Cave Animal of the Year 2025: Tissue moth (Triphosa dubitata). Photo: Klaus Bogon
Green Zone Side Event
University Consortium Pavillion
Tuesday, October 27, 3:15 pm
Embedded Files
The Hidden half of Nature:
Why Karst Connectivity is Vital for the Global Biodiversity Framework
Session Objectives
Policy integration — Embed karst and subterranean ecosystems into NBSAPs and KMGBF implementation.
Capacity & tools — Share mapping, monitoring, and legal instruments for subsurface conservation.
While global conservation strategies traditionally focus on surface landscapes, the critical role of subterranean networks remains largely overlooked. Karst environments—characterized by caves, underground rivers, and highly fractured limestone—cover roughly 20% of the Earth's ice-free land surface. They harbor exceptional levels of endemic biodiversity and provide crucial freshwater aquifers for hundreds of millions of people.
This panel session bridges the gap between surface policy and underground reality. By explicitly connecting karst geoecosystems to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), the session demonstrates how subsurface conservation is essential to meeting Targets 1 (Spatial Planning), 2 (Restoration), 3 (30x30 Protected Areas & OECMs), 4 (Species Recovery), and 11 (Nature's Contributions to People). Bringing together leading cave and karst experts and subterranean ecosystems policy advocates, the event showcases innovative mapping and monitoring tools, cave and karst protection models, and legal frameworks necessary to integrate subterranean ecological corridors into national biodiversity strategies (NBSAPs).
Presentations
Vulnerable Hidden Subterranean Ecosystems
Jozef Grego
Email
Organization : Member of the IUCN SSC Mollusc Specialist Group
Position: SubBioLab, Universität Ljubljana
Country: Slovakia
Social Media Link
Member of:
SubBioLab, Deparment of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, Ljubljana University
ADIPA -Society for Research and Conservation of Croatian Natural Diversity
KRAC - Karstologie & Recherches Asie Centrale
Journal of Subterranean Biology- Subject editor for Subterranean Mollusca
The Proteus Project in Bosnia Hercegovina
Croatian Biospeleogical Society
Slovak Speleological Society
Hugarian Malacological Society
The Role of Cave Systems for Transforming the Idea of Ecological Connectivity
Rafael Calderón-Contreras
Organization: IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel
Position: Co-Chair
Country: Mexico
Short bio
Rafael Calderón-Contreras is a geographer and sustainability scientist specializing in social-ecological systems, resilience, biodiversity governance, and transformative change. He is a full-time professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico, a researcher at the Anthropocene Laboratory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Co-Chair of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel of IPBES. His work connects academic research, international science-policy processes, and transdisciplinary collaboration, with particular attention to Indigenous and local knowledge, environmental governance, socio-ecological transformations, and the role of hope, agency, and collective action in addressing global environmental change. He has led and coordinated research networks across Latin America and contributed as a Coordinating Lead Author to the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment.
Underground Advocacy: Caves and Karst on the UN Stage
Bärbel Vogel
Organizations:
Position: - Co-Chair
IUCN/WCPA Caves and Karst Specialist Group
- President, German Speleological Federation
- President, UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission
- NGO Major Group Contact Point for Karst Ecosystems
Country: Germany
Short Bio
Over 30 years I am an engaged speleologist with a special focus on cave and karst protection and policy. Since this year I serve as Co-Chair for the IUCN/WCPA Caves & Karst Specialist Group. I am president of the German Speleological Federation VdHK for 20 years now. In VdHK we invented the Cave Animal of the Year Campaign and the CaveLife App. In order to follow and participate in international debates, the VdHK is accredited with ECOSOC and UNEP. I am engaged in the European Cave Protection Commission ECPC and since 2025 President of the Karst and Cave Protection Commission KCPC of the International Union of Speleology UIS.
Subterranean Biodiversity & EU Cave Conservation Status
Ferdinando Didonna
Organization: European Cave Protection Commission
Position: Secretary
Country: Italy
Short Bio
Having graduated in forestry sciences in Bari, Italy in 1998, today I work in cooperation with Latin America countries as a consultant for a European technical assistance company in the fields of rural and social development, economics, and environment. In 2002, I specialized in rural development with a Master's degree from UNED in Costa Rica, and then in micro-finance in 2009 from ULB Belgium.
Caving Clubs/Organizations: Honorary member of Gruppo Puglia Grotte (GPG), full member and past member of the Board of the Italian Speleological Society (SSI), member of Grupo Espeleologico Anthros (GEA) of Costa Rica, and member of the National Speleological Society NSS in the USA.
Tackling the absence of caves and karst from our national action plans -
A speleologist’s guide to advocate for policy and public support.
Ana K. Celis
Organizations:
- Director, Karst Lab México
- Co-chair, VdHK Working Group on International Governance
- Secretary, UIS Cave Biology Commission
- Member of the IUCN/WCPA Caves & Karst Specialist Group
Country: Mexico
Short Bio
Since 2026 Member of the IUCN/WCPA Caves and Karst Specialist Group
Since 2025 Co-Chair of the Working Group on International Governance of the German Speleological Federation
Since 2025 Secretary of the Biology Commission of the International Union of Speleology (UIS)
Since 2025 Member of the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission
2024 – 2025 Fulbright Scholar – Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program
Since 2022 Director and Founder of Karst Lab México
Moderator
Veronika Vogel
Organization:
Member of the German Speleological Federation VdHK
Country: Germany
Short Bio
United World College Dilijan Armenia, International Baccalaureate
Cornell University ’21 B.Sc. International Agriculture and Rural Development
Hertie School of Governance ‘24 Master of Public Policy
Municipality of Sylt - Administrative Officer for the Environment and Nature Conservation
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