EuropaBON’s showcases (WP5) and co-design (WP4) workshop was hosted from 16-20 April 2023 at the Troia Design Hotel on the beautiful peninsula of Troia in Portugal.
EuropaBON is a Horizon 2020 project with the aim of delivering an EU-wide framework for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem services to the European Commission by the end of 2023. Drawing on the results of the user needs assessment, current workflows of biodiversity monitoring efforts in Europe, and the list and specifications of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and Essential Ecosystem Variables (EESVs) identified for EuropaBON, we will deliver a new design for biodiversity monitoring in Europe, by improving existing monitoring schemes to become more representative, maximize benefits and become better integrated into wider biodiversity policy.

The workshop focused on four main topics:
- Defining details of a sampling design of a network to monitor a set of EBVs in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems;
- Discussing workflows for modeling and integrating a range of EBVs;
- Assessing the cost-benefits of a European biodiversity monitoring system; and
- Presenting and discussing EuropaBON’s showcases demonstrating the EBV workflow approach. We add a draft agenda underneath this email.
AGENDA
The available session presentations can be downloaded via the links in the agenda.
Day 1: Sunday, 16 Apr 2023
Speaker | Description | Speaker |
<15:00 | Traveling and arrival | |
15:00 | General plenary | |
15:00 | Welcome & workshop goals | Henrique Pereira |
15:15 | EuropaBON background session | |
Introduction to EuropaBON | Henrique Pereira | |
EBV workflows | Daniel Kissling | |
Introduction to EBV showcases | Nestor Fernandez | |
16:30 | Coffee break | |
Perspective from the European Topic Center | Thorjorn Larssen | |
General discussion | ||
18:00 | End of day 1 | |
19:30 | Joint dinner (buffet) at hotel |
Day 2: Monday, 17 Apr 2023
Time | Description | Speaker |
9:00 | Planery | |
9:00 | Plan for this day (introduce EBV showcase presentations) | Nestor Fernandez |
9:15 | Showcase on Birds Directive | Lluis Brotons |
9:30 | Showcase on Habitats Directive | Ute Jandt |
9:45 | Showcase on Water Framework Directive | Anne Lyche Solheim |
10:00 | Showcase on Bioeconomy Strategy | César Capinha/ Ana Ceia Hasse |
10:15 | Q&A | |
10:30 | Coffee break | |
11:00 | WP5 showcase discussion: Which insights can the EBV showcases provide in terms of: EBV workflows Sampling designs Modeling IT infrastructure | |
12:30 | Lunch break | |
13:30 | Break-out groups (1) – instructions for afternoon session | |
Showcase on Birds Directive | ||
1. Showcase on Habitats Directive | ||
2. Showcase on Water Framework Directive | ||
3. Showcase on Bioeconomy Strategy | ||
15:30 | Coffee break | |
16:00 | Break-out groups (2) – continue in break-out rooms | |
Showcase on Birds Directive | ||
1. Showcase on Habitats Directive | ||
2. Showcase on Water Framework Directive | ||
3. Showcase on Bioeconomy Strategy | ||
17:30 | End of day 2 | |
18:00 | Guided tour to the Roman Ruins | |
19:30 | Dinner |
Day 3: Tuesday, 18 Apr 2023
Time | Description | Speaker |
9:00 | Plenary | |
Plan for this day Instructions for morning session | ||
9:20 | Break-out groups | |
EBV showcases | ||
1. Cross-cut deliverable of EBV showcases | ||
2. Outline of co-design deliverable* | ||
3. *Discuss core content and structure of co-design deliverable | ||
10:30 | Coffee break | |
11:00 | Plenary | |
11:00 | Reporting from EBV showcases | |
11:40 | Reporting from co-design outline | |
11:50 | Reporting from co-design outline | |
11:50 | Introduction sampling design | Henrique Pereira |
12:30 | Lunch break | |
13:30 | Plenary – presentations on sampling design | |
13:35 | Sampling designs for modeling EBVs | Simon Ferrier |
13:55 | Example sampling design marine realm | Colomban de Vargas |
14:15 | Example sampling design freshwater realm | Florian Leese |
14:35 | Sampling design (EUPOMS) | Tom Breeze/ Nacho Bartomeus |
14:55 | Sampling design PECBMS | Anna Gamero |
15:15 | Q&A | |
15:30 | Coffee break | |
16:00 | Break-out groups | |
1. Sampling design a. What are the critical aspects of a sampling design? b. How, where and how many sites do we place (power analysis)? Can we sample EBVs (which?) at the same sites (co-location)? | ||
2. Modeling a. What is needed for interpolation and modeling EBVs at a European scale? b. Which environmental information is necessary for modeling EBVs? c. How can we attribute biodiversity change to specific drivers and pressures? | ||
3. Operationalization a. Who would be suitable to coordinate the implementation of new sampling designs (e.g. DGs, Eurostat, EEA, Member States, NGOs)? b. Which steps and strategies are needed to effectively implement a new sampling design? c. Which support from IT infrastructures is needed to operationalize new sampling designs? | ||
17:30 | End of day 3 | |
18:00 | Football match: EuropaBON – Biodiversa+ and others | |
19:30 | Dinner |
Day 4: Wednesday, 19 Apr 2023
Time | Description |
9:00 | Plenary: Plan for the day Summary of break-out groups on sampling design, modeling, and operationalization |
9:20 | Break-out groups |
1. Sampling design strategies: a. Randomized sampling b. Grid cells c. Environmental stratification d. Colocation: Which EBVs can be monitored together through colocation of sampling points? | |
10:30 | Coffee break |
11:00 | Plenary Break-out group explanation |
11:10 | Break-out groups |
Lessons learned from the showcases 1 | |
Lessons learned from the showcases 2 | |
12:30 | Lunch break |
13:30 | Plenary |
Summary of break-out groups on sampling design strategies, colocation, lessons learned from the showcases 1, lessons learned from the showcases 2 | |
14:00 | Outline of the co-design of the European Observatory Network deliverable |
15:30 | Coffee break |
16:00 | Discussion of paper outlines: Make outlines of paper structure and assign tasks (who does what?) |
17:30 | End of day 4 |
18:00 | Dolphin watching boat trip* |
19:30 | Dinner in Setúbal |