A National Ecosystem Services Assessment and Mapping for the status and future development of ecosystem services and biodiversity

Summer School "Assessing and modelling ecosystem services", 15^th to 19^th March 2021

The joint Ecuadorian-German Summer School will provide insights into:

1. The concept of ecosystem services and underlying processes.
2. Driving factors of changes in ecosystem services and biodiversity & policy needs.
3. The assessment and modelling of ecosystem services.

Invited talks, lectures and training in the context of ecosystem services, biodiversity and ecosystem services modelling (in English) are planned. You will get to know the online platform GISCAME for ecosystem services assessment and scenario development. The summer school can be potentially used as opportunity of exchange between students from Germany and Ecuador but also to get in contact with different national and international scientists and practicioners. The Summer School was planned to be conducted at the Ikiam Campus in Tena with short field trips but, unfortunately, the situation with Covid-19 does not allow this great experience. However, the Summer School will be conducted online, will be free of charge and allows a wider audience to participate. Please find further information in the PDF about the application process, program and lecturers.

Other activities

Excursion to the typical ecosystems in Ecuador – such as paramo, dry forest, Andean forest, and Amazon rain forest to train German researchers; the excursion will be used also to fine-tune research and therefore also used as meeting of project partners; target group(s): German scientists / students, principal investigators and involved scientists:

Mutual visits of guest lecturers – teaching forestry aspects and biome knowledge from IKIAM and techniques in assessing and mapping ecosystem services in the context of sustainability studies from MLU; this will be combined with a mutual short term scientific visit, so that in result of this exchange joint publications are developed; target group(s): PhD students and PostDocs

Field studies of master students – graduation work carried out in the ecoregions dealing with the research questions; target group(s): German and Ecuadorian students