The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and 14 international academies of sciences, including the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), jointly issued declarations regarding basic research, digital health and the learning health system, and global insect declines and the potential erosion of vital ecosystem services on May 28 in a bid to provide the international community with references for policy-making.

The basic research declaration says the development of basic science has a crucial impact on human society and it calls for relevant policies to restore and guarantee public funding and investment in basic research. Enhanced education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics will help build capacity, promote global scientific and technological cooperation and exchanges, and strengthen the disclosure of scientific and technological achievements, said the declaration.

The digital health and the learning health system declaration calls for more cooperation at interdisciplinary, industry, and national levels, and suggests that more attention should be paid to cybersecurity and personal privacy, device interoperability, access to reliable data and information, virtual data repository security, comprehensive analysis and prediction models, and public understanding and ethics issues.

The global insect declines and the potential erosion of vital ecosystem services declaration emphasizes that the global insect population has declined significantly in diversity and quantity, and calls for an active response to be made to deal with the global challenge. It suggests new technologies such as artificial intelligence and environmental DNA analysis could be used for long-term monitoring of insect populations, and adds that science popularization is required to evoke the consensus of the public. Measures should to be taken to protect habitats in crisis that depend on a food chain from insect populations.

The Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the French Academy of Sciences, the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, the Royal Society of Canada, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the Nigerian Academy of Science, the Science Council of Japan, the Linceorum Academia, the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indonesian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society, UK, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Global Youth Academy signed the declarations.

Source: Bureau of International Co-operation,

Chinese Academy of Sciences