Participation in the National Ecosystem Assessment Initiative Global Workshop

The Global Workshop is organized within the National Ecosystem Assessment Initiative led by UNEP-WCMC, focusing on supporting countries around the world and building capacities for them to undertake national ecosystem assessments and empower the full consideration of the value of nature in decision-making. The initiative is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). As part of the NEA Initiative’s global capacity-building programme, the workshop is expected to be attended by national ecosystem assessment representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Botswana, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Malawi, Thailand, alongside other international experts and project partners. In B&iH the NEA project is implemented by the University of Sarajevo under the name Assessment of the State of Nature and Management of Natural Resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The workshops objectives were to: (1) Identify and facilitate key capacity development support based on countries’ priority needs, (2) provide key updates on project progress and lessons learned between and across countries to facilitate knowledge exchange, (3) to present key tools to countries developed by UNEP-WCMC and partners relevant for the development of national ecosystem assessments and their further implementation, (4) provide feedback for UNEP-WCMC and partners to strengthen and improve their support for current and future partners going forward, to (5) facilitate and promote networking opportunities and strengthen global communities of practice around ecosystem assessments.

The representatives for Bosnia and Herzegovina were prof. dr. Milan Mataruga (Assessment – Co-Chair), prof. dr. Josip Jurković, doc. dr. Sandra Kobajica (Coordinating Lead Authors of chapter 4) and prof. dr. Gordana Đurić (Coordinating Lead Author of chapter 6). Over the course of five days, they had the opportunity to exchange experiences with other partner countries and to transfer the acquired knowledge and lessons learned to the team upon their return to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The goal in the creation of a  high-quality and comprehensive document Assessment of the State of Nature and Management of Natural Resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina.