Background
Many European lakes are in a degraded ecological state. Lakes are essential for maintaining biodiversity and contribute to critical human benefits such as access to clean drinking water, irrigation, fisheries, energy production, recreation and tourism. These ecosystems face significant pressures from human activities. Achieving the ecological status objectives for lakes in the temperate zone of northern Europe is challenging. Lakes are associated with a range of values and perspectives that require reconciling.
Objectives
PLURALAKES aims to reconcile diverse values and perspectives in lake management processes. We analyze lake dynamics and ecosystem services with a national-scale nutrient loading model for Finnish watersheds (WSFS-Vemala). Through knowledge co-creation, we create an understanding of the multiple values and perspectives in the Koitajoki-Koitere watershed. Through valuation research, we gain further understanding of the values people attach to lake nature.
Finnish demo and innovation site
The PLURALAKES project collaborates with the North Karelia Biosphere Reserve. As part of the project, a workshop utilizing the Nature Futures Framework and ecosystem services valuation research will be implemented in the region.
North Karelia biosphere reserve’s website
More information
Eerika Albrecht, Senior Research Scientist, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), firstname.lastname@syke.fi