Photo by Phil Robson on Unsplash

The INTERCEDE project is an initiative to address pressing issues concerning the undervaluation and lack of economic recognition attributed to forest ecosystem services (FES) across Europe.

Despite the widely desired nature of the services and benefits provided by forests, such as carbon removal, biodiversity protection, improved water management, and recreational services, they are often undervalued, particularly in monetary terms. This creates a need for incentives for forest owners to manage their forests to maximise these services and benefits for society.

The project

INTERCEDE aims to address this gap by identifying and implementing market-based tools that can provide financial incentives to forest owners to manage their forests sustainably, thereby ensuring the continuity of forest ecosystem services and benefits across Europe.

This includes developing policy frameworks and guidelines and reducing the gap between high-level research, policy, and practice. Additionally, the project commits to evaluating and widely sharing effective solutions with key stakeholders, such as forest owners, forest businesses, and policymakers, to enhance knowledge and implementation of such schemes across Europe.

Our contribution

Etifor’s role in the project will be organising and delivering a two-step acceleration process for local actors who want to test their innovative ideas for creating new ways of financing nature: We will select the best cases around Europe and offer them an intensive training and locally supported activities program where they can develop, test, and establish their local Payment for Ecosystem Services.