First, let us figure out what the economic valuation of ecosystem services means. This is a process which helps measure the true cost of industrial development, via assessing and revealing the value of natural resources and services (so called ‘ecosystem services’). These assessed outcomes can provide information for selecting policies, executive power activities, reaching solutions in terms of business and customer’s behaviour.

Considering ecosystem services when creating development policies can help to save financial resources in the future, support the economy and improve the quality of life. This approach also helps to fight poverty as it reveals the distribution of scarce and critical resources and services which people depend on.

The three-day training in ‘the economic valuation of ecosystem services’ is designed for practitioners in the area of environmental protection and development, who have basic knowledge in the area of economics and are familiar with the methods of the implementation of ecosystem services.

The purpose of the training is to provide participants with knowledge and concepts about how to develop, manage and apply the processes of the assessment of the economic value of ecosystem services and effectively and confidently use the acquired results for reinforcing the process of decision making around environmental protection and development.    

The training will help the participants shape the understanding of the main economic concepts, principles and terminology underlying ecosystem valuation; they will figure out why, when and how the research on ecosystem valuation can be useful for precise strategical objectives and terms of reaching solutions; they will be able to monitor developmental process, implementation, management and the use of results of ecosystem valuation over the course of their work.    

The training is held within the joint project of the State Committee of Uzbekistan for ecology and environmental protection, the UNDP in Uzbekistan, and the Global Ecological Fund on “The sustainable use of natural resources and forest management in the key mountain regions, important for globally vital biodiversity”.