DESSIN stakeholder workshop

A workshop with stakeholders within the Emscher region was held at the headquarters of Emschergenossenschaft in Essen on November 20th. The event was titled “Which ecosystem services are being provided or reinforced by the Emscher conversion?”. The term ecosystem services (ESS) was explained with the example of pollination by bees in a kick-off presentation, followed by a presentation on the Emscher conversion process and how it changes the streams and the region.

In a third presentation, DESSIN was introduced and the DESSIN-ESS assessment method and its application to the Emscher case were explained. Aim of the discussion was to detect any ESS or beneficiaries of ESS that were not yet considered within the assessment. Finally, a short “survey” was conducted with the participates in order to get a picture on how they rank the extent of service provision before and after the Emscher conversion as well as what would be their prioritization of ESS.

The ESS considered are (clockwise): flood protection, recreation, tourism, fishing, aesthetics, quality of life, research, environmental education, habitat & biodiversity, local climate regulation, erosion prevention, minimum water flow regulation, and nutrient retention.