PEGASUS is a new European project on “Public Ecosystem Goods And Services from land management – Unlocking the Synergies”, coordinated by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (UK). From 1st March 2015 and for the following three years, Euromontana will be involved in this new project, funded by the research funding scheme Horizon 2020.
EU’s agricultural and forestry land provides a wide range of public goods (PG) and ecosystem services (ESS) on which society depends, yet land use decisions and society often under-value these . PEGASUS will develop innovative, practical ways of making PG and ESS concepts accessible and operational: it will identify how, where and when cost-effective mechanisms and tools for policy, business and practice can most effectively be applied, increasing the sustainability of primary production in pursuit of the EU2020 vision of ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’.
PEGASUS will adopt participatory action research with public and private actors and stakeholders to better understand the range of policy and practical challenges in different case study contexts (localities, sectors, management systems, etc.). New datasets, transferable methods and tools that are fit-for-purpose and sensitive to the plurality of decision-making contexts will be generated.
By improving recognition of the social and economic value of PG, PEGASUS will promote improved and innovative approaches to their provision by businesses and communities, and highlight specific policy improvements.
The provision of public ecosystem goods and services is particularly important in mountain areas. In the coming three years, Euromontana will actively share PEGASUS results, which could be of great interest for mountain people.
26 February 2015
