Welcome to the official webpage of the Belgium ESP national network. If you would like to visit this network’s discussion board, please click here (members only).
Lead Team
- Hans Keune, INBO, Belgium
- Sander Jacobs, INBO/UA, Belgium
- Nicolas Dendoncker, UNamur, Belgium
If you are interested in becoming a member of the lead team please contact the current lead team members.
If you are interested in becoming a member of this national network please click here.
Introduction & Objectives
ESP National Networks aim to improve decision making on ecosystem services by providing a platform for researchers, government, non-government, business, industry and communities to exchange information and experiences on the theoretical and practical application of ecosystem services at local to national scales.
The Belgium Ecosystem Services (BEES) Community is an open and flexible network that will interface between different societal actors. The BEES community is open to all potentially interested organisations (policy, business, NGO’s, science, consultancy, civil society,…). The BEES Community has the following functions:
- Develop ecosystem services concepts, tools and practices that help to adapt human activity and clarify ecosystem thresholds in order to preserve the actual and potential well-being of present and future generations; and to stop ecosystem and biodiversity degradation, and improve their status.
- Develop mainstreaming & policy tools to promote the integration of ecosystem services concepts in policy and management, business and society.
- Facilitate capacity building, exchange of expertise and experience: including methodologies and transfer of knowledge on Belgian ecosystem services to policy and share the needs from policy makers on this issue, to enable involvement of Belgian actors in national and international initiatives and build the capacity to conduct assessments of ecosystem services.
- Provide overviews of state of the art knowledge and best practices
Activities & Outputs
- A book publication is being prepared which links the global issues concerning ecosystem services to local practice. More news will folow soon…
- At the ESP conference in BALI, several thematic workshops are organised, amongst others on Community of Practice as an organisational concept and on Sustainability in ES practice.