Cases Studies

Natuurinvest (OC-ANB) Belgium This Innovation Action will test an alternative way to stimulate the generation of much needed forest ecosystem services in a densely populated region, Flanders. This alternative approach should lead to a more efficient use of the limited financial resources and support initiatives that are considered important to the relevant stakeholders and society as a whole. Two pilots projects have been identified for the reverse auction process: restoration of habitats in hunting areas and the creation of shooting strips at forest borders in rural areas. If the results of the pilot projects are positive, evidence will be gathered to [...]

Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia (DFB) Spain The main objective of this Innovation Action is to create a new legal framework for forest and forestry that will improve how the provision, valuation and monitoring of ecosystem services is addressed and that will bridge current market failures through innovative mechanisms. The intended impact is to make forest activity more profitable in order to maintain such activity and the correct management of forests in Bizkaia. It is crucial to change views about Forest Ecosystem Services and to value them. If we fail to value the services that forests provide, we run the risk [...]

Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) Finland A payment for ecosystem services system, the Landscape and Recreation Value Trade, is proposed, in which forest owners would be compensated for voluntarily enhancing the provision of landscape and recreational values in their own forests. The funds for the mechanism may be collected from visitors and/or tourism entrepreneurs using the area. A model for piloting this payment for ecosystem services mechanism is established in the Ruka-Kuusamo tourism area in Finland. The SINCERE project provides support to develop the model with local stakeholders and offers the possibility of testing its functioning in a real life [...]

Centre for Forest Ecology and Productivity of the Russian Academy of Science (CEPF RAS) Russia This innovation action aims to develop mechanisms for multi-purpose forest management by enabling multi-purpose leasing on rented forest plots. The ultimate aim is to increase the economic efficiency of forestry while maintaining a balance between all ecosystem services. Stakeholders are involved on three levels: renters, who propose multi-purpose forest management for a rented plot; regional and federal powers, who support proposals to amend the Forest Code to include several regulating and supporting ecosystem services; and local government bodies and municipalities who are involved in the [...]

Centre de Proprietat Forestal (CPF) supported by Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) Spain This innovation case is strengthening the link between forests and water with the overall aim of diversifying financing sources for forest management by integrating ecosystem service provision into the economic balance sheet. Work includes integration in the Masterplan for the Rialb Reservoir where different local stakeholders (economic, tourism, water and others) are already working together. The aim is for written recognition in a legal document of the role of forestry in water and landscape conservation, and the recognition of forestry as a potentially relevant [...]

Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Peru This innovation case focuses on how part of the urban water tariff in the city of Cusco can be used to provide a reward for ecosystem services around Piuray Lake, located near the city. Local and national stakeholders are involved in developing the knowledge base needed for the reward mechanism, via participatory workshops to analyse problems and propose solutions which will facilitate environmental management and provide essential information on how to manage trade-offs between local rural needs and urban water demand. Coordinators Bruno Locatelli b.locatelli@cgiar.org Center for International Forestry [...]

Danish Forest Association in collaboration with University of Copenhagen Denmark In Denmark, adequate efforts for biodiversity protection needs to bring both public and privately owned areas into play, due to the ownership structure of the land. Research shows that private forest owners are ready to participate and safeguard biodiversity and key habitats if given the appropriate incentives. There is a clear scope for redesigning grant schemes to make them both more attractive and more cost efficient from a socioeconomic point of view. This case study addresses this issue and contributes to a long-term ambition of changing the way public grant [...]

Pan Bern AG Switzerland This innovation action explores how managing forests to be used as spiritual forests and forest kindergartens could benefit both the forest and the forest owner. The core impact of the case study is to raise awareness of the importance of cultural ecosystem services and to motivate forest actors to manage forests appropriately. SINCERE supports this innovation action to demonstrate how new markets for nature-based forest solutions are developed and provides evidence for policy makers to support long-term sustainable management of forests. Ultimately, it aims to increase societal understanding and love of forests. Coordinators [...]

Public Institution Nature Park Medvednica (PINPM) Croatia This Innovation Action will provide a unique and innovative way of evaluating health as a component of forest ecosystem services. The goal is to develop several scenarios for payments of those services, as well as empower future management of the protected area. It may also allow some programmes to be launched in cooperation with health institutions on activities related to human health and rehabilitation. In parallel, the case will raise public awareness about forest ecosystem services in order to increase uptake, and so that all stakeholders and park visitors recognise the benefits of forests [...]

Etifor Italy This initiative, in the Regional Park Oglio Sud, is increasing the sustainability of poplar plantations in an area under intensive use, by linking social and ecological benefits with economic aspects through the spread of FSC® certification in local farms. In this way, a compliance requirement is transformed into an opportunity to protect nature. “Ecopay” is expected to have economic, ecological and social impacts. Funding for interventions in the Park will increase, along with income for farmers, while, by the end of the project, there will be more restored and maintained habitats in the Park and more sustainable management [...]