Biodiver_CITY − Establishment of interurban biocorridors in the urban region of San José, Costa Rica 

Short summary

The project supports various stakeholders (Ministry of the Environment, protected area authority, selected city administrations in the metropolitan region, etc.) in integrating ecosystem services and interurban biocorridors into sustainable urban planning. This includes: (1) integrating relevant concepts into urban planning and management tools, (2) strengthening the capacity of stakeholders responsible for the management of interurban biocorridors, and (3) developing and disseminating innovative approaches in the country, as well as forming national and international partnerships to integrate ecosystem services into urban and biocorridor planning.

Role of UFZ

For the San Jose metropolitan region (GAM), ecosystem service analyses are to be carried out together with partners to underpin the content of a regional concept Ciudad Verde ('Green City') for the GAM. These analyses can result in various products, e.g. a thematic ecosystem service atlas or an environmental index (set of indicators). The UFZ is responsible for the conception of these analyses and coordinates the content-related cooperation with project partners. In selected biocorridors within the GAM, the UFZ will support local stakeholders in the selection and design of suitable measures and instruments that contribute to the protection and sustainable use of biocorridors. To this end, the UFZ will follow the methodology of 'Ecosystem Service Opportunities' (ESO). The UFZ will support project partners in the development and implementation of training modules on the use of the ecosystem service perspective, or conduct training itself as required. The UFZ will synthesize the lessons learned from the project for international expert debates (CBD, IPBES, etc.), e.g. in the form of discussion papers, presentations and specialist articles.