Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services

The content of the course includes the following:

• Introduction to the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services.

• Definitions, historical review of the establishment and integration of the ecosystem services concept in sustainable management and decision-making.

• Conceptual framework connecting natural capital and socio-economic systems.

• Classification of ecosystem types and their services: identification, classification methods and categories, obstacles, challenges.

• Basic principles and main methods of mapping ecosystem types and biophysical parameters.

• Natural capital mapping: mapping scales, mapping object, creation of thematic maps for communication of research results and decision support.

• Mapping ecosystem services, main mapping methods: What do we choose to map, Where, When and Why?

• Qualitative and quantitative assessment of ecosystem condition and of ecosystem services: methods of assessing ecosystem condition, identification of provided services and demand for services, development and assessment of future management scenarios.

• The value of ecosystem services in decision-making: practical applications of mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services.

• Ecosystem services, rural development and protected areas: challenges, opportunities and prospects.

• Natural capital accounting: indicators, methods, natural capital accounts and ecosystem services.

Laboratory exercises

• Identification, assessment and mapping of ecosystem types in Greece.

• Case study application: natural ecosystems.

• Case study application: agroecosystems.

• Case study application: mixed ecosystems and protected areas.

• Identification, assessment and mapping of ecosystem services: application to case studies (selection and application of methods, indicators and use of relevant software).

• Development of sustainable management scenarios to support decision-making– synthesis of policy proposals.