Article written by Alexandra Postrigan, Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships Consultant, BES-Net
What is the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP), how did it originate, and what’s the focus of your work?
Rudolf de Groot (hereafter Dolf): ESP is a bottom-up initiative proposed by the scientific community in 2008 during a workshop held at Salzau Castle, Germany. Since its inception, ESP has worked, as the name says, with the overarching intention of partnering and reaching out to the broader community of enthusiasts working on the concept of ecosystem services. Over the years, we have developed a lot of working groups that provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas. We also organised many conferences as an important means to exchange ideas, experiences and inspiration to strengthen the partnership further and "spread the word".
Sander Jacobs (hereafter Sander): I met ESP in 2010 as a PhD student, then I gradually got more and more engaged through the ESP working groups. Since then, I have witnessed the growth of the network, its institutionalisation and the setting up of the steering committee, which I’m part of for the second term, this time co-chairing it with Zuzana. Our structure is very organic and open, far from the rigid parameters of multinational companies.
Zuzana Harmáčková (hereafter Zuzana): I would add that ESP is a group of people who are very much focused on ecosystem services research but feel the need to get this research into practice to inform policymaking, ultimately, to contribute to the transformational change in the world around us. It’s a membership organisation open to anyone who wants to become a member and who wants to be a part of this network. We collaborate through thematic working groups, focusing on a specific theme related to biodiversity or ecosystem services. Through national and regional networks, we’re trying to connect people who might see the issues of ecosystem services from a similar perspective or in the same context.
What has been the evolution of your work over the last few years?
Sander: Over the years that I was part of ESP, there has been a considerable broadening in scope. In the beginning, our focus was on connecting ecology to economics with the hope that it would make an impact and reach policymakers. As the network evolved, this scope has also grown and now touches upon social science, justice and civic participation. We’re moving in a more multisectoral and multidisciplinary dimension. This is also visible from all the working and sub-working groups that reflect this dynamic.
The disciplinary diversity of ESP has grown, as the geographic diversity did. It’s still a Europe-centred organization, yet if you see the number of national networks and regional conferences in all the continents organised yearly, it keeps expanding steadily.
A crucial common denominator of the scientists active in ESP is being intentional in informing policymakers and the practice community. Whether ecologists, economists or social scientists, our network members want their findings to serve the global community by providing solid scientific ground for decision-makers to make right, informed choices. We see that influence and impact on a policy level, also thanks to the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). As ESP, we try to stay open to dialogue and move forward in our big joint mission of addressing biodiversity loss and the climate crisis. To do that, we have to become more interdisciplinary.
Also, mainstreaming gender in science is very close to our hearts. That’s why we developed affirmative action on gender representation and geographical balance within our steering committee. These are some tectonic shifts that I have witnessed and had the honour to contribute to.
ESP organises several conferences every year. Would you tell our audience about these events, and what are the plans for 2022?
Dolf: ESP conferences are for the members and the network, with strong input from the working groups. Our working groups use conferences as a platform to discuss progress, make new plans or simply get together for a few days to delve into the details of these issues. An important asset of ESP is that in between conferences, the dialogue continues. Especially for young ES scientists and practitioners, these conferences provide an important opportunity to present their work, meet peers and seniors, make new contacts and find their place in the big ES universe. For our 4th ESP Europe Conference planned in Crete, Greece, on 10–14 October 2022, we’ve recently issued a call for sessions. We would be delighted to share it with the BES-Net community!
Mainstreaming gender in science is very close to our hearts. That’s why we developed affirmative action on gender representation and geographical balance within our steering committee.
Over the last two years, much work moved entirely online, including conferences. How do you cope with the challenges of the pandemic?
Zuzana: Its regular conferences have always been a backbone for the ESP community, allowing people to meet, network and exchange ideas. Of course, the pandemic has posed a significant challenge in this respect. However, the ESP network has adapted quickly thanks to the enthusiasm and flexibility of the conference organizing committees across different regions. We have switched to entirely online and hybrid conference formats, including online spaces for informal discussions and exchanges.
Within regular ESP operation, we were pretty excited to see how many enthusiastic colleagues we have in ESP who are willing to organize virtual events both within the community and for the general public. Over time, we developed valid best practices, including webinars, online workshops for colleagues from the ecosystem services world and virtual seminars to assist IPBES and other processes. So, it was inspiring to see how rapidly we came up with innovative solutions and formats to shift to virtual reality and adapt to the new normal. But ultimately, I think all this work aimed to make us feel part of an ecosystem services community.
In times like these, we sense the importance of belonging. Initiatives like ESP build a network that creates a critical mass of people who are interested in making a case for conservation and sustainable development. As we cope with the pandemic's side effects, including isolation and emotional fatigue, at ESP, we facilitate and encourage dialogue and create opportunities for interaction among the members of the network to respond to that essential need of belonging to a community.
- 3rd ESP Africa Conference, 8–10 June 2022, Musanze, Rwanda (hybrid)
- 2nd ESP the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA ) Regional Conference, 2022, Agadir, Morocco
- 4th ESP Europe Conference, 10–14 October 2022, Heraklion, Crete, Greece Call for Sessions is open until 15 April
- ACES-ESP Conference postponed to 12–16 December 2022, USA