Urban

Introduction

Biodiversity loss on our planet is a cruel certainty that urges societal interventions on a global scale. It requires the development of policy and governance to preserve key ecosystem services that impact strongly on our well-being. Our research addresses “why, when, where, and how” we can better manage and restore socio-ecological URBAN ECOSYSTEMS in BULGARIA. These are crucial questions to promote alternative regimes combining conservation, sustainable use and restoration. Given the growing anthropogenic load on the global ecosystem, the concept of ecosystem services has dominated debates regarding sustainable land use management since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA 2005).

Cities are expanding, both in Bulgaria and globally, while the area for nature is reduced. The continuous urban sprawl and the increasing demand on resources and energy provoke serious discussion on ensuring better human well-being in the settlements while preventing the increasing loss of biodiversity.

The most recent data collected in contrasting urban environment reveals a clear linkage between the conditions of ecosystems and supply of ecosystem services depending on sub-types of urbanized ecosystems and their level of anthropogenic pressure. Therefore the main goal is to develop our understanding how human activities influence functional and structural processes in these specific ecosystems through assessment of current ecosystem conditions and how this impacts the provision of ecosystem services in all urban ecosystems out of NATURA 2000. These are central questions in any landscape-scale ecological assessment and constitute major challenges in this research.

In addition, it is very important to understand the values societies place on urbanized ecosystems as this will be key to promoting the preservation/restoration of the valuable habitat spaces within the urban areas.

Urban landscapes provide a number of benefits for the human society through their ecosystem services (ESs). When creating and planning urban territories specific criteria are required in order to give a basis for sustainable supply of ESs.

Green infrastructure (GI) is understood as a strategic approach to develop “an interconnected network of green space that conserves natural ecosystem values and functions, and that provides associated benefits to human populations” (Benedict and McMahon, 2002) and could be considered as “urban nature”. Development of urban GI could play a significant role as a planning concept for both integration and promotion of biodiversity and ESs, and adapt to local contexts.

An ecosystem assessment as required for the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 needs to provide both an analysis of the natural environment by looking at the state of biodiversity and ecosystems and by evaluating the level of ecosystem services provided to people (ecosystem service assessment). It needs to consider both the ecosystems from which the services are derived and also the people who depend on and are affected by changes in the supply of services, thereby connecting environmental and development sectors

The EU initiative on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES), with the support of all Member States, contributes to improve the knowledge on ecosystem services. MAES is one of the building-block initiatives supporting the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020.

Following the EU initiative MAES and aiming implementation of Target 2, action 5 of the Biodiversity strategy to 2020, in the frame of the predefined project: BG03.PDP 2 Methodological assistance for ecosystem assessment and biophysical valuation (MetEcoSMAP) was produced the national methodological framework for assessment of the ecosystem condition and their services.

In the frame of the predefined project BG03.PDP2: “Methodological assistance for ecosystems assessment and biophysical valuation” (MetEcoSMAP), which’is implemented under the programme BG03 “Biodiversity and ecosystem services”, funded by the FM of the European Economic Area 2009-2014, was produced a national methodological framework on mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services.

This national methodological framework aims to streamline the national ecosystem mapping and biophysical assessment process in Bulgaria.

The methodology delivers a practical step-by-step guidance to the process of:

Methodoly of mapping and asseement of urban ecosystem