Members of the ESP Mediterranean working group have just published an article in Ecosystems and People. The paper presents a Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) methodology that seeks to provide guidance for better ecosystem assessments encompassing the Mediterranean region (e.g. the recently approved IPBES global assessment or the IPBES regional assessments). This work is the result of the joint efforts by many ESP Mediterranean members to collect comprehensive information about the complexity and uniqueness of Mediterranean socio-ecological systems. The original idea of this study has its origin in a workshop held in the 2016 European ESP conference in Antwerp. The publication is open-access and can be downloaded from here.
Publications
New paper: A transnational perspective of global and regional ecosystem service flows from and to mountain regions
The spatial relationships of ecosystem services are complex and poorly understood due to spatial mismatches between areas of provision and the areas that benefit. In this study, we assess the spatial flows of six key ecosystem services from and to mountain regions at the regional and global level. We identify major directions of spatial flow and illustrate different types and transfer mechanisms with detailed examples focusing on the European Alps and surrounding lowlands. [Read more…] about New paper: A transnational perspective of global and regional ecosystem service flows from and to mountain regions
IPBES Global Assessment shows alarming decline in ecosystems and ecosystem services, highlights need for transformative change
The landmark IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is the most comprehensive ever completed. Compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries over the past three years, with inputs from another 310 contributing authors, the Report assesses changes over the past five decades, providing a comprehensive picture of the relationship between economic development pathways and their impacts on nature. It also offers a range of possible scenarios for the coming decades. [Read more…] about IPBES Global Assessment shows alarming decline in ecosystems and ecosystem services, highlights need for transformative change
World Water Development Report 2019 with input from ESP sectoral WG 5
Dr. Nidhi Nagabhatla from SWG 5 – ES in Water management contributed to the 2019 edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR 2019) entitled ‘Leaving No One Behind’. The synthesis is meant to inform policy and decision-makers, the water community about innovative and place-based fit-to purpose solution for water resources management, those that can improve access to water supply and sanitation, help to overcome poverty and to address various other social and economic inequities.
Leading Chapter 2 of the report (accessible here), she has outlined a narrative of how physical and environmental dimensions in water management can be better tackled in an increasingly globalized world. The chapter also highlights incorporating ecological service aspects [Read more…] about World Water Development Report 2019 with input from ESP sectoral WG 5
GlobalDES: Global Database of regulatory Documents on Ecosystem Services
GlobalDES has its origins in an Massive Online Open Course on ecosystem services taught by the staff of the University of Geneva in Switzerland. The learners (i.e., students) have been asked for the past three years onwards to contribute at least one entry to GlobalDES by describing a document published in their country that proposes concrete measures to safeguard ecosystem services. [Read more…] about GlobalDES: Global Database of regulatory Documents on Ecosystem Services