[Bilbao, 8 October]

Between 8 and 12 October, the International Spring University (ISU) will be held in Bilbao, the annual international meeting organised by BC3 to explore ecosystem modelling in greater depth.

During the five-day event, participants from all over the world will analyse scientific models that will enable them to understand the relationship between human activity and the sustainability of ecosystems.

The new scientific models that will be analysed at this meeting will enable decisions on environmental management to be accurately informed, and they aim to provide evidence on the importance of “ecosystem services”, i.e. the benefits that people derive from the environment. Some of these services are more evident, such as the provision of food, raw materials, plants, animals, etc. Some others are not usually considered in the planning and management of human activities. These include regulating services, such as crop pollination, prevention of soil erosion and water purification, as well as other cultural services, such as recreation services and the sense of belonging to a place.

Current research efforts have resulted in mathematical models of the environment that show how human activities relate to the ecosystem and assess the future scenarios that such relationships might give rise to.

Proper management of these ecosystems involve a better understanding of the role that these services have, as well as acting on them, in the planning and management of policy decisions, always having equity and sustainability as key decision criteria.

The International Spring University is an initiative of the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), a multidisciplinary research centre which recently obtained “María de Maeztu” accreditation. BC3 is also part of the Severo Ochoa – María de Maeztu (SOMMa) alliance, whose mission is to defend and promote excellence in Spanish research, as well as to enhance its economic and social impact, both nationally and internationally.

This year the BC3 celebrates its tenth anniversary as a BERC centre.

The International Spring University was born in 2013 as an encounter space specialized in ecosystem modelling. Since its first edition, several hundred researchers and technical personnel from all over the world have participated. This 2018 edition includes the collaboration of the Novia Salcedo Foundation and the Basque Ecodesign Hub from Ihobe.