Workshop documentation
Exchange on TEEB Processes in European Countries
The international workshop, which was organized by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), 
Alterra research centre from Wageningen/Netherlands and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), took place from 11-15 October 2011 at the International Academy for Nature Conservation (INA), Isle of Vilm.
Workshop information
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is an international initiative that draws attention to economic benefits of biodiversity, estimates costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and combines expertise on natural science, economics and policy to guide action that safeguards ecosystem services for future generations.
Based on the global TEEB study, more and more individual countries now take up activities to assess ecosystem services at the national level. These encompass ecological assessments and economic valuation of particular ecosystem services and aim to back up the discussions on conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity with additional economic arguments and integrating them into relevant decision-making processes. Results are intended to be communicated to the public in order to raise awareness for the value of natural capital and acceptance for related conservation measures.
These efforts are supported by multinational entities. The importance of ecosystems and their services, for instance, is reflected in the European Union (EU) biodiversity headline target for 2020 and the new biodiversity strategy to 2020 - published by the EU Commission in May 2011 - with a related target and specific actions.
In this context, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Alterra - Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) invited national European TEEB initiatives to participate in the workshop that aims to:
- provide a platform for exchange and mutual learning about TEEB processes in differ-ent European countries,
- facilitate the cooperation and coordination among European countries,
- give the opportunity to share knowledge about supranational initiatives.
Thematic issues include:
- general approaches to TEEB at the national level
- methodological approaches to identify important ecosystem services
- current status and trends of ecosystems
- approaches to monetary and non-monetary valuation of ecosystem services
- policy instruments and tools to safeguard ecosystem services at the national and European levels
- involving the private sector
- communicating TEEB to decision-makers and the public
- synergies from coordination and cooperation
- liaising national and European TEEB processes.
Presentations and working groups
Plenary Session I
Setting the stage and exploring the supranational context for national TEEB processes
Chair: Burkhard Schweppe-Kraft, BfN, Bonn
Introduction to the workshop
Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst, BfN, Bonn
Results from the 4th Ecosystem Services Partnership conference held in Wageningen, 4-7 October 2011
Leon Braat, Alterra - Wageningen University and Research Centre
Current issues from the international TEEB process
Asad Naqvi, UNEP-TEEB, Geneva
TEEB processes in Europe in the context of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020
Laure Ledoux, Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission, Brussels
EEA contribution to framing European Ecosystem Assessments
Valerie Laporte, European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen
Plenary Session II
Ecosystem assessment, valuation and mapping: Methodologies, approaches and links to policy processes
Chair: Leon Braat, Alterra - Wageningen University and Research Centre
The UK National Ecosystem Assessment: Lessons learnt from a national assessment process
Claire Brown, UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge
Mapping and provision of ecosystem services at the EU scale
Maria Luisa Paracchini, Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, Ispra
State of the art ecosystem research in Belgium
Sander Jacobs, University of Antwerp
Spanish experiences and views on ecosystem assessment and a possible TEEB process
Noelia Vallejo Pedregal, Spanish Ministry of Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Madrid
Portugal's ecosystems and TEEB assessments
Cristina Marta-Pedroso, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança
Grassland ecosystem services: A pilot assessment in the Czech Republic
Iva Honigova, Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic, Prague
Ecosystem services of agricultural landscape in Slovakia
Jana Spulerova, Institute of Landscape Ecology, Nitra
Working Group Session I
Linking science and policy for maintaining ecosystem services
Chair: Christoph Schröter-Schlaack, UFZ, Leipzig Results
Plenary Session III
National TEEB processes: Why, what, how and who?
Chair: Bernd Hansjürgens, UFZ, Leipzig
The Netherland's national TEEB study
Kees Hendriks, Alterra – Wageningen University and Research Centre
Germany's approach to a national TEEB process
Burkhard Schweppe-Kraft, BfN, Bonn & Bernd Hansjürgens, UFZ, Leipzig
The start of TEEB in Russia: Prospects and obstacles
Elena Bukvareva, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow
Making the economic case of biodiversity in Georgia
Anja Wittich, IUCN Caucasus Cooperation Centre, Tbilisi
Lithuania: Current status and challenges for TEEB approaches
Vytautas Narusevicius, Environmental Protection Agency, Lithuania, Vilnius
Working Group Session II
Integrating TEEB processes and their results into policy and implementation
Chair: Florian Carius, BfN, Bonn Results
World Café
Tools and instruments for maintaining ecosystem services during and beyond national TEEB processes
Chair: Florian Carius, BfN, Bonn Results
Plenary Session IV
Outputs and Way forward
Chair: Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst, BfN, Bonn Policy Brief (results paper)
Group photo
Workshop participants (Photo: Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst)
Contact
Florian Carius, Tel. 0228-8491-1764
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Division I 2.3
