BESIDE researcher Muhammad Noman Shafique successfully completed a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Türkiye, from 28 June to 11 July 2026, within the framework of COST Action CA22141 – Decision Support Systems for Ecosystem Services (DSS4ES).
The mission focused on developing and validating a European analytical framework for assessing ecosystem service governance in forest-related policy and governance documents, contributing to more informed and evidence-based environmental decision-making across Europe.
Building on the work of DSS4ES Working Group 5, the research drew on governance evidence from 134 policy documents across eight European countries. Using MAXQDA and Power BI, Muhammad Noman Shafique developed a harmonised methodological framework integrating ecosystem services, stakeholder engagement, governance arrangements, decision-support systems (DSS), and trade-offs between ecosystem services.
A key outcome was the development of a three-level analytical framework designed to facilitate comparative governance assessments across European countries. The framework was also tested through interactive Power BI dashboard prototypes, demonstrating the potential to transform complex governance evidence into accessible visualisations that support policy analysis and decision-making.
The mission also strengthened international scientific collaboration within the DSS4ES network, particularly with Dr Mehtap Koç and colleagues from Working Group 5.
The next steps will focus on refining the framework, incorporating additional DSS4ES datasets and contributing to scientific publications and comparative studies on ecosystem service governance. The results are also expected to support the future development of integrated decision-support tools for forest management and policy.
This scientific mobility reflects BESIDE’s commitment to advancing interdisciplinary research, international collaboration and innovative decision-support approaches for the sustainable management of ecosystems and natural resources.
