Kazakhstan hosts international conference devoted to integrate ecosystem services into “green economy”

Kazakhstan hosted a conference on shared experiences among countries regarding nature capital accounting and Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES).

The conference, held in Astana last month, shared experiences among countries regarding nature capital accounting through evaluation of ecosystem services to support management decisions at the country level, applying new approaches in ecosystem and biodiversity management, introducing payment mechanisms for ecosystem services, as an alternative financing tool that supports nature conservation with the private sector involvement.

Ecosystem services – are benefits, which people obtain from ecosystems. Ecosystem approach is a strategy for integrated management of land, water and biological resources, that contributes to their conservation and sustainable use based on the principle of equity.

Successful practices of ecosystem and biodiversity management, valuation of benefits and public expenditures from environmental investments, legalization of payments for ecosystem services, economic assessment of biological and water resources in Vietnam, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan was discussed during the conference.

David Meyers, BIOFIN's Senior Technical Advisor indicated that “the initiative is working on biodiversity financing in 30 countries around the world and Kazakhstan was one of the first countries to join the programme. BIOFIN's goal is to better understand and integrate financial and economic issues into decision making on biodiversity and planning matters" Meyers added.

Kazakhstan’s Green Economy Concept has based on three pillars including sustainable water usage, sustainable and high-performance agriculture and preserving and efficiently managing ecosystems.