wrote in the 1750s, “it becomes in the future. apparent that he was very concerned about the New scientific findings and increase in interest human impact of nature and that today he would in climate change have contributed to putting cli- Photo courtesy of CBD surely be called an environmentalist.” Mr. Alfer mate change at the center of high-level political emphasized that the aim of the tricentennial debates within and outside the UN process, including the UN Security Council, the G8 and celebrations is to “increase interest in science, G8+ 5.