The 6th Regional Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership
The 6th Regional Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) was held in Prague from 18 to 21 May 2026. The main organiser of this year’s international ESP conference, entitled Advancing Ecosystem Services Knowledge for Achieving a Nature- and People-Positive Europe, was the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe).
The strong interest in the conference was reflected in the 95 proposals submitted for thematic sessions and a total of 750 registered abstracts. One of the 75 accepted sessions was organised by the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. The session, entitled Conflicts in the Use of Ecosystem Services, aimed to stimulate creative discussion of conflicts arising from ecosystem service use and to identify ways to mitigate them through innovative approaches and solutions.
A total of 11 contributions from eight countries were presented in the session. The lectures focused primarily on methodological approaches to conflict assessment, proposals for the effective use of ecosystem services, and examples of best practice. Most contributions addressed conflicts between cultural and provisioning ecosystem services, as well as between cultural and regulating ecosystem services. Other topics included methods for involving stakeholders in ecosystem management and integrating ecosystem service knowledge into spatial planning processes.
A training course for PhD students was also held before the conference. In addition to practical methods for assessing ecosystem services, participants received valuable guidance on successfully publishing their research results.
The Ecosystem Services Partnership brings together more than 3,000 scientists, policymakers and experts working in the field of ecosystem services. Members collaborate through more than 40 working groups dedicated to developing new methods and approaches for ecosystem service assessment. ESP regularly organises global and regional conferences and provides a range of services to strengthen the practical application of ecosystem service knowledge. To ensure broad international participation, the conference is hosted on a different continent each year.
Prepared by: Zita Izakovičová, Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS
Photo: Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS