The journal Forest is calling for contributions for a Special Issue (ISSN 1999-4907). The focus of this Special Issue will be on innovative frameworks supporting decision-making processes through integrated ecosystem services assessments and sustainable finance principles. The deadline for manuscript submissions is 31 October 2023.
Background:
The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP-15) was held in Montreal in December 2022 to discuss and prepare technical/operational guidelines and directives against biodiversity loss globally, with particular attention to urban environments. Particularly, it emerged clearly how the alignment of financial flows with nature could drive finances toward sustainable investments and away from environmentally harmful ones. Therefore, there is a need to support decision-making processes with accessible frameworks integrating economic-environmental aspects able to encourage nature-positive investments. Sustainable finance principles with the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating are currently considered a requirement strongly supported by the European Commission for all types of investment and are largely shared among investors. Notwithstanding, the enhancement of existing forests and the development of new ones, as well as the maintenance of biodiversity in cities, are often bounded by governmental and/or corporate actors devoted to financial cashflows.
The focus of this Special Issue will be on innovative frameworks supporting decision-making processes through integrated ecosystem services assessments and sustainable finance principles. Particularly, this Special Issue seeks to integrate research, techniques, and tools that combine assessments on both ecosystem services and the impact of investments on ecosystems according to ESG criteria. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Multiple aspects of the environmental-economic accounting of the ecosystem services provided by urban forests/trees, green spaces, and nature-based solutions;
- Engagement practices in planning and design mechanisms to support new urban forests/trees, green spaces, and nature-based solutions;
- Public–private partnership for financing and maintaining urban forests/trees, green spaces, and nature-based solutions;
- Studies examining how existing or future urban forests affect social equity, market dynamics, improvements to citizen health, and biodiversity conservation.
Find out more and submit a contribution here.