Projects

Foundations for the strategic planning of ecosystem services-based green infrastructure developments supported by regularly updated datasets (ÖSZ-ZI)

Ongoing projects

Summary:

The project builds on the results of a previous national programme entitled: “Strategic assessments supporting the long-term conservation of natural values of community interest, as well as the national implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020” (KEHOP-4.3.0-VEKOP-15-2016-00001).

Within that programme, the “National Ecosystem Service Mapping and Assessment” project (2016 –2022) delivered the first nationwide ecosystem condition and ecosystem service assessments, along with a comprehensive survey of green infrastructure.

However, the methodological framework required for the systematic assessment and monitoring of changes in ecosystem condition, ecosystem services, and the green infrastructure network was not fully available. In addition, practical tools enabling the direct use of results in planning and decision-making processes related to the conservation of green infrastructure and ecosystem services were lacking.

The aim of the present project is therefore to develop new, practice-oriented tools that can be directly applied in day-to-day planning and decision-making. These tools will support the integration of ecosystem services and green infrastructure conservation into sectoral policies, regional development, and land-use decisions.

Key elements of the project:

• Development and testing of sector-specific planning and decision-making processes and tools that support the integration of near-natural ecosystems and green infrastructure conservation into priority sectors.
• Development and updating of decision-support planning tools that facilitate sectoral integration, including analysis of short-term changes in ecosystem condition and ecosystem services (2015 – 2023).
• National- and regional-level future scenario analyses for ecosystems, ecosystem services, and green infrastructure.
  Identification of economic regulatory instruments and incentives that contribute to the protection of ecosystems, ecosystem services, and green infrastructure.
• Coordinated application of national and urban green infrastructure planning tools through regional pilot projects, including the development of tools based on ecosystem services relevant to urban green infrastructure analysis.
• Coordinated use of national and urban green infrastructure planning tools in sample areas, including ecosystem services to aid the analysis of urban green spaces.

Working Groups

The project is based on nationwide data collection, database development, modelling, and creation of decision-supporting tools. The following working groups have started their activities:

• Sectoral integration
• Updating the national ecosystem base map
• Ecosystem condition assessment and mapping
• Ecosystem service assessment
• Green infrastructure condition and development
• The project is supported by the European Union and co-financed by the State of Hungary.

Project website:
https://termeszetvedelem.hu/kehop_plusz-3-2-2-24-2024-00002/