XXVI ANNUAL BIOECON CONFERENCE

 The Scientific Partners of BIOECON are pleased to announce the Twenty-sixth International BIOECON Conference on the theme of “Integrating biodiversity conservation and climate change solutions”. The Conference will be held at St. John’s College, Cambridge between the 1st and 2nd of September 2025. BIOECON XXVI will be of interest to both researchers and policymakers working on issues associated with issues at the interface of economic development, conservation and population pressures.

Our keynote speakers will be Professor Anne-Sophie Crepin (Deputy Director, The Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics) and Professor Cameron Hepburn (Battcock Professor of Environmental Economics, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford). In addition to the conference theme, BIOECON XXVI aims to have parallel sessions on a broad range of topics within the umbrella of biodiversity economics including: the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services in economic development, plant genetic resources and food security issues, deforestation and development, fisheries, institutions and instruments (e.g. Payments for Ecosystem Services), biodiversity finance, development and conservation, wildlife conservation and endangered species, international trade and regulation and climate change. For a flavour of previous conferences go to this link:

http://www.bioecon-network.org/pages/events-01.html

In particular, submissions are invited on the themes of:

• • Instruments for conservation in the context of land-use and biodiversity

  • Innovative financial mechanisms for conservation

  • Evaluation of biodiversity-related policies and programmes

  • The use of spatial data to study impacts on biodiversity and conservation programmes

  • The conservation and value of crop genetic diversity

  • Institutional frameworks for resource conservation (property rights, market instruments etc.)

  • The role of behavioural economics in biodiversity conservation policy design

  • Experimental (lab and field) approaches to biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation

  • Institution-building for provision of global public goods

  • Issues of governance and management of natural resources in developing countries

  • Development, growth and resource constraints

  • Resources management, distribution, development, poverty alleviation.

  • Experimental or survey research on the households’, investors’, or executives’ biodiversity preferences or beliefs.

BIOECON also has the goal of influencing policy-makers and policy. To this end expert policy panels will be organised. The purpose of these panels will be to bring together practitioners (Government, private sector, NGO) and academics from different disciplines to discuss current policy related issues in biodiversity conservation and environment. The panel sessions will be supported by and contribute to the aims and goals of the funding partners. The precise composition of the Policy Panels is to be announced. 

Complete papers may be submitted for presentation within the BIOECON Conference and only complete papers will be considered by the Scientific Programme Committee. Electronic copies should be sent to bioecon@bioecon-network.org no later than Wed. 30th of April 2025. Please include Abstract, JEL Codes and Keywords with your submission. Acceptance of papers will be notified by email by Monday 26th of May 2025. If you wish to be considered for a bursary (details below) please indicate this when you apply. Applying for a bursary will not affect whether your paper is selected (indeed, the paper may be accepted even if we are unable to offer a bursary).

It is also possible to submit 3-4 papers together as a suggested “special session” under a theme similar to those indicated above. The Scientific Partners reserve the right to accept papers on an individual basis, so it is possible that even when a session is not accepted, individual papers within the session might be so. 

Submissions are now closed.

The entire conference will take place within the historic premises of St John's College, Cambridge. The Google Map location address of St John's can be found here. Accommodation (subject to availability) and all meals will be provided in the College. The conference will open with a reception at St John’s College on the evening of Sunday, the 31st of August. Conference sessions will commence on the morning of the 1st of September and conclude on the afternoon of the 2nd of September (by 4.3:00 pm GMT). The conference banquet will take place in the main Dining Hall of St John's College on the evening of the 1st of September. Delegates will also have privileged access to the renowned grounds and Chapel of St John’s (unless closed for building work). 

Exact locations details of the rooms within the College will be provided in this website after registration opens.

The conference will be an entirely an in-person event. Virtual attendance or on-line presentation of one’s paper will not be possible.

Conference Registration and Fees:

Bookings can be made on a dedicated registration poral (click here). Delegates will be able to book additional nights (subject to availability), upgrade to a double room (subject to availability) and pay for additional meals for guests through the same portal.

The conference booking fee for paper-presenters attending the full event will be £300 that includes 2 night’s accommodation (on a B&B basis) on the 31st of August and 1st of September and all social events and meals at St. John’s College for the duration of the conference. Paper presenters will also have the option of attending the event as day participants (not requiring overnight stay) for £100 (with the banquet) or £70 (without banquet). Paper presenters will be notified to register using a special code that will be provided to them.

There will also be the option to attend the entire event as a non-paper presenter (pending availability) for a fee of £460 (includes 2 nights’ accommodation at St John's, social events and meals) or as a non-paper day participant for £150 (with banquet) or £110/day (without banquet). 

There will be a limited number of bursaries made available which will allow some presenters to attend free of charge. This covers the conference booking fee only and will not cover travel costs to attend the conference. These will be directed towards PhD students and early career researchers, and particularly those who are based at institutions in the Global South. Bursaries will be announced directly to the recipients of these awards.

The conference will be an entirely an in-person event. Virtual attendance/or on-line presentation of one’s paper will not be possible.

Booking dates: 

Registration will open on Monday 2nd of June 2025. Due to limited capacity, registration with accommodation in St John's will initially open only for paper presenters till the 23rd of June. Non-paper presenters may still be able to register as day participants, but they will have to book accommodation outside St John's (details provided in the Accommodation Section below). Paper presenters are expected to register by that date (23rd of June). If not, we may have to re-allocate their paper slot to another paper from our reserve list.  From the 23rd of June non-paper presenters who have 'not' already registered as day participants will also be able to register with accommodation in St. John's (subject to room availability). 

Registration for all conference attendees, and presenters is due by Thursday 10h of July 2025. 

Cancellation and refunds:

Cancelations and refunds can be arranged only if notified by the 4th of August 2025. Please, write to bioecon@bioecon-network.org requesting for a refund of part or of your entire booking. Please specify the reason for the refund, the amount requested to be refunded as well as your booking reference code. Refunds will be processed within 14 days.  No refunds can be provided if requested after the 4th of August 2025.

All other questions regarding fees, registrations and accommodation should be sent to the conference secretariat at bioecon@bioecon-network.org.

Click here to register.

• 30 April 2025: Deadline for submissions.

• 2 June 2025: Notification of papers' acceptance.

• 2 June 2025: Registrations open. Booking accommodation in St John's open initially only to paper presenters. Non-paper presenter can register as day participants and book accommodation outside St John's. 

• 23 June 2025: Deadline for paper presenters to register.

• 23 June 2025: Availability to register with accommodation in St John's for non-paper presenters as well.    

• 10 July 2025: Deadline for all delegates to register. 

• 30 July 2025: Detailed scientific programme to be announced. 

• 4 August: Deadline for cancelations and requests for refunds.

• 31 August- 2 September 2025: XXVI BIOECON.

The main conference proceedings start at 8:45 a.m. on the 1st of Sep. and will end by 4:30 p.m. on the 2nd of Sep. 2025. Hence, if you plan to attend the full event, we advise that you arrive on the 31st of Aug. and depart in the late afternoon on the 2nd of Sep.

For those staying in the College, the conference accommodation will be located within the main site of St John's College. Rooms at St. John's can be booked from the conference registration portal  that will open on the 2nd of June (link will be on the BioEcon page). Initial priority for booking rooms within St John's will be offered to paper presenters (till the 20th of June).  Non-paper presenters may initially register as day participants (and book accommodation elsewhere as advised below) or may choose to wait and register with accommodation in St John's from the 21st of June (pending availability).  See registration section above for details. 

Delegates will be able to book additional nights (subject to availability), upgrade to a double room (subject to availability) and pay for additional meal guests through the same portal. There will only be approx. 5 double rooms available to be booked on a first come, first serve basis. These are twin-rooms and are intended to be used by one conference delegate and their guest (and not by 2 separate conference delegates). 

Keys for rooms booked at the College can be collected from the College Porter’s Lodge (map location can be found here). Keys are also to be returned to the Porter's lodge at checkout.  

Check-in time at St John's College is 2:00 p.m. Late check-in at the College is possible, as keys can be collected from the Porter’s Lodge, which is open 24 hours. Check-out time is at 10:00 a.m., though delegates leaving on the 2nd of Sep. should vacate their rooms by 8:30 a.m. that morning, as the conference proceedings start at 8:45 a.m. Delegates may leave luggage in the conference registration area on the 2nd of Sep. after checkout. Exact details of the locations of accommodation rooms will be provided in the conference website after registration opens.

Additional nights’ accommodation
If you require additional nights’ accommodation at St John's College, you can book these via the online registration booking portal. The costs for additional nights will be at your own expense and is not part of the registration fee. If you have any additional accommodation requirements, please contact us at bioecon@bioecon-network.org. 

There is no guarantee that we can accommodate extra nights at St John's College, as the premises are booked for other events throughout that week. If a room cannot be found, or you prefer to stay outside the College for any extra nights you will be in Cambridge, you can book a room in another College here or a hotel room or B&B using sites such as www.booking.com.

If you require a travel visa to enter the UK and need a letter of invitation, please contact us (at bioecon@bioecon-network.org) as soon as possible.

Reaching Cambridge
 

From Stansted Airport: This is the closest airport to Cambridge. The rail station is beneath the airport. Trains run regularly from Stansted to Cambridge and take less than half an hour. For fares and timetables please see: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/.
There is also a direct coach service from/to Stansted Airport (50 min): http://www.nationalexpress.com/

From Heathrow Airport: Upon arriving at Heathrow Airport there is a direct coach service from the Central Bus Station to the centre of Cambridge. The Central Bus Station is well signed and coach tickets for all services can be purchased from the Travel Centre in the station. If you prefer to pre‐book your ticket, or wish to check timetables or fares, this can be done at www.nationalexpress.com.
Coaches leave Heathrow approximately every 30 minutes and take approximately 2.5 hours to reach Cambridge.
If you prefer to take the train from Heathrow to Cambridge, you need to take the Tube or Heathrow Express into London (between 20–45 min), then head to King’s Cross/St. Pancras Station and take the train to Cambridge (the direct train takes around one hour). For fares and timetables please see: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/.

From Gatwick: The coach takes approx. 4–5 hours (details here: www.nationalexpress.com) while the direct train takes around 2 hours. Details here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

From Luton: The coach takes approx. 1.5 hours (details here: www.nationalexpress.com). To take the train to Cambridge, you will first have to take a train to London and then take another train to Cambridge (around 2 hours in total). Details are here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

From Central London: Trains are available to Cambridge from King’s Cross Station (approximately 1 hour) and Liverpool St Station (1–1.5 hours). See http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ for further details.

By Car: Please note that the College has no parking spaces if you arrive by car. The town car parks are a relatively short distance from the College but do allow extra time for parking since the city is always busy. For details on car parks, see: www.cambridge.gov.uk/parking

Taxi from airports:
Especially if you are travelling in groups, it may be worth looking into sharing a taxi into Cambridge from the airport you will be landing at. Indicative price and booking details from local firms can be found at:
https://www.panthertaxis.co.uk/ 

https://www.airportlynx.co.uk/

 https://www.taxicambridge.co.uk/

https://www.a1cabco.co.uk/

https://camcab.co.uk/

Reaching St John's College once in Cambridge
 

The Google Map location address of St John's can be found here.

Once in Cambridge you can reach St John's College in one of the following ways:

If you arrive at the Cambridge train station, the College is a short taxi ride away (10 min). Taxis can be found outside the station. 

Walking to St John's College from the train station takes approx. 30 min. 

Alternatively, you can take a bus to the city centre to the ‘Drummer Street’ bus stop (approx. 10 minutes) and then walk to St John's College within 10 min. 

If you arrive via bus from Heathrow Airport that leaves you at the Cambridge Parkside Bust Stop in central Cambridge, then St John's College is a short taxi ride away (taxis can normally be found at the bus stop) or alternatively a 20-minute walk.

BIOECON Conference Code of Conduct

This document describes Code of Conduct for all attendees at the 26th Annual BioEcon Conference (St John’s College, Cambridge, 1-2 September 2025). The ‘code’ has been approved by the Conference Scientific Committee. All conference attendees and volunteers or support staff will have agreed to this document prior to attending the event. The ‘code’ does not apply to the College, catering and venue hired staff at St John’s College which adhere to HR guidelines of the University of Cambridge that comply with UK law.

Guiding principles

The Annual BioEcon Conference is intended to be a space that allows its participants to advance their knowledge and networks through respectful, inclusive and equitable treatment of others sharing scientific and practitioner information, knowledge and ideas.

The Annual BioEcon Conference Organising Committee want to promote a positive sense of academic community by asking everyone to:

• Behave professionally

• Treat everyone equally and respectfully

• Listen to others’ views and engage constructively with them

• Set an example

• Be committed to helping each other and to be kind

• Respect the environment and the people around you

We believe that everyone (delegates and Organising Committee) has the right to be in a respectful, safer, and welcoming environment at the conference.

We are dedicated to providing an inclusive conference experience for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, or language, political or other opinion, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, religion or economic class. Discrimination, harassment, bullying and behaviours that are patronising have no place at the conference, or in any professional context, and will not be tolerated.

We require that conference delegates practice:

• No violence

• No harassment

• No discrimination

• No bullying

• No condescending behaviour

These all apply to both online and in-person spaces and to both formal and informal spaces in and around the conference, and to electronic forms of communication as well as personal interactions (physical, verbal and non-verbal). Informal spaces include, for example, coffee and lunch breaks during events, dinners, receptions and other similar settings.

Definitions

Harassment as defined in the UK Equality Act 2010 is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to, offensive verbal or written comments related to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race or religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, grooming and boundary-blurring, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

Bullying includes, but is not limited to, coercive or overt behaviours towards another conference participant that are threatening, offensive, humiliating, intimidating, malicious or insulting that causes harm to, or negatively impacts upon, the conference experience of that individual(s) or other attendees.

Discrimination, harassment (in any form), and bullying create a hostile environment that reduces the quality, integrity, and pace of the advancement of our discipline by marginalizing individuals and communities. It also damages productivity and career advancement, and prevents the healthy exchange of ideas.

Discrimination, harassment or bullying at, or associated with activities of, the conference is unacceptable, and constitutes serious misconduct under this code of conduct. Such behaviour should be reported and will be addressed with potential consequences for the offender, including but not limited to the sanctions or expulsion described below.

The Organising Committee reserves the right to refuse any booking or admission to any event without giving a reason. 

Reporting

If you experience or observe behaviour(s) that contravene(s) this code at the Annual BioEcon Conference, please identify a member of the BioEcon Code of Conduct Panel (Prof Maria Loureiro (the Panel Chair), Prof Julia Touza, Prof Andreas Kontoleon, and Prof. Martin Quass) who will make an initial confidential report on who was involved, what happened and when. You can directly contact these people by email bioecon@bioecon-network.org

Procedures

Any allegation of discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation will be treated seriously, regardless of the seniority of those involved. If the severity of a reported incident/activity warrants it, the police will be notified, in consultation with the reporting party. 

We will follow the principles for investigating alleged misconduct outlined in the UK Research Integrity Office’s guidelines. See further details below.

We will use our discretion in determining how to follow up on reported incidents and whether this can be resolved at the time (during the conference) or if the matter needs to be considered further by the Code of Conduct Panel.

 Confidentiality

All allegations will be investigated in confidence. All those who are involved in the investigation of an allegation, including witnesses, representatives and persons providing information, evidence and/or advice, have a duty to maintain confidentiality.

At the initial reporting stage, the allegations will be anonymised before they are taken any further to minimise those who know the identities of the person making the allegation (the “Complainant”) and the person(s) who is/are the subject of the complaint (the “Respondent”).

If the process proceeds to a full investigation, it will normally be necessary to disclose the identity of the Complainant as well as other relevant information to the person(s) who is/are the subject of the complaint (the Respondent) and others who will be involved in any subsequent investigation.

Code of Conduct Panel

For the conference, the BioEcon Network has in place a Code of Conduct Panel (the ‘Panel’), which is gender balanced, and its role will be to review all reported cases. The members of the Panel are drawn from senior members of the BioEcon Network and currently consist of Prof Maria Loureiro (Panel Chair), Prof Julia Touza, Prof Andreas Kontoleon, and Prof. Martin Quass).

The Panel will receive anonymised complaints from the Named Person. They will first determine if the allegations raised are assessed to be mistaken, frivolous, and/or malicious. They will then determine if the complaints are within the scope of the Code of Conduct.

If the allegations are not assessed to be mistaken, frivolous, and/or malicious, the Panel may opt to notify the employer of the Respondent. This option will proceed on a case-by-case basis. The BioEcon Network reserves the right to refuse any booking or admission to any event without giving a reason. 

If the Panel determines the allegations are not mistaken, frivolous, and/or malicious, and that they fall within the scope of the Code of Conduct, they may progress the case to a full investigation. The Respondent will be notified of the complaint and will be allowed to provide an anonymised response to the allegations. Witness statements may be solicited from the Respondent and Complainant.

The Panel must conclude, based on the evidence, whether allegations of misconduct are: (i) upheld in full, (ii) upheld in part, or (iii) not upheld. The standard of proof used is that of “on the balance of probabilities”. The Panel will recommend if the matter requires disciplinary action, including expulsion from the conference and/or exclusion from future conferences. The Panel can also recommend that the Respondent provides proof of ethics or bias training in less serious cases.

If a complaint is upheld, all Respondents have a right of appeal, which should be directed to the Panel. The Panel would then convene an appropriately balanced Appeal Panel, drawn from the scientific partners of the BioEcon Network (listed here), and not containing a member of the original Panel, to review the case under the same conditions as the original Panel. 

A key principle of the procedure is fairness. This means that when anyone is accused of misconduct, that person must be given full details of the allegations in writing, and they must be given the opportunity to respond to allegations raised. They must also be allowed to ask questions, present information in their defence, adduce evidence of witnesses, etc. The Respondent and/or Complainant and any other witnesses may be accompanied by representatives. Also, to ensure fairness, an individual may not be a member of both the Panel and the Appeal Panel. The procedure must also seek to preserve confidentiality and not reveal identities of the Complainants or Respondents.

Sanctions

If there is cause, our actions may include the BioEcon Conference Organising Committee issuing warnings and asking a delegate to leave the conference without refund. If appropriate, the BioEcon Conference Organising Committee has the option of sending the report to the delegate’s place of employment/study and Head of School.

In cases of minor to moderate misconduct the BioEcon Network would normally seek to facilitate training and education and/or arbitration between the Complainant and Respondent. However, in more severe cases sanctions could include suspension or expulsion from the conference and, if appropriate, the BioEcon Network.

If complaints are vexatious or malicious, they will be dealt with accordingly.

Specific actions may include but are not limited to:

• asking the person to cease the inappropriate behaviour, and warning them that any further reports will result in other sanctions

• requiring that the person avoid any interaction with, and physical proximity to, another person for the remainder of the event

• early termination of a talk that violates the policy

• not publishing the video or slides of a talk that violates the policy

• not allowing a speaker who violated the policy to give (further) talks at the event

• immediately ending any event responsibilities or privileges held

• requiring that the person immediately leave the event and not return

• blocking the person on social media platforms (for a defined time period)

• banning the person from future events 

• publishing an anonymous account of the harassment

• reporting the incident to the person’s employer

Data protection 

Documents and correspondence relating to any ethics case should be treated with the strictest confidence and neither electronic nor paper copies of any documents should be distributed beyond the Panel, Appeal Panel (if needed), Respondent or Complainant. If the complaint is not upheld, then all documents relating to the complaint will be permanently deleted. If the complaint is upheld, then only the Chair of the Code of Conduct Panel should retain a copy of the documents.

Review of this policy

The Code of Conduct will be updated each year.

(Updated 01 June 2025)