Context
Ecosystems and biodiversity are still being lost and degraded at an unprecedent rate and scale causing great economic, societal and environmental damage. To stop the loss of our ‘natural capital’ the importance of its services and benefits should be reflected structurally in decision making at all levels. This workshop helps to understand better the importance of assessing Forest Ecosystem Services, its values and trade-offs.
Goals
The goals of the workshop are to enable participants to (1) increase their understanding of the concept of Forest Ecosystem Services and Values, (2) explore the integrated assessment framework and (3) apply the assessment tools to 8 case studies to deepen the experience and allow for in-depth discussion.
Programme
The event is spread over two days and is divided into four parts: (1) Introduction of the integrated assessment methodology, (2) measuring and valuing Forest Ecosystem Services (FES), (3) analysing economic trade-offs between management options, (4) modeling FES with InVEST.
Participants will work in small groups on eight concrete practical cases, namely: timber production, protection against natural hazards, forest climate protection, drinking water filtration, biodiversity conservation, health promotion, heat mitigation and urban trees management. During registration participants can sign up for one of these cases.
Chairs and speakers
The workshop is organized and chaired by Luis Inostroza, PD Dr., Landscape and Spatial Planning, Ruhr University of Bochum (D) and Rudolf de Groot, Ex.A.Prof. at the Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University & Research (NL). Additional speakers include Prof. Dr. Verena Griess, Forest Resources Management Forstlicher Ressourcen (ETH Zurich), Dr. Clemence Dirac (FOEN) and Dr. Roy Remme (Leiden Univ., The Netherlands, previously Stanford Univ, USA).
Target public
The event is aimed at interested forest professionals from science and practice as well as students. The number of participants is limited; early registration is recommended.
Language
English
Conditions of participation
Participation is free of charge and includes 2 coffee breaks per day. Meals are not included; they can be taken at the cafeterias of ETH.