Protecting the environment starts at grass roots-level
For the past 50 years, subsidies and market forces have encouraged the intensive use of a few crop species in Europe. One of the results was the drastic decline of biodiversity at local level. European regulations offer some protection for what is left, but do not affect most local decisions that cause a change in land use outside protected areas. The main aim of the 'Transactional environmental support system' (TESS) project was to help reverse the decline in biodiversity. Funded by the EU, it proposed that local communities are able to restore environments if they are informed, empowered, and helped by policymakers and society as a whole. In the first phase of TESS, biodiversity management information requirements of authorities at national and intermediate levels were analysed, and practical needs and stakeholder perspectives at the local level were identified. The project also developed a database of models suitable for bio-socioeconomic predictions and decision-making assistance both locally and regionally. TESS project partners then designed a system that integrates biodiversity information from the local level into central planning and land-use decisions, while at the same time supporting local people to conserve their environment. Other project results include recommendations and policy guidelines based on how biodiversity trends relate to different management practices across Europe. Currently, the design is being tested in a knowledge web portal; this trial will continue beyond the duration of the TESS project. In the future, 'smart' environmental support systems will be developed that could exchange decision support (provided by central authorities) for fine-scale mapping of decision outcomes (provided by local communities).
