About
It is recognised that the ecosystems that provide benefits to people and the beneficiaries of these services are not always located in the same region. Modelling approaches that map and quantify service-specific sources (ecosystem capacity to provide a service), sinks (biophysical or anthropogenic features that deplete or alter service flows), beneficiaries (user locations and level of demand), and spatial flows can only provide a more complete understanding of ecosystem services to support decision making at different scales.
There is a need for a framework that can provide spatially explicit assessments and quantification of ecosystem services in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, which will improve the accuracy of ES valuation and expand the value of ES assessments to decision makers. ARIES is the first modelling tool that explicitly accounts for this spatial disconnect. While most ecosystem services mapping tools and projects have simply mapped the potential provision of ecosystem services in the past, ARIES maps actual provision, use, and flows of services by accounting for flow paths and rival use or ‘sink’ regions that deplete or transform the carrier of a service as it moves across the landscape. Building stakeholder capacity and partners working on ecosystem services in HKH region is crucial while quantifying the ecosystem services in HKH region.
At ICIMOD, the Transboundary Landscapes (TBL) Regional Program and Geospatial Solutions theme currently utilises the ARIES modelling platform to assess the sacredness potential of the Kailash landscape based on the data on cultural sites from India, China, and Nepal, which could prove to be an important input while nominating the landscape as an UNESCO world heritage site.
Under SERVIR-HKH programme, the platform is planned to be extended to develop models for other sites of Nepal and Bangladesh that could help in understanding the current source-sink-beneficiaries scenario in ecosystem services in those sites.
Workshop Agenda
Date / Day/ Time
Topic
Method
Responsible Person
8 November
Day 1
Session I: Introduction
9.00 – 9.15
Registration of the participants
Ujala Rajbhandari
& Sunayana Basnet
9.15 – 9.20
Welcome to Participants
Welcome
Vishwas Chitale
9.20 – 9.45
Introduction of Participants
Self intro
All participants
9.45 – 10.00
Opening Remarks
Overview of
the event
David Molden,
Birendra Bajracharya,
Mir Matin,
Ferdinando Villa
10.00 -10.15
Overview of the workshop;
Introduction of the session
objectives; expected outcomes
Expected
output
Rajan Kotru
10.15 – 11.15
Introduction to ES and
PTB framework
Presentation & discussion
Ferdinando Villa
11.15 – 11.30
Tea Break
11.30 – 12.15
3 ARIES case studies
Presentation
Stefano Balbi,
Javier Martínez
12.15 – 12.45
Data, tools and assessment of ES in
HKH region: Current status
Presentation
Vishwas Chitale
12.45 – 13.30
Lunch Break
Session II: Thematic work 1: Cultural ES
13.30 – 13.45
Intro on the thematic work 1
Presentation
Stefano Balbi
13.45 – 15.00
Demo on cultural ES + round of feedbacks
Demo +
Plenary
discussion
Demo: ARIES Team
Facilitators: Vishwas Chitale, Janita Gurung
15.00 – 15.45
Ex 1.1: Cognitive mapping of PTB framework for Cultural ES
Participatory exercise
Facilitators: ARIES Team
15.45 – 16.00
MCA in ARIES
Presentation
Ferdinando Villa
16.00 – 16.30
Ex 1.2: Eliciting criteria and weights
for ranking cultural values
Participatory exercise
Facilitators: ARIES Team
16.30 – 16.55
Cultural values and Tourism
Plenary
discussion
Facilitators: Stefano
Balbi, Vishwas Chitale
9 November
Day 2
Session III: Knowledge: Data and models
9.00 – 9.15
Overview of Day 2: Taking forward inputs from Day 1
Janita Gurung
9.15 – 10.15
A sneak peek on the technology:
ARIES Teaser
Presentation
Ferdinando Villa
10.15 – 11.00
Modelling ES on the network
Presentation
Ferdinando Villa
11.00 – 11.15
Tea Break
11.15 – 12.45
Ecosystem services assessments by partners; work done so far,
or progress and plans;
data availability
Short presentations
1 person from each HKH country (8 presentations)
Facilitators:
Srijana (W. Himalaya),
Bandana (E. Himalaya)
12.45 – 13.30
Lunch break
Session IV: Thematic work 3: Forest ES
13.30 – 13.45
Introduction to the thematic work
Presentation
Javier Martínez
13.45 – 14.45
Demo on Biodiversity and
Carbon Stocks + round of feedbacks
Demo +
Plenary
discussion
Demo: ARIES Team
Facilitators: Kabir Uddin; Srijana
14.45 – 15.00
Scenarios in ARIES
Presentation
Ferdinando Villa
15.00 – 16.00
Ex 2.1: Cognitive mapping of PTB framework for forest-based ES
Participatory exercise
ARIES Team
16.00 – 16.55
The role of ICIMOD to improve
current data and models
Plenary
discussion
Facilitator: Bandana Shakya, Vishwas Chitale
10 November
Day 3
Session V: Mainstreaming ES assessment and upscaling
to HKH region
9.00 – 9.15
Overview of Day 3: Taking forward
inputs from Day 2
Srijana Joshi Rijal
9.15 – 10.00
Recap on ARIES and Integrated Modelling: The cyber-infrastructure
Presentation
Stefano Balbi,
Ferdinando Villa
10.00 – 10.20
Multiscale linkages in Ecosystem
services in HKH; current status, challenges & opportunities
Presentation
Vishwas Chitale
10.20 – 10.45
Mainstreaming assessment of
Ecosystem services
Presentation
MSR Murthy
10.45 – 11.00
Tea break
11.00 – 11.30
Ex 3.1: Eliciting criteria and weights
for ES assessment tools
Participatory exercise
ARIES Team
11.30 – 11.45
Intro on the thematic work
Presentation
Javier Martínez
11.45 – 12.45
Demo on runoff and vulnerability +
round of feedbacks
Demo +
Plenary
discussion
Demo: ARIES Team
Facilitators: Janita
Gurung, Swapnil Chaudhari
12.45 – 13.30
Lunch break
Session VI: Thematic work 3: Water ES
13.30 – 14.30
Ex 3.2: Cognitive mapping of PTB framework for Water-based ES
Participatory exercise
ARIES Team
14.30 – 15.30
Upscaling current pilot studies
on ES assessment to HKH region
Panel
Discussion
Eklabya Sharma,
Prof. Wu Ning,
Rucha Ghate,
Prof. Murthy,
Prof. Ram Chaudhary
15.30 – 15.45
Teaser of the book: ‘Multiscale Perspectives of Ecosystem Services and Livelihood Linkages’
Teaser
Same as panel discussion
15.45 – 16.45
Reflections on the workshop and
the way forward: community, collaborations, software
Plenary
discussion
Facilitators:
Ferdinando Villa,
Mir Matin,
Bandana Shakya
16.45 – 16.55
Vote of thanks
Vishwas Chitale
Objectives
The workshop aims to provide hands-on training on the ARIES (Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services) modelling platform. Specific objectives are:
- to build capacity on using ARIES platform for assessment of ecosystem services;
- to receive inputs on assessments of ecosystem services that are currently being performed using ARIES platform; and,
- to discuss the strategies for mainstreaming the framework for assessment and valuation of ecosystem services.
The target groups for the workshop are professionals involved in assessment and management of ecosystem services in the HKH region. The tentative agenda for the workshop is attached
Expected Participants
Professionals in-house as well as from partner organizations to participate, learn, and implement the ARIES platform in assessment and quantification of ecosystem services
