VESPLAN (Vulnerability, Ecosystem Services and land use PLANning). An Ibero-American network

LATERRA, PEDRO

San José de Costa Rica

Congreso; 7 Annual Conference Ecosystem Services Partnership; 2014

Ecosystem Service Partnership

The creation of the VESPLAN network is intended to contribute to the exchange and discussion of experiences on integrated assessment of ecosystem services (hereafter SE) relevant to the member countries of the network, including quantification, modeling, assessment and mapping, as well as the vulnerability of socio- environmental systems against loss of SE. Particular attention are paid to SE relevant to socio-ecosystems and social sectors which are more exposed and have less adaptive capacity to cope with ES losses. In order to contribute to the inclusion of the SE approach in Latin America and the Caribbean as a basis for territorial planning for the  improving the quality of life of local communities, our main envisaged actions are the following: a) consolidation of conceptual and methodological assessment frameworks SE through the exchange of experiences among the participating groups , b) their collaboration on the analysis of case studies distributed among member countries , c) the formation of human capabilities, and d) the communication concepts and results. The relevant stakeholders involved in the provision and use of the SE, the most vulnerable social groups and society as a whole will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the synergistic cooperation that we aims to promote through different mechanisms of inter and transdisciplinary interaction. Therefore, as one of the main objectives of this network for the next year, the 4th International Congress of Ecosystem Services in the Neotropics (to be held at September 2015 in Argentina), will be announced and briefly described. VESPLAN is currently supported by CYTED (Ibero-American Program for the Science, Technology and Development).