“An interdisciplinary perspective on ecosystem services and human well-being”: results and potentials of German-Russian cooperation within the project

Abstract

Programs of international cooperation between universities and scientific centres aim to promote not only the achievements in science and education but also contribute to intercultural understanding, as well as to development of efficient human resources, research and innovation. The aim of this paper is to explore the potential of international cooperation in research and higher education between Russia and Germany by examining selected German-Russian projects and their outcomes. In particular, it highlights the experience of summer schools on “An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being”, an annual event started in 2014. It is organized under the umbrella of the German Academic Exchange Service (Program of Eastern Partnership), the International Office and Geography Department of Humboldt University of Berlin and the Faculty of Geography at Lomonosov Moscow State University in strong cooperation with other universities, research centres and NGOs from both countries. The summer school addresses relevant contemporary environmental issues of urbanization with special emphasis on ecosystem services, green infrastructure and nature-based solutions and their importance for well-being of the urban population. In this paper we present our experience from this project by providing the theoretical-methodological aspects of such joint educational and training programs and report outcomes, which emerged from them, thereby highlighting the difficulties and advantages and suggest lines of further development and cooperation. It also highlights how geographical perspective can provide new important and critical insights into the place-based approaches to ecosystem assessment and how it relates to the current trends in human-environmental research.