German Council of Science and Humanities: Positive Letter of Notification about the Merger with the ZFMK

3 February 2020

Photo: UHH, RRZ/MCC, Mentz

In mid 2018, the Leibniz Association senate welcomed the strengthening of the natural history research museum and emphasized its importance.

The German Council of Science and Humanities approves the merger between the Center of Natural History (CeNak) and the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig—Leibniz Institute for Animal Biodiversity (ZFMK). The final decision by the Joint Science Conference is scheduled for spring 2020.

The ZFMK and the Center of Natural History (CeNak) at Universität Hamburg have taken the next step toward creating a Leibniz institute for the analysis of changes in biodiversity, with offices in Bonn and Hamburg. In a public statement, the German Council of Science and Humanities responded positively to this concept and recommended its implementation.

The final decision about creating such a Leibniz institute will be made in spring 2020 at the Joint Science Conference of the federal government and German states. Better understanding the causes and mechanisms underlying changes in biodiversity is one of the greatest social challenges of the twenty-first century.

New possibilities for researching changes in biodiversity and knowledge transfer

In June 2018, the Leibniz Association’s senate took a stand on the great social and scientific significance of natural history museums and welcomed their strengthening. The positive response on the part of the German Council of Science and Humanities now marks another important milestone.

“If this strategic expansion succeeds, there will be completely new possibilities for researching changes in biodiversity and knowledge transfer on both the national and international levels,” said Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof, the acting director of the ZFMK.

Next step toward an Evolutioneum

“It is with great anticipation that we are now awaiting the final milestone—the decision by the Joint Science Conference of the federal government and states,” said Prof. Dr. Matthias Glaubrecht, CeNak’s scientific director, about the most recent developments. “The positive vote takes us a crucial step further toward an Evolutioneum, a new kind of natural history research museum for Hamburg. The Evolutioneum, a window into science in Hamburg and beyond, is designed to make the ever-increasing impact human beings have on Earth literally tangible.” CeNak researchers are already analyzing the connections between biodiversity and ecosystems.

Incorporating all groups into the social transformation process

The institutional expansion would significantly strengthen biodiversity research in Germany. It would lead to the establishment of new research areas and create infrastructure to improve research on time periods and processes of change in biodiversity. It is precisely within the context of a museum that society’s diverse groups can become part of the urgently needed social transformation process. The ZFMK and CeNak thus look forward to the further development of the process and 2020 with optimism.

See the press release of the German Council of Science and Humanities:
https://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/download/2020/8264-20.pdf