What to Expect:

Conference Focus:

The conference will explore how ecosystem services can contribute to:

• addressing biodiversity loss, climate uncertainty and social inequalities.
• strengthening climate resilience and equitable access to natural resources.
• the practical implementation of European policies such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.
• integrating ecosystem services into decision-making, land management and public policy.

Main Programme Themes:

Navigating governance of ecosystem services in a changing political landscape

• Governing ecosystem services in a changing political landscape
• Impacts of new European frameworks on practice and decision-making
• Policy evaluation and effectiveness under changing conditions

Ecosystem services knowledge for a people- and nature-positive future

• How the scientific community can contribute to fair and sustainable solutions
• The role of ecosystem services in enhancing human well-being and social equity
• Bridging research, policy and practice

Climate and natural solutions for ecosystem restoration and resilience

• Nature-based solutions for ecosystem restoration
• Solutions supporting adaptation, mitigation and resilience
• The role of ecosystem services in restoring landscapes, water systems, urban environments and vulnerable areas

Equity, justice and inclusivity in ecosystem services

• Social justice in the context of ecosystem services
• Inequalities in access to nature and its benefits
• Public participation and community engagement

Economics of ecosystem services

• Economic approaches and valuation
• Environmental-economic accounting
• Applications in public policy, financial flows and European and global impacts

Ecosystem accounting, interregional flows and Europe’s global impact

• Ecosystem accounts, metrics and methodologies
• Interregional flows of ecosystem services
• Europe’s impact on global ecosystems

A Broad Programme of Expert Sessions:

The conference will feature a wide range of expert sessions organised into:

• Biome (B) – marine, freshwater, forest, polar, urban and other ecosystems
• Sectoral (S) – water, finance, urban environments, nature-based solutions
• Thematic (T) – ecosystem services assessment, valuation, restoration approaches, policy integration, NBS, digitalisation, AI and more
• Educational & Communication (E) – education, communication, media engagement and support for early-career researchers
• Cross-cutting (X) – interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral topics across Europe

Engagement of Early-Career Professionals:

The conference actively supports the participation of early-career scientists, emerging researchers, members of Horizon Europe and LIFE projects, as well as participants from national ESP networks.

Pre-Conference Training (at Karolinum):

Accounting for Ecosystem Services – A full-day training focused on the principles of ecosystem accounting, working with metrics and the practical application of the ESA-CAT tool.

One-Click Ecosystem Mapping – A workshop dedicated to high-resolution ecosystem mapping using the WEED tool on the ARIES platform.

Training on enabling uptake of ecosystem service assessments – A full-day training for future commissioners and authors of Terms of Reference (ToR), aimed at improving communication between public administration and expert practice.

The editor’s guide towards successful publishing – A practical workshop led by an editor of the journal Ecosystem Services, focused on increasing the chances of manuscript acceptance and avoiding common publishing pitfalls.

The programme on 18 May will not take place at Cubex.

Speakers Include:

• Miguel Inácio – Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania
• Blal Adem Esmail – Center for Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS), Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
• Joana Seguin – Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Earth System Sciences, Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology
• Sofia Corticeiro – CESAM, Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro
• Alexander van Oudenhoven – Leiden University
• Celina Aznarez – Aarhus University