Data & Knowledge sharing
There is a rapidly growing amount of data on ecosystem services scattered in many different places and stages of development. The ES-Partnership aims to provide quick access to the main available databases, journals, publications and other sources of information on 10 main Themes and 14 Biomes.
Important platforms for knowledge sharing and discussion on the latest developments are the ESP conferences and the Regional Chapters & National Networks.
ESP Service Team lead
- Dolf de Groot, ESA Wageningen UR, The Netherlands
- Vacancy; if you are interested, please contact Dolf de Groot
Support
Please contact the ESP support team
Key initiatives supported by and/or related to ESP
Some key initiatives ESP supports and/or in which ESP members are actively involved are listed below.
Note: this is a first start, please send corrections or additional information to the EST-lead (see below).
- Ecosystem Services valuation Database (ESVD).
Within the context of the TEEB-project (2008-2010) the authors of the global overview of the “Estimates of monetary values of ecosystem services”, supported by many ESP-members and TEEB researchers developed a database on monetary values of ecosystem services which now contains over 1350 data-points from over 300 case studies. After the release of the TEEB Valuation Database in 2010, the authors continued to develop the database, both in terms of content and design, under the name “Ecosystem Services Valuation Database” (ESVD).
This database will be developed further as one of the main ESP activities, in close collaboration with the biome expert group, the valuation thematic working group, the Marine Ecosystem Services Partnership and the Ecosystem Valuation Toolkit (Earth Economics).
For more information visit the ESVD page. For an overview of other databases, please see the Valuation Databases page.
- Ecosystem Valuing Toolkit
Earth Economics (an ESP Core Partner) in partnership with the Bullitt Foundation, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, David Suzuki Foundation, Bc3, Afordable Futures, NeoTropica, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Ecosystem Services Partnership is addressing the growing need for valuation of ecosystem goods and services by maintaining the largest, spatially explicit, web-based repository of published and unpublished economic values for ecosystem services. The Ecosystem Service Valuation Toolkit (EVT) portal was launched at Rio +20 in June 2012. The Researcher's Library and SERVES were previewed at the ACES Conference in December 2012 and is ready for use by land managers, government agencies, utilities, academics, NGOs and private industry. For more information see our EVT page.
- (Associated) Journals on Ecosystem Services
The new Elsevier Journal Ecosystem Services is officially associated with ESP with Leon Braat as Editor in Chief, Robert Costanza and Rudolf de Groot as Topic and co-founding Editors, and many core-ESP members on the Editorial Board. Several other journals are closely linked to ESP, including Ecological Indicators (Editor in Chief: Felix Mueller), Solutions (Editor in Chief: Robert Costanza, Man.Editor: Ida Kubiszewski) and The Int. Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services and Management (Editor in Chief: Rudolf de Groot). We will soon start a separate page with an overview of the main Journals publishing articles on all aspects of Ecosystem Services science, policy and application.
- New Publication Exchange
We started a section on the website with an overview of new publications dealing with Ecosystem Services but considering the huge number of already published work, and rapid increase in number of appearing publications this is quite a challenge and we need to think of a smart system how to handle this effectively, including issues of copyright.
- Audio-visuals
For outreach and communication short films and ppt-presentations can be extremely effective. We are setting up a data base listing audio-visuals we found useful but his is typically an ESP-SERVICE that could, and should be actively supported by its members. More news on this to follow soon as well.