Oppla is a global knowledge marketplace; a place where the latest thinking on natural capital, ecosystem services and nature-based solutions is brought together. It was developed by the EU-funded research projects OpenNESS and OPERAs to turn the concept of ecosystem services into practice. It is promoted by the European Commission DG Research & Innovation as ‘the repository of nature-based solutions’.
Oppla’s purpose is to simplify how we share, obtain and create knowledge to better manage our environment.
It offers an online marketplace where you can obtain guidance, software, data and other useful resources – as well as promote the outputs of your own project or network. It is a community for networking with other members from around the world. You’ll find case studies to inspire you and give guidance, including the European Commission’s own case studies of nature-based solutions. And there is Ask Oppla, a crowd-sourced enquiry service, where members of the Oppla community help to answer each other’s questions.
Oppla was originally run by ECNC with Countryscape, jointly forming an EEIG or European Economic Interest Grouping. Oppla was launched during the European ecosystem services conference in September 2016. Oppla offers its services to a number of European and global projects and initiatives, such as Think Nature, Connecting Nature, We Value Nature, NetworkNature, Merlin, Interlace and the UN Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service (IPBES).
Since March 2018 I have taken over the co-management of Oppla from ECNC. My role, together with the team from Countryscape and a strategic advisory group, is to further develop, promote and manage Oppla and to support projects in which Oppla acts as a partner.
Find out more about Oppla and sign up to become part of this exciting community!
For Oppla, in January 2022 I gave a short training on creating policy impact during the online Horizon 2020 Nature-Based Solutions Taskforce Meeting, organised by the H2020 project NetworkNature.
