URBES – Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

URBES aims to bridge the knowledge gap on the links between urbanization, ecosystem services and biodiversity. Specific goals of the project are to: 

• address significant scientific knowledge gaps on the role of urban biodiversity and ecosystem services for human well-being and be of importance for building capacity of European cities to adapt to climate change and reduce ecological footprint
• pioneer the development of the TEEB- approach in an urban context and be innovative in integrating monetary and non-monetary valuation techniques, explore their governance implications and develop guidelines for implementation in urban landscapes
• develop a professional communication and training program together with ICLEI and IUCN
• actively link to important policy mechanisms and contribute to global partnerships with e.g. CBD, TEEB, IPBES, as well as with EU on the post-2010 EU Biodiversity Strategy, and the Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment, and with nations through input to national biodiversity strategies and environmental objectives (e.g. in Sweden)

URBES builds on case studies of four European cities: Berlin, Rotterdam, Salzburg and Stockholm. Some studies are also done on the cities of Barcelona, Helsinki and New York. The research consortium consists of eleven world-leading research institutes on social-ecological studies of urban areas based in Europe and the USA (New York). 
At TUM, we contribute to 1. Analysis of linkages between urban land use systems, biodiversity and ecosystem services, 2. Development of non-monetary methods for valuation of ecosystem services, 3. Integration of monetary and non-monetary valuation of ecosystem services into a decision support tool, and 4. Development of planning strategies and scenarios for green infrastructure planning in urban areas.