Environmental monitoring and assessment is fundamental to the understanding of our ecosystems, to prevent adverse effects on ecosystems and human health, as a basis for policies, and as a tool to follow the outcome of regulations. DCE, Aarhus University has a long tradition in combining monitoring and research to inform poli-cy-making, both nationally and internationally. Together with Partnership for Euro-pean Environmental Research (PEER), Aarhus University would like to invite re-searchers and practitioners to discuss the future challenges and opportunities for environmental monitoring and assessment, with the aim of:

• Discussing and sharing ideas on future methods and technologies
• Document and discuss the value of combining research and monitoring
• Strengthen the chain from monitoring and assessment to environmental policies, regulation and management.
• Strengthen an interdisciplinary, joint international and integrated approach.

Some of the main questions are:

• How to best evolve environmental monitoring, in order to make use of new and smart technologies for improved and cost-effective monitoring?
• How do we assess and document the value of data and knowledge of environmen-tal ecosystems?