ESPA

Three organisations - NERC, the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for International Development (DfID) - have joined forces for a multi-disciplinary £40·5m research programme on Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA).

ESPA aims to deliver high quality and cutting-edge research that will deliver improved understanding of how ecosystems function, the services they provide, the full value of these services, and their potential role in achieving sustainable poverty reduction. ESPA research will provide the evidence and tools to enable decision makers and end users to manage ecosystems sustainably and in a way that contributes to poverty reduction.