First of a series of five, the recent ESMERALDA Workshop was dedicated to testing methods for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services identified in the second project phase using real-world case studies.

Group photo from the "Testing the methodology acrossEurope" Workshop, Prague; Credit: CzechGlobe

Taking place from 26 – 29 September 2016 in Prague, Czech Republic, ESMERALDA thematic Workshop III was attended by about 60 project partners and stakeholders, who have been directly involved in the case studies, and who provided valuable feedback on the suitability of the methods to be used in different decision-making processes. The event was organized by the ESMERALDA partner CzechGlobe (Global Change Research Institute CAS).

The ESMERALDA Workshop "Testing the methodology across Europe" not only updated participants on the latest scientific and supporting developments within the project, but also aimed at stimulating discussions on a set of selected methods.

Focused on understanding how the selected methods have been applied in three case studies from Latvia, Czech Republic, and Germany, the overall purpose of the Workshop was to start drafting ESMERALDA’s flexible ecosystem services mapping and assessment methods data base, for which among others specific "method cards" were applied.

The methods collection resulting from the various ESMERALDA Workshops, will be gradually compiled and revised during the course of the project and integrated into a holistic flexible methodology for ES mapping and assessment.

The Workshop took place at Karolinum, the historical building of the Charles University in Prague and was supplemented by a field visit to the Třeboňsko UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with a visit to a CzechGlobe LTER monitoring station in the protected landscape area.

    
Photos: Discussions during the workshop (left) and Excursion (right); Credits: Pavel Stoev