Europe | All biomes and ecosystem services, ecosystem services in EU decision-making, biodiversity conservation and restoration | Status: Start July 2022 - June 2027
EU HORIZON: Science for Evidence-based and sustainabLe decIsions about NAtural capital (SELINA)
The importance of biodiversity (BD) and healthy ecosystems and the services they deliver has increasingly been acknowledged. Policy initiatives, such as the EU BD Strategies 2020 and 2030, IPBES, IPCC and CBD were launched to address BD, natural capital and related values. Research has created a knowledge base to better understand naturehuman interactions that are at the base of ecosystem services (ES) delivery. The key aim of related actions is to provide robust information that can be harnessed to support protection, restoration and sustainable as well as climate-neutral use of ecosystems in the EU by 2030.
SELINA, a 5 year EU Horizon project, builds on the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) project with the aim to integrate the different MAES components (ecosystem mapping, condition, ES, accounting) and to enable the uptake of ES in decision making. The consortium, consisting of 50 organizations brings together experts from all EU member states, associated countries and EU overseas regions with stakeholders from various public and private sectors. The expertise in the consortium includes leading experts (ecologists, economists, social scientists) on ES science, ecosystem accounting and on science-policybusiness interfaces from related action. Therefore, the project will successfully address the call's challenges and provide applicable tools and models together with guidance how to use them. The project will deliver real cases for an evidence-, ES-based and harmonised decision making across Europe, enabling transformative change to halt BD decline and to secure essential ES-sustainable supply and use.
FSD is involved in 8 of the 10 workpackages. We are involved in monetary valuation of ecosystem services using the ESVD, updating the ESVD, formulating public-private solutions, engaging the business community and developing and assessing tools to do so.
ESP is involved in the creation of a Community of Practice (CoP) and in the dissemination and knowledge exchange of outputs of the SELINA project.
Involved user groups and ESVD applications
In this project we aim to show the benefits of using the ecosystem services approach to take the 'full' value of ecosystems into account in EU policy and business decision-making. We are specifically targeting the following user groups through the following ESVD applications:
International Governmental Organisations
By bringing together leading experts from (overseas) Europe, the concept of ecosystem services and their valuation can subsequently serve as a model and be taken into account in future decision-making processes in European politics.
Governments
By bringing together leading experts from (overseas) Europe, the concept of ecosystem services and their valuation can subsequently serve as a model and be taken into account in future decision-making processes in national politics.
Business & Consultancy
A strong aim of SELINA and a work package the ESVD team is involved in is to develop public-private partnerships. Example cases and stakeholder participation from the business community will enable essential ES-sustainable supply and use.