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Ecosystem Service Indicators: Can we measure ecosystem performance? Wouter Van Reeth

Ecosystem Service Indicators: Can we measure ecosystem performance? Wouter Van Reeth. First European Environmental Evaluators Network forum February 9-10 2012, HIVA, KU Leuven. In this presentation…. Natural capital, human well-being and awareness Ecosystem performance as a policy focus

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Ecosystem Service Indicators: Can we measure ecosystem performance? Wouter Van Reeth

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  1. Ecosystem Service Indicators: Can we measure ecosystem performance?Wouter Van Reeth First European Environmental Evaluators Network forum February 9-10 2012, HIVA, KU Leuven

  2. In this presentation… • Natural capital, human well-being and awareness • Ecosystem performance as a policy focus • Flemish policy indicators • Performance measurement: potential and pitfalls

  3. 1. Natural capital, human well-being & awareness “A country could cut down all its forests and deplete its natural resources. This would show only as a positive gain to GDP, despite the loss of [natural] capital.” Robert Repetto, 1987; MA, 2005; TEEB, 2009

  4. 1. Natural capital, human well-being & awareness Peduzzi, 2005; TEEB, 2009

  5. 1. Natural capital, human well-being & awareness “Ecosystems are capital assets. When properly managed, they can yield a flow of vital services” Gretchen Daily, 2000

  6. 1. Natural capital, human well-being & awareness André Künzelmann, UFZ, TEEB, 2009

  7. 1. Natural capital, human well-being & awareness

  8. 1. Natural capital, human well-being & awareness “Any consumption that requires the running down of natural capital cannot be counted as income. Failure to adequately account for it leads to major misperceptions about how well the economy is doing.” Costanza & Daly, 1992

  9. 1. Natural capital, human well-being & awareness “Ecosystems and biodiversity are our stock of natural capital. They lead to a flow of benefits that support societal and individual well-being and economic prosperity. We do not measure this capital effectively enough to ensure its proper management and stewardship. Without suitable indicators or accounting, we lack a solid evidence base for informed policy decisions.” Ten Brink et al. in TEEB, 2009

  10. 2. Ecosystem performance as a policy focus A framework for capturing ecosystem performance

  11. 2. Ecosystem performance as a policy focus Link ecosystem performance &TEEB conceptual framework

  12. 2. Ecosystem performance as a policy focus Examples of ecosystem performance indicators Sources: Jacobs et al., 2010; TEEB, 2009; WRI, 2010

  13. 2. Ecosystem performance as a policy focus A framework for managing ecosystem performance • Drivers • Pressure • State • Impact • Response

  14. 2. Ecosystem performance as a policy focus A framework for organizing indicators World Resources Institute, Washington D.C.  http://www.esindicators.org/indicators_overview

  15. 3. Flemish Policy Indicators Flemish Indicators to monitor the 2010 biodiversity target (SEBI) INBO, Brussels  http://www.nara.be

  16. 3. Flemish Policy Indicators Analysis of available biodiversity & ecosystem service indicators (50 % completed) however…

  17. 3. Flemish Biodiversity Indicators • Some first impressions: • Many indicators, little services covered • Capital indicators mostly regulating services • Output indicators mostly provisioning services • Little links between response, capital, output & outcome indicators • Outcome indicators (benefits) of cultural services distrusted in policy circles • ‘Human well-being’ not really covered

  18. 4. Performance measurement: potential and pitfalls Indicators: common perceptions & expectations

  19. 4. Performance measurement: potential and pitfalls Indicators can be used to check • To check whether actions or policies are implemented • To check whether they achieved their intended results • To check whether new factors have arisen • To provide accountability • To defend budget proposals • … Therefore indicators should: • Relate directly to policy options, goals or targets • Capture change over time • Identify critical thresholds or irreversible changes • Provide early warnings • … Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2003

  20. 4. Performance measurement: potential and pitfalls • validity and reliability: Are the collected and reported data accurate? Do the indicators measure what they claim to measure? • functionality Are the indicators relevant and do they contribute in realising policy objectives, or do they trigger perverse or dysfunctional effects? • legitimacy Are the indicators and their use understood and accepted by all stakeholders involved? Source: Bouckaert, 1995

  21. 4. Performance measurement: potential and pitfalls Functionality 2 6 8 4 5 1 Validity & Reliability 3 7 Legitimacy Source: Bouckaert, 1995

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