Ecological Networks: from Spatial Strategy to Implementation

An international workshop on planning, stakeholder involvement, practical delivery

and cost-benefits of ecological networks

Oisterwijk (the Netherlands), 1 and 2 October 2008

Background and context
This two-day workshop will: 1) present the latest advances in knowledge, planning and implementation of ecological networks; 2) consider what represents best-practice policy and how to generalize this; 3) formulate clear and practical recommendations for a better delivery of ecological networks Europe-wide; and 4) identify specific benefits for different sectors of society.

The workshop is being organized by ECNC-European Centre for Nature Conservation in cooperation with Alterra, Wageningen UR, and will take place in Oisterwijk (the Netherlands) on 1 and 2 October 2008, as part of two ongoing research projects, coordinated by ECNC and financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

The results of both ECNC projects and two further themes will be presented, all related to the planning and implementation of ecological networks. Each of the four selected themes will be introduced by project partner presentations or high-level keynote speakers and will be followed by facilitated interactive sessions and plenary discussions. The themes are:

• The interactions between spatial planning and ecological networks in Europe: presentations from the participating countries, highlighting opportunities, threats and recommendations

• Catalysing stakeholder involvement for the delivery of ecological networks: presentations dealing with science, stakeholders and practical delivery (case studies), highlighting opportunities, obstacles and solutions

• Multifunctional landscapes and biodiversity: presentations covering field scale (green veining) to landscape level (defragmentation through ecological networks), ecosystem services, highlighting biogeographic variations and links to practical delivery

• Costs and benefits of ecological networks: presentations highlighting financial instruments, current issues, solutions and opportunities.

The outcomes of the workshop will be disseminated widely and will be presented and discussed at the European Conference on Agriculture and Biodiversity, organized in Montpellier on 4 and 5 November 2008 in the framework of the French EU Presidency. This is a high-level conference presenting the agenda for future research and implementation of the relationship of biodiversity and agriculture in Europe.

For more information, please contact: Mrs Angelique Beekes (beekes@ecnc.og). ECNC-European Centre for Nature Conservation; Tel.:  +31-13-5944944 

The project partners in the SPEN and KEN projects are: the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection (Czech Republic); Alterra (the Netherlands); Centre for Agricultural Landscape and Land Use Research, ZALF (Germany); Estonian University of Life Sciences (Estonia); Federal Office for the Environment, FOEN (Switzerland); Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development, IOER (Germany); Natural England (United Kingdom); Orbicon (Denmark); State Institute for Nature Protection, SINP (Croatia); Syzygy (the Netherlands); and Terra (Spain).