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Science for Evidence-based and sustainabLe decIsions about NAtural capital

Project description

Informed decision-making for sustainable use, conservation and restoration of ecosystems

Intensive land use, biodiversity loss and climate change have altered ecosystems around the world. Biodiversity and functional ecosystems are our strongest natural life insurance in a world of crises. Current private and public decision-making have not been able to provide solutions to handle environmental risks. In this context, the EU-funded SELINA project will provide EU decision-makers from various business, policy and societal sectors with the necessary tools and information to help sustain, restore and enforce the climate-neutral use of European ecosystems and their services. To achieve this, with the help of ecosystem experts as well as the massive amounts of available ecosystem data, research and monitoring solutions, decision-makers will be provided with applicable tools, models and data for guiding their decisions towards sustainability.

Objective

The importance of biodiversity (BD) and healthy ecosystems and the services they deliver has increasingly been acknowledged. Policy initiatives, such as the EU BD Strategies 2020 and 2030, IPBES, IPCC and CBD were launched to address BD, natural capital and related values. Research has created a knowledge base to better understand nature-human interactions that are at the base of ecosystem services (ES) delivery. The key aim of related actions is to provide robust information that can be harnessed to support protection, restoration and sustainable as well as climate-neutral use of ecosystems in the EU by 2030. MAES has provided the conceptual, methodological and data base for comprehensive assessments on different spatial scales, including the EU-wide assessment (2020) and assessments in EU member states. Knowledge and data for different ecosystem types (including protected and marine areas) are increasingly available. The next step is to integrate the different MAES components (ecosystem mapping, condition, ES, accounting) and to enable the uptake of ES in decision making. Key challenges include the proof of BD-ecosystem condition-ES relationships and to link them to EU policies. The consortium brings together experts from all EU member states, associated countries and EU overseas regions with stakeholders from various public and private sectors. The expertise in the consortium includes leading experts (ecologists, economists, social scientists) on ES science, ecosystem accounting and on science-policy-business interfaces from related actions (OpenNESS, ESMERALDA, MAIA, MAES, ESP, IPBES, BD Partnership). Therefore, the project will successfully address the call's challenges and provide applicable tools and models together with guidance how to use them. The project will deliver real cases for an evidence-, ES-based and harmonised decision making across Europe, enabling transformative change to halt BD decline and to secure essential ES-sustainable supply and use.

Coordinator

GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ UNIVERSITAET HANNOVER
Net EU contribution
€ 1 335 682,00
Address
WELFENGARTEN 1
30167 Hannover
Germany

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Region
Niedersachsen Hannover Region Hannover
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 1 335 682,50

Participants (45)

Partners (5)