The QCBS trains highly qualified personnel, experienced in the field of biodiversity science. These individuals will be competitive for a wide range of positions in the environmental sectors, both in education, genomics, ecosystem and ecosystem management, and as a consultant. The Quebec Science and Innovation Policy places great importance on training the future generation of researchers, and the QCBS intends to play a leading role in training biodiversity science researchers and ecosystem managers. for decades to come. QCBS members currently supervise over 500 graduate students. The necessary training capacity is therefore already well established, and will only increase with the new member-researchers and their cohort of students. Multiple approaches will be undertaken by the QCBS to promote the training of the next generation. Diversity of life on Earth, including the variety of genes, species and ecosystems, is an irreplaceable natural heritage crucial to human well-being and sustainable development. Over the last century, human exploitations of habitat and resources have influenced Earth’s natural ecosystems, eliminating genes, species, and biological traits at faster rates than observed in the fossil record. In fact, indicators such as the Living Planet Index suggest that global extinction rates will be 10 times greater by the middle of the century. In this context, biodiversity science has emerged and has  relatively little time to provide solutions to these environmental changes. To develop the nascent network of biodiversity researches in the province we have established the Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS).

The QCBS groups more than 110 researchers working at the forefront of the field both nationally and internationally, and represents a partnership between 13 universities and 5 collaborating organizations : McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, Université du Québec à Montréal, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Concordia University, Université Laval, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, TÉLUQ, Bishop’s University, INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Dawson College, Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs, Agriculture et agroalimentaire Canada ainsi que de l’Espace pour la Vie. The QCBS pools the available state-of-the-art infrastructure and field stations of these institutions and so facilitates access to all members (researchers and students alike). This integration of common pool resources will favor the multi-scale and multidisciplinary research required to generate biodiversity knowledge relevant to the region. 

The QCBS trains highly qualified personnel, experienced in the field of biodiversity science. These individuals will be competitive for a wide range of positions in the environmental sectors, both in education, genomics, ecosystem and ecosystem management, and as a consultant. The Québec’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan places great importance on training the future generation of researchers, and the QCBS intends to play a leading role in training biodiversity science researchers and ecosystem managers. for decades to come. QCBS members currently supervise over 400 graduate students. The necessary training capacity is therefore already well established, and will only increase with the new member-researchers and their cohort of students. Multiple approaches will be undertaken by the QCBS to promote the training of the next generation.

The QCBS has forged strong and highly productive collaborations with two Québec government ministries (Ministry of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests), the consortium Ouranos,  the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal (SCBD), Future Earth and the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The aim is to foster science and transfer of knowledge vital to the implementation of policy on climate change and biodiversity loss mitigation strategies. Examples include new research projects of biodiversity sampling, impacts on ecosystem services, and the creation of climate-proof networks of ecological habitat. The QCBS is contributing to place Québec as a national and international leader in biodiversity research and policy area. Biodiversity science has never been stronger in Québec.