EU Green Week 2017 will take place from 29 May to 2 June with the theme of 'Green jobs for a greener future'. It will focus on how EU environmental policies are creating green jobs and contributing to economic, sustainable and socially responsible growth in the EU. It will also highlight the demand for new types of green skills in many professional sectors.

In addition to a high level conference in Brussels, the programme will also feature a series of partner events and actions taking place across Europe. As well as being invited to take part in person, stakeholders and the general public are encouraged to become 'virtually' involved by participating in a wide range of on-line and social media activities.

More information is available here: http://www.eugreenweek.eu/

The international scientific conference "Mapping and assessment of ecosystem services - science in action" aims to bring together researchers from different countries to discuss the scientific aspects of mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. It will be focused on the methods for mapping of ecosystem services, the challenges and problems of their implementation in the national assessments related to MAES. The program includes plenary sessions with keynotes and workshops on the main conference topics:

 - Mapping of ecosystems

 - Assessment of ecosystem’s condition

 - Mapping and assessment of ecosystem services

• Biophysical perspectives

• Socio-cultural perspectives

More information is availabe on the official conference website.

Sfécologie2016, the 2016 International Conference of the French Ecological Society, will take place  in Marseille (France), from 24-28 October 2016. Local organizer is the 'Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie' (IMBE).

Following the former successful events (Ecologie 2010 in Montpellier and Joint Meeting British Ecological Society/Sfé 2014 in Lille), Sfécologie 2016 will promote and support exchanges around the latest developments in research and the most exciting challenges raised from the different disciplines of ecology, sharing scientific evidences, confronting experiences, developing collaborations around the Mediterranean Sea, across Europe, across the world.

The 4-days programme will be extensive, including 5 plenary speakers, thematic sessions and 14 symposia as well as inviting social events (conference outline here). 

For more information visit the official event's page.

Registration is now open for the IUCN World Conservation Congress with the theme Planet at the crossroads, taking place from 1 to 10 September 2016 in Hawaiʻi, U.S.A. The Congress is organized by theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and hosted by the State of Hawaiʻi with the support of the Department of State of the USA.

The Congress aims to improve the way natural environment for human, social and economic development is managed. This is the place to work together to create good environmental governance, engaging all parts of society to share both the responsibilities and the benefits of conservation.

For more information and registration, visit the official webpage of the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

The 10th European Conference on Ecological Restoration "Best Practice in Restoration" will be hosted by theDepartment Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan - Technische Universität München, on 22-26 August 2016.

Past mismanagement and habitat degradation require counter measures, including habitat restoration and development of novel management approaches, not only in Europe but in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia. It is the concern of ecological restoration to make ecosystem repair and reconstruction technically feasible, successful in enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem function, and sustainable for society and economy in future generations. 

The conference will run from Monday to Thursday, with Friday optionally included for workshops and group discussions. Mid-conference field trips to an exciting range of German restoration sites are scheduled for Wednesday. Two long-distance excursions are also being planned: One to the National Parks Bavarian and Bohemian Forest, and one through the German and Austrian Alps to Italy.

The conference will strive to provide a friendly and exciting atmosphere to stimulate dialogue between restoration scientists, practitioners and policy makers, and to collaborate on the challenge of Best Practice in Restoration.

Read more about this event, on the SER Europe Conference 2016 webpage. 

The fourth session of the IPBES Plenary is now set to be held from 22 to 28 February 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

So far only a provisional agenda for the fourth session of the Plenary is available.

The deadline for registration has been set for 15 September 2015.

More information to follow.

The Belgian community of practice on Ecosystem Services is proud to invite you to the second edition of the BEES Christmas Market, on Tuesday 15th of December 2015. The event takes place at the Palace of the Royal Flemish Academy of Sciences and Arts, co-hosted by MAES (Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services) and LNE (Departement Leefmilieu, Natuur & Energie van de Vlaamse overheid).      

The Christmas market aims at facilitating the exchange of ideas, practices and products on Ecosystem Services in a friendly market-like atmosphere, by bringing together people from academia, public administration, European Commission and civil society, as well as representatives of Ecosystem Services communities of practice abroad.