Currently, there is no academic knowledge centre in The Netherlands specialized in population biology, population genetics and reproductive biology – all essential components of population viability analyses. Application of these disciplines to the control of non-native species is also rare.
The department comprises all expertise that is required to understand the role of genetic diversity (see personal web page Patrick Meirmans) in conservation of endangered species (see personal web page Gerard Oostermeijer), through both fundamental and applied research. A model knowledge centre already exists in the Foundation Science4Nature, which has built a track record in applied species recovery and genetic rescue projects, and an extensive network in conservation practice. A new target for this centre will be wildlife forensics (see personal web page Serge Wich).