What do we all want from life?
A BETTER Life – for everyone, everywhere.
In that spirit, Dr. Anton Shkaruba, senior researcher at the Chair of Environmental Protection And Landscape Management, is currently in India as part of the EU-funded BETTER Life project. The project’s mission is to train socially engaged researchers in the life sciences.
BETTER Life – Bringing Excellence to Transformative Socially Engaged Research in Life Sciences through Integrated Digital Centers – focuses on developing transferable tools, standards and policies for academia to collaborate with industry, government, and civil society to enhance the real-life impact of their scientific work.
As a project leader, one of Anton’s top priorities has been to promote the BETTER Life communication tool. It helps planners in getting their stakeholders involved using the concept of ecosystem disservices (EDS). His recent visit provided yet another opportunity to share this tool internationally.
Anton, in collaboration with our sister institution Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), conducted a dedicated stakeholder workshop on April 30, 2025, in Srinagar, India.
The “Integrating Ecosystem Services into Sustainable Urban Planning and Policies” workshop brought together 34 participants – including local professionals in urban planning, urban forestry and landscaping, as well as academics, students and engaged citizens.
Anton presented several use cases for applying the BETTER Life tool. He was then joined by SKUAST-K’s Prof. Akhlaq Wani, who introduced the Living Lab approach planned for Srinagar, aimed at enhancing the understanding of the relationship between citizens and urban nature. The workshop featured six breakout groups to identify key problem areas for such people-nature interactions in Srinagar and also propose broad solutions. The group discussions also served as a scoping exercise for the upcoming Living Lab.
