ESCom Series October: What has the concept of Ecosystem Services done for us? Taking stock and looking forward

The concept of ecosystem services, first popularised by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), has become entrenched in academic and policy rhetoric. Advocates claim that it draws attention to human dependence on natural capital and the way in which Nature underpins the everyday aspects of our lives, as well as the foundation of our developed and developing economies. Critics argue that the concept is new wine in old bottles, rehashing older debates about sustainability and limits to growth whilst providing a new route for academics to access funding and build their careers. One month after the latest Ecosystem Services Conference and its resultant Antwerp Declaration, it seems to be a good opportunity to reflect on how useful the concept of Ecosystem Services has been, and could be, for integrating science, policy and practice.

ESCom Scotland are delighted to welcome international discussants Robert Costanza and Ida Kubiszewski who will complement Scottish academic, policy, NGO and industry perspectives.  During the first hour panel members will give a short and informal talk on their understanding of the concept, how they use it in their work and the future for the concept as they see it. The second hour will comprise a facilitated discussion around questions submitted by the audience before or during the event. The event will close with an informal wine reception. A distillation of the main discussion will be published as an ESCom blog post after the event whilst a video of the event will be available online for those who could not attend.

Hosted by Kirsty Blackstock, James Hutton Institute & Marc Metzger, University of Edinburgh, the event will feature the following panellists:

• Ida Kubiszewski, Senior Lecturer at the Crawford School of Public Policy at Australian National University
• Robert Costanza, Chair of Public Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
• Rebecca Badger, Environmental Economist, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
• Alessandro Gimona, Senior Researcher in Information and Computational Sciences at the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen
• Bruce Wilson, Senior Policy Officer at the Scottish Wildlife Trust
• Morag Garden, Head of Sustainability & Innovation at the Scottish Whisky Association.

For more information on the event and how to book your place, please see the event page at the ESCom website.