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Ecosystem Services and The Natural Capital Project

Ecosystem Services and The Natural Capital Project. Emily McKenzie. 2 April, InVEST Introductory Seminar, Bangkok. Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Challenge. Despite their importance, ecosystem services are often not considered in decisions.

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Ecosystem Services and The Natural Capital Project

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  1. Ecosystem Services and The Natural Capital Project Emily McKenzie 2 April, InVEST Introductory Seminar, Bangkok

  2. Republic of the Marshall Islands

  3. The Challenge Despite their importance, ecosystem services are often not considered in decisions. This is because we lack practical, credible information about their value.

  4. Outline • Ecosystem services • What is the concept? • How is it being applied? • Natural Capital Project • Strategy • Content and philosophy of our work

  5. Ecosystem Services • Links nature & human welfare • Integrate environmental values & trade-offs in decisions

  6. The Basics • Nature supports us in countless ways: • stores carbon to slow climate change, • purifies and regulates water supplies, and • provides foods and medicines • provides opportunities for spiritual and cultural experiences

  7. History • Impact of nature on human well-being known since antiquity • History of natural resource management for survival Bust of Plato • From 1960s on, “environmental services” coined, ecological economics developed • First global studies and analyses

  8. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment • First global assessment of ecosystem services • 2001-2005, 1360 scientists • Over the last 50 years, out of 24 services: • 15 have seriously declined • 4 have shown some improvement • 5 are generally stable but under threat in some parts of the world

  9. Definition and Categorization ES = The benefits that people obtain from ecosystems • Provisioning services - goods like food, water, timber, and fiber; • Regulating services - stabilize climate, moderate risk of flooding and disease, protect water quality; • Cultural services - recreational, aesthetic, educational, spiritual benefits; and • Supporting services- underpin the others, e.g. photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, preservation of future options

  10. NatCap Approach Natural Capital  the goods and services from nature which are essential for human life • Well-being- considering the impacts on people of having or losing these benefits

  11. Why assess ecosystem services? • Important for human wellbeing and prosperity • More comprehensive accounting of impacts • Engage a wider array of stakeholders • Generate financing for conservation • Innovative policy mechanisms

  12. New tools to help • General assessments of ES • Reports • E.g. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, TEEB • Assessments of dependence and impact on ES • Work books • E.g. WRI’s Corporate Ecosystem Services Review, Impact Assessment Review, • Mapping of ES under alternative scenarios • Software tools • E.g. InVEST, ARIES

  13. Tools: Make it easy to quantify ecosystem services • Evidence: Test tools, improve decisions, share stories • Influence: Inspire policy change globally

  14. Introducing the team Terrestrial & freshwater science Marine science

  15. Standing on the shoulders of many…

  16. …giants

  17. NatCap’s Vision Unlike the accounting tools we apply to measure the value of traditional economic goods and services… we have no ready set of existing accounting tools to measure the value of ecosystem services. Absent these, ecosystem services are invariably undervalued or not valued at all – by governments, businesses, and the public. Who and what will catalyze the next giant step forward? Part of the answer lies with improving science. Gretchen Daily, 2011

  18. Effects of management decisions Health of corals $ lbs of fish ? ? $ # of people mangroves protect $ ? $ ? # of tourists

  19. 20 Success = inform decisions • How would a proposed dam or logging project affect ecosystem services and biodiversity? • What would be the best marine spatial plan for balancing different stakeholders’ goals? • How would upstream deforestation affect the quality & quantity of water downstream? • Where might REDD and payments for watershed services projects be feasible? ANSWERS: Accounting tools for quantifying ES

  20. Filling the Gap GLOBAL, SYNTHETIC 60% of global ES in decline (MA, 2005) $33 Trillion/y (Costanza et al. 1997 Nature) Policy decisions: Region/landscape scale Short timeline Forward looking, comparative Assess tradeoffs LOCAL, SPECIFIC 2 forest patches: $60K/yr (Ricketts, 2004. PNAS) 22 others (just for pollination!)

  21. Ecosystem service framework InVEST: Quantify, map & value ecosystem services under alternative scenarios Photo credit: Neil Burgess

  22. Applications around the world Coastal & Marine WCVI, B.C. Terrestrial & Freshwater Puget Sound New England Chesapeake Bay California China Galveston Bay Belize Hawai’i Colombia Borneo and Sumatra Albertine Rift Tanzania Amazon Basin Ecuador

  23. Many decision contexts

  24. Support policy and practice globally • Researchers • TEEB • Academic collaborators around the world • Governments • GEOBON • IPBES • Multilaterals and donors • World Bank & WAVES • UNEP, UNDP • Millennium Challenge Corporation • Business • World Business Council for Sustainable Development • Business for Social Responsibility • Multilateral companies e.g. Dow, Coke And many more…

  25. Any questions? • www.naturalcapitalproject.org

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