The rapid loss of biodiversity is driven by multiple interacting factors, including climate change, habitat loss and pollution. While chemical pollution is recognised as a direct driver, its role in biodiversity loss is not well understood. For example, only about 5% of scientific articles on biodiversity loss consider chemical pollution. At the same time, the production and use of chemicals continue to grow, highlighting the need for improved approaches to understand and mitigate their effects on ecosystems.
This workshop will bring together policymakers, regulators and researchers to explore how new scientific tools and approaches can reduce potential biodiversity loss due to chemical pollution. Discussions will examine how advances in biotechnology, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence can help expand the biological scope of chemical risk assessments and improve the prediction of chemical effects across diverse species. It will also help identify priorities for future OECD work in this area.
