U.S. National Committee for Diversitas

美国国家科学院是DIVERSITAS的美国会员，DIVERSITAS是一个生物多样性科学的国际项目，将世界各地的生物学家、生态学家和社会科学家联系在一起，支持生物多样性的可持续利用。该项目将支持美国国家多样性委员会的活动，该委员会由一群杰出的科学家组成，他们在国内和国际上致力于提高人们对生物多样性问题的认识。美国全国委员会（USNC）由芝加哥大学的Peter Crane教授担任主席，负责制定和执行一个强有力的DIVERSITAS研究项目。2009年初，USNC将在华盛顿特区监督组织一次国家科学院生物多样性科学研讨会，重点讨论有关生物多样性和生态系统服务的三个关键科学和政策辩论：气候变化和能源、贸易和入侵物种以及粮食安全。这是为了纪念查尔斯·达尔文诞辰200周年，届时媒体将对生物多样性产生广泛的兴趣。在规划研讨会的同时，联合全国委员会将监督一份报告的编写和传播，其中包括关于这三个问题的政策简报。研讨会结束后，USNC的重点将转移到促进和组织美国参加定于2009年10月16日至19日在南非举行的DIVERSITAS开放科学会议（OSC）。生物多样性在支持人类福祉方面的关键作用为从农业生产力和生物医学科学到能源生产、淡水供应和人类发展模式的大量科学调查和公共政策问题提供了一条共同线索。对生物系统的理解？从有机体到生态系统？在全球发展和气候变化的时代，人类文化如何依赖它们对国家和世界至关重要。DIVERSITAS提供了一个重要的机制，将致力于这些问题的不同国际科学和政策团体聚集在一起，而DIVERSITAS的USNC确保美国既彻底参与DIVERSITAS的工作，又从其活动中获得的知识中获得最大的利益。

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences holds the United States membership in DIVERSITAS, an international program of biodiversity science that links biologists, ecologists and social scientists from around the world in support of sustainable use of biodiversity. This project will support activities of the U.S. National Committee for DIVERSITAS, which comprises a group of distinguished scientists that works nationally and internationally to raise awareness of biodiversity issues. The U.S. National Committee (USNC), chaired by Professor Peter Crane of the University of Chicago, contributes to the formulation and execution of a strong DIVERSITAS research program. In early 2009, the USNC will oversee the organization of a National Academies Symposium on Biodiversity Science in Washington, D.C., focusing on three critical scientific and policy debates concerning biodiversity and ecosystem services: climate change and energy, trade and invasive species, and food security. It is timed to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin, when there will be broad media interest in biological diversity. In parallel with the planning for the symposium, the USNC will oversee the preparation and dissemination of a report including policy briefs on each of these three issues. After the Symposium, the USNC focus will shift to promoting and organizing U.S. participation in the DIVERSITAS Open Science Conference (OSC) in South Africa, scheduled for October 16-19, 2009. The crucial role of biodiversity in supporting human well-being provides a common thread to a vast array of scientific investigations and public policy issues, from agricultural productivity and biomedical sciences to energy production, freshwater availability, and human development patterns. Understanding of biological systems ? from organisms to ecosystems ? and how human cultures depend on them are of critical importance to the nation and the world in a time of global development and changing climate. DIVERSITAS provides a crucial mechanism for bringing together the diverse international scientific and policy communities working on these issues, and the USNC for DIVERSITAS ensures that the U.S. is both thoroughly engaged in the work of DIVERSITAS, and receives maximum benefit from the knowledge gained through its activities.