2015 in-person meeting of the ecoSERVICES Scientific Steering Committee

The Scientific Steering Committee of ecoSERVICES met for a two-day meeting on 8-9 November 2015 to brainstorm the short- and medium term objectives to implement the scientific strategy of ecoSERVICES and advance ecosystem service science.

Members of the Scientific Steering Committee met at the Sustainability Institute near Stellenbosch in South Africa and stayed in the cosy guesthouse of Lynedoch ecovillage attached to it with the aim to support a community-based initiative in sustainability.

The inspiring 2-day meeting led to the formulation of a set of clear objectives and a list of activities to be undertaken in the course of the year (end of 2015 and 2016). The items that will be addressed include:

• assessing priority research questions on the topic of the governance of ecosystem services
• increasing the visibility of research and knowledge on ecosystem services beyond debates on their payments
• increasing work on agrobiodiversity and revitalising our involvement with a community of practice working on agrobiodiversity issues
• providing avenues to involve PhD students and post docs in the work of ecoSERVICES

As these activities develop, they will be communicated on our website in further details and we will aim to involve a larger community of practice in the work we undertake.