Regardless of the development of technologies that have enabled the relocation of most human communities from the natural environment, the entire human population depends on natural processes that take place in functional and preserved natural ecosystems. We owe the fulfillment of all our life needs, which we mostly take for granted, to ecosystem services: insects as natural pollinators of plants we use in food and food production, mountainous areas where rivers spring from which we draw water and natural vegetation that produces oxygen and provides stable climatic conditions.

Contemporary changes in environmental conditions have led not only to the development of scientific and professional categorization of ecosystem services, but also to the need for their identification and economic valorization at the local, national and international levels. Although the comprehensive valorization of ecosystem services is still closer to the theoretical concept, it is increasingly an unavoidable issue in the already generally accepted notion of sustainable development and the public policies that proclaim it. Thus, ecosystem services are part of 2030 Agenda, the global strategy for sustainable development, which sets the target 15.9 to integrate the values ​​of ecosystems and biodiversity into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and reports.

• When, how and why are ecosystem services assessed?
• What are the mechanisms for financing sustainability?
• What are the experiences of other countries and how does Serbia stand in that?

We invite you to join us to find out the answers to these and other questions.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 AT 4 P.M.

Our speakers are:

• Sanja Pokrajac, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Coordinator for the Living European Rivers (LER) Initiative, WWF
• Mladen Lazić, Head of the Department for Preparation of Projects Financed from EU Funds and Development Assistance, Sector for International Cooperation and European Integration of the Ministry of Finance
• Moderator: Nikola Stanojević, Council member of the Center for Biodiversity Research.

Registration is required HERE, and after registration by email you will receive all access data.

The Belgrade Open School will realize a series of webinars dedicated to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in the period from September 2020 to February 2021.

The webinar "Ecosystem Services: How Much is Nature Worth?"on Sustainable Development Goal number 15: Life on Land was organized within the framework of the Sustainable Development for All Platform, supported by the Governments of Switzerland and Germany, and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The project partners are the Belgrade Open School, the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, the Center for Advanced Economic Studies, the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, the Center for Democracy Foundation, and the Timoc Youth Center.

The Sustainable Development for All Platform implies the establishment of a public dialogue among the most important non-state actors in Serbia, such as civil society, corporate sector, academic and research community, professional associations, media, and citizens, on aligning Serbia’s development priorities with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The idea is to facilitate interaction with decision-makers on aligning Serbia’s development priorities with the goals contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Photo source: Freepik.com