PORTUGAL is included in a geographic region regarded as one of the richest areas in terms of biological diversity at a global level, i.e. a BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT. This fact results from its PRIVILEGED GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, a peninsula that served as refuge for numerous species during the several glacial periods that occurred over the last two million years being, at the same time, largely influenced by the proximity of the African continent. More recently, the landscape transformation caused by the introduction of agriculture resulted in a mosaic of remarkable diversity overlaying a Mediterranean-Atlantic ecological gradient with unique characteristics in the European continent.

InBIO’s STRONG INTERNATIONALIZATION and SOLID GLOBAL IMPACT are achieved by:

sustaining close COLLABORATIONS with high ranking international research institutions; 

offering OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS and researchers to perform parts of their work abroad;

ATTRACTING RESEARCHERS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS from international high ranking institutions;

EXCHANGING SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE by inviting researchers from renowned international institutions to take part in talks, seminars, workshops and joint student classes.

Unfortunately, mirroring what is happening almost all over the world, evident signs of DEGRADATION OF THIS NOTABLE LEGACY become clearer every day, resulting from the destruction of natural habitats, the extinction of emblematic species and the progressive desertification and abandonment of rural areas.

INVERTING THE CURRENT SITUATION through the development of coordinated efforts in the domains of RESEARCH, KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER and SCIENCE DISSEMINATION AND OUTREACH is, therefore, a priority. Achievements at these levels are significant for national and international contexts, by entailing insightful contributions to advance our understanding about biodiversity patterns and the evolutionary history of populations, and to outline the most efficient strategies to preserve biological diversity at local and global scales.

Creating conditions that stimulate INNOVATION and the spread of SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE is an essential component of the research enterprise. In a fast-advancing field like evolutionary biology it is necessary to maintain an international research structure that fosters state-of-the art research and education.

InBIO currently holds successful collaborations with more than 100 researchers from most continents and major research institutions throughout the world. So far, we have been successful in the development of numerous INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS funded by FRAMEWORK PROGRAMMES (FP6 e FP7), the EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL (ERC) and the EUROPEAN SCIENCE FOUNDATION (ESF), among many others. Furthermore, InBIO’s researchers also take part in research projects supported by agencies such as NFS - National Science Foundation, USA, and in biodiversity assessment projects supported by International funds, as for instance “The Millennium Assessment Follow-up” (ICSU, UNESCO and Diversitas), the “Global Biodiversity Outlook‟ (Biodiversity Biological Convention) and the “GEOBON-Geo-Group on Earth Biodiversity Observatories Network‟ (NASA, Diversitas and ESA).

In addition to provide EXCELLENT RESEARCH AND ADVANCED TRAINING conditions at a national level, InBIO’s internationalized environment fosters EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES to continuously strengthen the domains of ADVANCED EDUCATION OF HUMAN RESOURCES and TRAINING OF YOUNG RESEARCHERS.

In the scope of advanced training programmes, there are collaborations with relevant European and North American institutions, such as the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, Max-Planck Institute in Germany, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in France, the universities of Berkeley, Arizona and Montana and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University in the USA.