Pre-announcement EnRoute Conference


Pre-announcement EnRoute Conference (Link)

Biodiver-City: Enhancing urban biodiversity and ecosystem services to make cities more resilient
Conference in collaboration with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Sofia, 24 April 2018

Background and objectives
If we think about nature conservation or increasing essential ecosystem services we usually think of protected areas, conserving valuable ecosystems such as forest and wetlands, or maintaining rural landscapes. But can cities also help achieving biodiversity goals and targets? This largely depends on the amount, the quality and management of urban green infrastructure. However, the potential of cities to help protect biodiversity and ecosystem services is likely underestimated.
This conference aims at delivering a set of key messages and principles of how cities can contribute to regional, national and European biodiversity policy, goals and targets.
The conference will address the following key questions:
– What is our present knowledge of urban biodiversity? What indicators are used and what are the current patterns and trends reveal about urban biodiversity?
– Why is urban biodiversity important? What are the links between urban biodiversity and urban ecosystem services and with well-being?
– Is a high urban biodiversity important for citizens and other stakeholders? How can citizens monitor biodiversity?
– How can urban green infrastructure be designed and managed to maintain and enhance urban biodiversity and ecosystem services?

Conference organisers
European Commission – Joint Research Centre, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and the EnRoute project

Date and Venue
The conference will take place in Sofia (Bulgaria) in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences on 24 April 2018
Do you want to share your ideas or are you interested to participate?
Unsolicited abstracts for presentations in plenary or break-out sessions are accepted in case you are interested in presenting your work on urban biodiversity and ecosystem services.(Link)

Video – TUNES in URB Project

TUNESinURB aims to create an ecosystem-based information system on urban ecosystems and their ecosystem services through the application of a set of indicators for assessing and mapping with a view to а better understanding and implementation of sectoral policies for planning and development of the territories.

Video – IMpossibleBALANCE

The film attempts to introduce to the general public the results from the project “Improved mountainous forest management for sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services under climate change (MFORES)”. The project was co-financed by the program BG03 “Biodiversity and ecosystem services” of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (2009 – 2014). The project focused on capacity building in the sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services from forests. Its overall objective was to translate the scientific modelling findings and social needs on the provisioning of multiple ecosystem services from mountain forests into decision support for forest practitioners and policy makers. In achieving this objective the project analysed the social needs and policy targets related to forest ecosystem management; assessed forest resilience and quantified ecosystem services dynamics under climate change; and derived recommendations, policy briefs and revised silvicultural approaches for forest practitioners and decision makers.