Natural ecosystems provide human societies with a myriad of essential goods and services. Hence, that natural capital is a cornerstone for human well-being. Unfortunately, natural capital is also threatened in multiple ways, particularly by unsustainable human behavior.
Based on sound academic work, our platform embraces a mission of contributing to the safeguarding and/or restoration of natural capital, at the service of contemporary and future generations of people.
Belgian Interuniversity Conference Series - December 2025
The Cerac and Belgian universities are joining forces to launch the first edition of the Belgian Interuniversity Conference Series dedicated to planetary boundaries and associated socio-ecological risks. It will take place on December 2ns, 2025, at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
The program consists of a full day of talks dedicated to planetary limits and complex risks from an interdisciplinary perspective will take place. We will address several challenges related to planetary limits and associated socio-ecological risks. Researchers from various universities, along with experts in social and human sciences as well as natural sciences, will present their work to deepen the understanding of these systemic and complex challenges. Everyone who shares an interest in these questions is welcome.
Platform vision on science and activism - December 2023
This vision text (in Dutch) is co-created during multiple discussion sessions in 2023, with platform members, researchers of the faculty of Bioscience Engineering and invited external scientist-activists.
CLOVER: Climate Overshoot Effects on Land Ecosystem Functioning
CLOVER is one of the first two Synthesis Science Working groups of the Belgian Climate Centre. It is an innovative synthesis project dedicated to understanding how climate overshoot-periods when global temperatures exceed long-term targets-affects ecosystem functioning, with a special emphasis on the carbon cycle. By integrating and synthesizing existing scientific knowledge, CLOVER aims to reveal the complex consequences of climate overshoot on ecosystems.
Our approach is transdisciplinary, engaging a diverse range of stakeholders to collaboratively define the key research questions. We will ground our analysis in two contrasting case studies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Western Europe.
CLOVER combines a cutting-edge analytical tool designed to assess overshoot impacts with a comprehensive synthesis of observational datasets that capture modern-era analogues of climate overshoot. This synergy will generate new insights critical for predicting ecosystem responses and informing climate resilience strategies worldwide.
CAFRINAT is an international thematic network (ITN) for the African Great Lakes’ Natural Capital, founded at Ghent University. The general research, education and societal theme is sustainable management of natural capital in areas with conflict in the Great Lakes region of Africa.
A Thinkers’ Programme on ‘soils as natural capital’
The Class of Technical Sciences of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (KVAB) took the initiative for a Thinkers' Programme on challenges and opportunities for preservation and strengthening of soils as natural capital in the 21st century. This programme is coordinated by a central committee consisting of Kris Verheyen (UGent), Steven Sleutel (UGent), Anne Gobin (VITO) en Erik Smolders (KU Leuven). They are supported by a Steering Committee chaired by Willy Verstraete and consisting of Academy members.
"Soils as natural capital in the 21st century: challenges and opportunities" will focus on three topics:
a) healthy soils for sustainable land management in the 21st century
On Friday 13th March 2020, the Board of Directors of Ghent University approved a biodiversity plan. With this plan, the university expresses its ambition to pursue an active policy on biodiversity. The ultimate goal is to preserve and where possible enhance the greenery and biodiversity on the campuses.
Operational headlines are the appropriate design and management of green and biodiversity on the campuses, and their integration and anchorage in policy decisions on development projects. Substantive support will come from the rich in house scientific expertise.
Explicit attention is paid to encouraging communication and active commitment of students and academic and non-academic staff in actions that realize the plan. The trajectory that led to this biodiversity plan had its origin in the ‘UGent transition’ dynamic. Multiple members of the Natural Capital Platform contributed actively!
