Ecosystem Services Partnership

The Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) aims to enhance communication, coordination and cooperation, and to build a strong network of individuals and organizations. ESP enhances and encourages a diversity of approaches, while reducing unnecessary duplication of effort in the conceptualization and application of ecosystem services. By raising the profile of ecosystem services and promoting better practice, the ESP increases opportunities for financial support and help focus the funding of individual organizations for more efficient utilization of existing funds.

ESP connects over 3000 ecosystem services scientists, policy makers and practitioners who work together in more than 40 Working Groups and a growing number of National Networks on all continents. ESP is a membership based organisation, both institutional and individual members can subscribe. The Partnership has a specified governance structure and Executive committee.

In 2006 ESP started to organise yearly conferences about ecosystem services. Since 2016 ESP shifted to bi-annual World Conferences with Regional Conferences in the intermediate years.

The previous ESP9 World Conference was in Shenzhen, China in 2017. In addition to a broad range of topics on the latest state-of-the-art on the science, policy and practice of Ecosystem Services the overarching theme was Ecosystem Services for Eco-civilization: Restoring connections between people & landscapes through nature-based solutions. If you are interested in its conference proceedings, you can check here.