Ecosystem services and livelihoods – vulnerability and adaptation to a changing climate – VACCIA Synthesis Report

The VACCIA project (Vulnerability Assessment of Ecosystem Services for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation) studied the vulnerability of ecosystem services provided by nature to climate change and the possibilities for adaptation of different sectors of society to these changes. This extensive project was carried out in 2009–2011. Coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), it also had participants from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the universities of Helsinki, Jyväskylä, and Oulu. The project was based on data and infrastructures of intensively studied areas belonging to the Finnish Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (FinLTSER) network. This report presents the main results of Vaccia project, including: environmental change scenarios; demonstration of the use of remote sensing information (GMES), modeling, geographic information system (GIS), and database tools for the assessment of ecosystem services and their changes; and options for adaptation to the changing conditions.