Move Project Participates in the High Level Celebration Conference of the First EU Wide Ecosystem Assessment

Fernando Santos-Martín, professor at king Juan Carlos University of Madrid (Spain), presented the main results and achievements of the MOVE project during the High Level Celebration Conference of the First European Union (EU) Wide Ecosystem Assessment, held in Helsinki, Finland, on 13 December 2019.

The objective of this event was to showcase how to integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services into public and private decision-making processes at all scales: local, national and continental level. It also aimed to highlight the policy relevance of the work done by the MAES (Mapping and Assessment of the State of Ecosystems and their Services) working group to the implementation of the European Green Agreement.

Among other commitments, the European Green Agreement sets as targets to be achieved by 2030 a minimum 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels, a minimum 32% share of renewable energies in final energy consumption and energy savings of at least 32.5%. In addition, Europe will need to spend 1-2% of GDP on the green economy, including new infrastructure, public procurement, R&D, industrial reorganisation and other needs.

Representatives of all EU countries participated in the Helsinki High Level Conference, and the first results of the ecosystem assessment as a result of the work of the MAES under the EU Biodiversity Strategy were presented. They also discussed how this assessment of the current strategy will contribute to post-2020 biodiversity strategy for the EU.

The participation of MOVE Project in the meeting, with the presentation by Fernando, was highly positive in terms of the progress made in achieving the project’s main goals:

• Building a collaborative network of MOVE partners (representing a number of Outermost Regions (ORs) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs)) and mainland Europe teams;
• Aligning MOVE results and outcomes with regional priorities for MAES initiatives; and
• Helping to accomplish the Communication and Dissemination Strategic Plan for developing MAES in the European Overseas.

Fernando’ presentation focused particularly on the current state of art of ecosystem services research in ORs/OCTs, with focus on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES).

The presentation highlighted that this information, knowledge and data are relevant for the implementation of Action 5 of Target 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

For further information: https://eu2019.fi/en/events/2019-12-13/ministry-of-the-environment-celebration-conference-on-mapping-and-assessment-of-ecosystems-and-their-services-maes-in-europe?fbclid=IwAR2xB2BZZMuWAStXVyEVbjzCCkiWkSU6delTJl_go2UvV9uujy9oWLE8x3U