Linking ecology and economics

New tools and resources in ecological economics (EE) are helping countries in need to overcome conflicts of interest related to the environment, ultimately promoting sustainability.

In an age where sustainability has become the key to a secure future, the field of EE has attempted to bridge the gap between human economies and natural ecosystems. In this context, the EU-funded project 'CSO engagement with ecological economics' (CEECEC) aimed to render the principles and tools of EE more accessible to the public. The project worked on reinforcing research in EE, building links with eco-minded economists and civil society organisations (CSOs) to create better EE policies.

The project enhanced collaboration on EE policy research among researchers, CSOs and other stakeholders, particularly in the Balkan region. It conducted workshops on EE tools and concepts, in addition to publishing an online EE handbook for teachers, CSOs and others. This has helped CSOs gain knowledge on key concepts and methods in the field. The team focused on topics related to social metabolism such as material flows, virtual water, energy returned on investment (EROI), and life-cycle analysis (LCA).

Through intensive research initiatives, the project outlined key topics for future research in the fields of energy, water, mining, agriculture, trade, forestry and urban waste. To illustrate, one project topic studied the conflict between sugar and biofuel production that threatens a fragile wetland ecosystem. Other conflicts involving issues related to light pollution, transport and nuclear power generation were also investigated.

CEECEC documented environmental conflicts, building a network of CSOs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. It mapped the state of the environment and documented active CSO concerns in the region to enhance collaboration and create better environmental policies. This led to developing new resources and organising workshops to help resolve environmental conflicts, as such addressing diverse concerns including ecotourism management, protected areas, industrial logging and water disputes.

Towards the end of the project, CEECEC successfully prepared a blueprint for future collaboration and developed an online EE toolkit, including teaching/learning tools for citizens, academia and policymakers. The initiative is set to help the examination of environmental issues, as well as to clarify economic valuation and payment for environmental services.

More details can be found at the following link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=OFFR_TM_EN&ACTION=D&RCN=10992