June 30 - July 4, 2003 - An international team of biodiversity experts converged at UNEP's World Conservation Monitoring Center in Cambridge, UK for a workshop on Biodiversity Indicators for National Use (BINU). Ukraine was represented by Dr. Vasyl Prydatko and David Schaub of ULRMC and by Academician Oleksiy Sozinov of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Other participants came from Ecuador, the Philippines, Kenya, the Netherlands, France, Canada and USA.

The BINU project began in July 2002 and will run through 2004. The purposes of this workshop were to review the status of each country's progress in the BINU project, to improve communication among participants, to select indicators to answer key questions, and to plan the next steps. During the workshop, Dr. Prydatko gave a presentation on Ukraine's progress, key questions, proposed indicators, and data collection. Academician Sozinov spoke on genetic issues related to maintaining agricultural biodiversity. Data contributed by Ukraine's external experts on the project were used in training exercises for calculating biodiversity indices and analyzing pressures at the species level. Attendees were also treated to a tour of nearby Wicken Fen, the oldest nature preserve in England.

For more information on the BINU project, see ULRMC's Client Service.