This open access paper has several members of the ESP Thematic Working Group 11 – Global ES Flows among its authors. The paper is a result of the sDiv synthesis project sTeleBES which was initiated by TWG-11. Read more.
News
Updates from SWG 5 – ES in Water management
Dr Nidhi Nagabhatla, co-lead of SW5 had complied a policy message to offer small island developing states a strategy to manage water security. Read more.
In another synthesis, she propagated the connection with water management, peace, and political stability. It concludes with an emphasis on the peacebuilding potential of planning water-secure futures for states and communities.It provides water users and managers with enhanced knowledge frameworks and improved capacity in the context of the water-peace-political stability nexus. Read more.
Help us update the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD)
To make better informed decisions about trade-offs involved in land use change, or any activity affecting ecosystems and biodiversity, we need better information about the full importance of ecosystems to our wellbeing. In addition to intrinsic/ethical and other non-monetary values, economic considerations still dominate cost-benefit analysis.
To provide information on the economic benefits of ecosystems and biodiversity, and on the costs of their loss, a database was developed for the TEEB study, published in 2010.
We are now updating this database which now contains over 600 studies and more than 4000 value records distributed across all biomes, services and geographic regions (3x as much as the original TEEB database). We are currently setting up a review-process to double-check the current data, and welcome new studies for our repository.
Are you interested in developing the ESVD? Find more information on how you can contribute in the full invitation letter:
Invitation letter to review the ESVD
Survey on marine turtles
Currently 6 out of 7 marine turtle species globally are classified as threatened, endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is due to various threats including the loss of turtle habitat and nesting sites; marine waste and pollution; ingestion of plastic waste; over-harvesting of turtle eggs, meat and shells; entanglement in fishing gear; and warming sands and sea level rise.
If no additional effort is made to protect marine turtles, it is possible that some species could become extinct in the next few decades. We are asking people across the globe to complete the following 5-10 minute survey to express the importance they place on marine turtle conservation.
Fill out the survey. [Read more…] about Survey on marine turtles
ESP Europe 2020: COVID-19 update
We remain hopeful that the ESP Europe 2020 Conference can proceed as planned in September 2020 but naturally we are following the global situation with the COVID-19 outbreak and take into account that its development may influence the conference realisation.
The organising committee will take a decision regarding the conference date latest on June 1st , or earlier if the circumstances permit. In the meantime, we continue our preparations in full steam. The call for abstracts will be opened as planned mid-April to allow for timely review. Of course a submitted or even an accepted abstract is by no means an obligation to attend.
Furthermore we advise you not to make travel arrangements before June 1st, the date of the official decision by the organising committee. We will make sure that speakers of accepted abstracts will have ample time to benefit from the Early Bird registration fee after receiving the decision regarding their submitted abstracts.
Be well and stay safe!
Conference Organising Committee