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Case Studies & Showcases

An important aim of the Partnership is to mobilize the global but scattered knowledge on Ecosystem Services to both improve the science and turn that knowledge into ‘action on the ground’ to show how the concept of ecosystem services can help to achieve conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems, improve local livelihoods and contribute to the regional and national economy. To facilitate this process a global network of “show cases” is needed where scientists work closely together with practitioners and local communities to understand how these “socio-ecological systems” work and learn how to use the ecosystem services concept for improving “Ecosystem Based Management”. These show-cases can then serve as ‘blue-prints’ for lessons learned, test and develop guidelines and provide an ideal bases for long-term research and education (ranging from local school-children to international MSc and PhD students). 
 
ESP supports and stimulates this process in several ways:
  • Collect information on projects, programs, networks that focus on the development of case studies on ecosystem services assessment and implementation [overview on separate page will be provided soon]
  • Develop and maintain a searchable Data base of Case Studies on ecosystem services assessment and implementation [we had a good start called “CaseBase” but the web-interface was lost during a transition of provider; we are working on its “restoration”]
  • Stimulate the development of long-term case studies through the Biome Expert Groups
  • Select and actively support so-called “Show Cases” that can serve as blue-prints for research, training and implementation of the Ecosystem Services Approach (ESA).

If you have information on good case studies/site-based examples of research and implementation of the Ecosystem Services approach (both good and ‘bad’ ones are welcome by the way: often one learns more from mistakes then when everything runs smooth) please send an email to the ESP Service Team lead-person(s).

ESP Service Team lead

 

Support

Please contact the ESP Support Team
 

Overview of projects, programs and networks on ESA case studies in which ESP-members are actively involved 

Note: this is a first start, please send corrections or additional information to the EST-lead.
  • AFROMAISON: EU-funded project on adaptive and integrated tools and strategies for natural resource management in Africa (2011-2014). Very interesting project with many useful tools and case studies under development. 
  • ALTERNET: A long-term biodiversity, ecosystem and awareness research network. ALTER-Net is a network of 26 partner institutes from 18 European countries.
  • BESS: Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability is a six-year (2011-2017) NERC research programme, designed to answer fundamental questions about the functional role of biodiversity in key ecosystem processes and the delivery of ecosystem processes at the landscape scale.
  • Civinet: EU funded project on Community Based Ecosystem Management with case studies in Brazil and Costa Rica. 
  • COBRA: an EU funded project on Local solutions for future challenges: community owned best practice for sustainable Resource Adaptive management in the Guiana Shield, South America.
  • Guiana Shield Initiative – IWOKRAMA
  • Mangrove Capital: on mangrove restoration in Indonesia, led by Wetlands International.
  • ODEMM: EU project on options for ecosystem based marine management using the ecosystem services concept in many European case studies.
  • OSLO (Offering Sustainable Land Use Options): aims to promote responsible land-use by demonstrating the total economic value of terrestrial ecosystems and generating socio-economically viable and environmentally sustainable land use options based on numerous case studies. 
  • SEQ Ecosystem Services Framework: Overview of the SEQ Ecosystem Service Framework and case studies in Queensland, Australia
  • SGA (Sub Global Assessment): a follow-up of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment with many Case studies on all continents, led by UNEP-WCMC.
  • TEEB case studies

Showcases

We are just starting the process of identifying key sites (showcases) so if you have suggestions, please send an email to Dolf de Groot. Below is an example of a site in which several ESP-members have been working together since 2007 and which we think is a good example of what we are looking for.
 

Showcase: PRESENCE in the Baviaanskloof

The Baviaanskloof is a Biosphere Reserve in South Africa which in some parts suffers severe degradation from over-grazing and other human activities. Several young Wageningen graduates started a project in 2007 called PRESENCE (Participatory Restoration of Ecosystem SErvices & Natural Capital, Eastern Cape). Over the years, PRESENCE grew into a learning network and multi-stakeholder platform to catalyse capacity building initiatives, guide trans-disciplinary social-ecological research and support implementation (best management practices) aimed at the social-ecological restoration of ‘living landscapes’ across the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve. 


 

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