This year, the Ecosystem Services Partnership held its fifth European Conference in Wageningen, Netherlands, from 18-22nd November. The conference convened around the theme “Ecosystem Services: One Planet, One Health,” highlighting the interdependence of human, ecosystem and planetary health.
FRAMEwork and its outputs had a strong presence at the conference - expanded since our previous attendance in 2022. Representatives of the project shared research and insights and promoted our knowledge and action platform Recodo.
ESP is a global network that connects ecosystem services scientists and other important stakeholders on different topics and at different scales, from regional to international. At the Wageningen conference, around 500 people from across Europe gathered to enjoy various knowledge exchange and networking activities.
A high volume schedule of presentation and poster sessions throughout the week was supplemented by networking opportunities, field trips, and workshops on key topics, including salsa dancing for the bravest attendees!
“ESP stands out as one of my favourite events, offering a unique sense of community that brings together researchers from diverse disciplines to deepen our understanding of how nature supports human well-being … Two sessions that particularly caught my interest explored advancements in artificial intelligence for ecosystem services and the complexities of interregional ecosystem service flows. These sessions underscored the transformative potential of AI in environmental management and the critical need to consider international dependencies in sustainability efforts.”
~ Claudio Pettuco, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
The conference featured a range of insightful presentations exploring innovative approaches to natural capital, biodiversity, AI and sustainable land use.
FRAMEwork research was presented in various sessions - Simone Martino from Hutton discussed the integration of natural capital into policymaking and the role of wellbeing and natural capital indicators in advancing a “One Health” approach. Claudio Pettuccio from LIST presented on the use of advanced modelling techniques for sustainability assessments in agriculture.
Gerid Hager highlighted bottom-up pathways for engaging farmers in biodiversity and ecosystem service observation, while Niamh McHugh shared insights on monitoring farmland bird species in the UK. Although Iris Bohnet of CULS was unable to attend, her presentation on co-designing strategies for biodiversity-sensitive farming across Europe was covered in her absence by Niamh McHugh.
“I have been impressed how The Ecosystem Services Partnership Conference 2024 has catalysed energies and efforts to deal with the implementation of the Ecosystem Services concept in environmental governance. A dedicated session to “Ecosystem Services concept in science, policy and practice” gathered an exceptional presence of researchers and practitioners operating at the science-policy interface to present and discuss how to breach barriers and mainstream the Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital approaches in national and local policies.”
~ Simone Martino, The James Hutton Institute
FRAMEwork partner Taskscape was a sponsoring organisation for the conference and arranged the opportunity to promote Recodo for the duration of the week via a dedicated booth featuring flyers and a live demo. FRAMEwork representatives, including Recodo work package lead Gerid Hager, spent time talking to conference attendees about the platform.
As part of their in-kind arrangement with ESP, Taskscape provided media coverage of the conference, including interviewing leadership team members and keynote speakers and delivering a well-attended workshop for researchers on Video Abstracts. Taskscape offered a prize of a free edit for the best Video Abstract covering a topic suitable for Recodo, which was announced at the final award ceremony.
“The ESP Community is always fantastic to engage with. From early career researchers to experienced experts, the conference’s interdisciplinary makeup and coverage of leading-edge topics make it a stimulating center of discussion and progress on important issues. It was a privilege for Taskscape to engage researchers on media communication techniques as well as interview leaders in different fields. The chance to create an opportunity to invite knowledge sharing around Recodo was fantastic as the project enters its final year and consolidates impacts”.
~ Theo Simmons, Taskscape Associates Ltd
From the wide-ranging and enriching conversations held with visitors to our Recodo booth, to the knowledge exchange taking place across the sessions, overall ESP 2024 provided an enlivening opportunity for learning and connections with international colleagues. The project looks forward to building on these interactions and forging new collaborations in 2025.
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