Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash. 

The National Ecosystem Assessment Initiative (NEA Initiative) at UNEP-WCMC launched a new website to support countries undertaking ecosystem assessments.

The new online platform hosts a range of resources produced by the NEA Initiative and its partners, including webinars, guidance documents, reports, case-studies and lessons learned.

Facilitating online support and knowledge-exchange

Since 2017, the NEA Initiative has worked with 14 countries to conduct or scope their national ecosystem assessments. Through this new website, the Initiative is building capacity and fostering knowledge exchange between existing partners and the broader community of practice on national ecosystem assessments.

The NEA Initiative’s website aims to:

1. Present and promote the national ecosystem assessment process
2. Raise the profile of the NEA Initiative’s country partners and their assessments
3. Facilitate free access to a range of resources, including guides, workshops and webinars, case-studies, and reports to support anyone undertaking or interested in national ecosystem assessments
4. Publish regular updates on news and events from across the NEA Initiative, including public events made available through the Sub-Global Assessment Network (SGAN)

Supporting national ecosystem assessments around the world

The NEA Initiative supports countries across 5 continents conducting national ecosystem assessments to empower the consideration of the full value of nature in decision-making. This support is delivered in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) under the umbrella of the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net).

A national ecosystem assessment is a nationally-driven process to develop an up-to-date, comprehensive and critical synthesis of knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services and its interlinkages to people. It is a stakeholder-driven process that is tailored to suit country needs, and it is framed around key policy questions to support national decision-making processes on the conservation and sustainable use of nature.

National ecosystem assessments lay out the status and trends on biodiversity and ecosystem services in a given country, their drivers of change, the impacts those drivers are having now and in the future, and the effectiveness of interventions and responses. The assessment process aims to engage with a diverse range of authors and multiple knowledge systems, including knowledge that is held by indigenous peoples and local communities.

Learn more about national ecosystem assessments and the NEA Initiative.

Join the Sub-Global Assessment Network and stay up-to-date on the latest events and resources. 

The National Ecosystem Assessment Initiative at UNEP-WCMC is part of the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net), working in partnership with UNDP and UNESCO. Financial support was provided by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of the Federal Republic of Germany.