Wijnja's blog

ECNC's Ben Delbaere recently published the open access paper 'The journey of a data point' as editorial of the Journal for Nature Conservation. The journey is based on experiences and observations in dealing with the complex political European framework and gives some insights in how science can influence policymaking.
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The combined OpenNESS-OPERAs team that is in charge of developing a common platform for both projects, met at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, a recently renovated ‘energy efficient hub for knowledge, innovation and skills’ at the University of Edinburgh. The common platform will enable European communities to better manage our ecosystems for human well-being and livelihoods by linking them to best practice knowledge and experience on ecosystem services and natural capital. In short, it aims to be a knowledge broker for all those that want to turn ecosystem services and natural capital into practice. Read more »

Photo: The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation

The next chapter of the OpenNESS Ecosystem Services Reference Book has been published. The new Synthesis Paper - generated by OpenNESS members - analyses institutions at several governance levels. When conducting the OpenNESS analyses, it is important to recognise the institutional context of ecosystem management and governance. Identifying the institutional context allows us to understand what has produced the current management systems and which institutions will condition the future recommendations. The regulatory frameworks, at the EU level as well as at the national and lower governance levels, rest on broader national state and supranational institutions. Read more »

In June 2014, the Case Study Advisory Board of the OpenNESS case ‘Bioenergy-related synergies and trade-offs in ecosystem services provision in Central Germany’ met for the first time. With this meeting, the Advisory Board, composed of stakeholders concerned with the topic, was formally established. All 27 case studies within OpenNESS have established Case Study Advisory Boards, which help to implement the transdisciplinary approach of OpenNESS. Read more »

Photo: Jühnde near Göttingen in Lower Saxony

On 12-14 May, OpenNESS coordinator Eeva Furman from SYKE and Jan Dick from CEH took part in the Kedron Valley/Wadi el Nar project workshop in Jerusalem, Israel. The ambition of the group hosting the workshop is to solve both biologically and politically the problem of untreated sewage flowing down the Kidon river basin/Wadi el Nar valley in Eastern Jerusalem. Eeva Furman gave a presentation about the value of LTSER platforms when studying the ecosystem concept and in particular about the OpenNESS project, to provide ideas on ways to take research forward. Read more »

Photo: Eeva Furman is giving a presentation

OpenNESS Scottish partner the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) is one of the four founding organisations who launched an exciting new initiative that aims to support better management of Scotland’s natural resources. The initiative - ESCom Scotland: an Ecosystem Service Community for Scotland - was launched at an evening reception on Tuesday 29th April 2014. Read more »

Photo: Sandra Luque presents the research linked to the Vercors Mts Range case study

OpenNESS partners recently published a free-access paper entitled 'ESTIMAP: a GIS-based model to map ecosystem services in the European Union'. The paper introduces the Ecosystem Services Mapping tool (ESTIMAP), a collection of spatially explicit models to support the mapping and modelling of ecosystem services at European scale. Its main objective is to support EU policies with spatial information on where ecosystem services are provided and consumed. Read more »

There is a keen interest to cooperate and exchange data and tools between the common platform (produced by OpenNESS and OPERAs), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The common platform is being developed to enable European communities to better manage our ecosystems for human well-being and livelihoods by linking them to best practice knowledge and experience on ecosystem services and natural capital. Read more »

Photo: © Ben Delbaere

The OpenNESS 1st Annual Meeting took place in Budapest on 24-28 March 2014 and was hosted by ESSRG and MTA-ÖK. The main aim was to facilitate interaction and learning across the case studies. During training sessions, workshops and bilateral clinics, OpenNESS partners received further guidance and training in the use of tools, methods and conceptual frameworks. This practical knowledge was taken home and will be applied and tested in the place-based case studies. In Twitter you will find a day to day update of the presentations, workshops and social activities.

Photo: The OpenNESS consortium

The second chapter of the OpenNESS Ecosystem Services Reference Book has been published. The new Synthesis Paper - generated by OpenNESS members - deals with the Classification of Ecosystem Services and how OpenNESS tackles this. Synthesis papers represent an agreed conceptual basis for taking the work of OpenNESS forward. Read more »

Figure: Structure of the CICES classification tool