Finding Space for Nature

1. Finding Space for Nature Simon Wightman Senior Reserves Ecologist RSPB

4. Some definitions…. • Biodiversity – The variability and variety of organisms on the Earth • Ecosystem – A community of organisms together with their environment • Ecosystem services – The benefits humans receive from the resources and processes supplied by ecosystems • Ecological footprint – a measure of human demand on Earth’s ecosystems compared with the planet’s capacity to regenerate

5. Supporting services • Primary production • Nutrient dispersal and cycling • Seed dispersal

6. Provisioning services • Food (including seafood, game, crops, wild food and spices) • Water • Pharmaceuticals, biochemicals and industrial products • Energy (biomass fuels, hydropower)

7. Regulating services • Climate regulation and carbon sequestration • Waste decomposition and detoxification • Purification of water and air • Crop pollination • Pest and disease control

8. Cultural services • Cultural, intellectual and spiritual inspiration • Recreation (including tourism) • Scientific discovery

9. “A cynic is someone who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing” – Oscar Wilde

10. Have we ever put a value on these services? • Initial findings from The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), an EU-funded study led by Pavan Sukhdev, Senior Economist at Deutsche Bank • Deforestation alone has been estimated to cost the global economy $2-5 trillion a year (~7% of GDP) • The final report is due to be published in 2010

11. …so if the value of the services is so great, what’s the problem? “A market failure occurs when the market does not allocate scarce resources to generate the greatest social welfare. …resources can be reallocated to make at least one person better off without making anyone else worse off.” (Hanley, Shogren & White 2007)

12. Externality – a person makes a choice that affects others who were not accounted for e.g. clearing rainforests for palm oil • Public goods – people benefit from the actions of others without contributing e.g. efforts to tackle climate change • Common property – it’s in everybody's self-interest to take more from a ‘free’ resource (the tragedy of the commons)

13. How do we place a value on an ecosystem? • Avoided cost – society avoids costs associated with a service (e.g. waste treatment by wetlands reduces health costs) • Replacement costs – the cost of replacing natural services with man-made ones • Factor income – service provides enhanced incomes (e.g. improved water quality increases commercial take of a fishery) • Travel cost – the value of an ecosystem is at least as much as people will pay to get there • Hedonic pricing – prices people will pay for associated goods (e.g. house prices are greater near woodland or on the coast) • Contingent valuation – hypothetical willingness to pay scenarios

14. If we get it wrong the costs are not incurred equally • In rural Zimbabwe the richest 10% of people obtain 29% of their income from natural resources. The poorest 20% obtain 40% of their income from natural resources. • In India’s arid regions wild products normally provide 14-23% of the total income for people in poor rural communities. In times of drought this rises to 42-57%. • Catchment deforestation has caused floods in the Mekong delta that have forced 1 million people from their homes and resulted in the loss of 50,000ha of farmland.

15. Links between local livelihoods and biodiversity

16. Environmentally sensitive farming • Agriculture accounts for 7% of England’s total greenhouse gas emissions • Environmentally sensitive farming can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 11% (3.5 million tonnes over 7 years) • Value estimated at £1.25 billion

17. Saltmarsh • In 2006, 170 hectares of land was converted to saltmarsh at Alkborough Flats • Flood protection value of the saltmarsh is estimated at >£400,000 a year • 539 tonnes of carbon is stored in the mud, which is estimated to be worth £14,500 a year • The wildlife and landscape has been valued at £535,000 a year

18. Peat • We currently lose between 3 and 6 million tonnes of carbon from lowland peat soils in England every year • This is valued at £74-150 million a year • In addition, intact upland peat bogs regulate water supply and improve quality saving utility companies money

19. Woodland • English woodlands can remove 15 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year • In addition they can provide materials, food and recreational opportunities

20. Marine Marine Protected Areas provide benefits valued at >£19 billion in improved fish recruitment for commercial fisheries and recreation

21. Floodplains Floodplain restoration is estimated to deliver £4 of savings in water treatment costs for every £1 spent

22. Recreation • People living within 500m of accessible open space are 24% more likely meet the minimum level of exercise required to avoid health problems • Increasing the level of exercise people take by 1% would be estimated to save £1.5 billion in health care

23. What can we do? “Many of the things that have moved us towards ecological disaster have been distortions of who and what we are and their overall effect has been to isolate us from the reality we’re part of… Our response to this crisis needs to be, in the most basic sense, a reality check.” - Dr Rowan Williams

24. Be good to the climate! • Ask where things come from… if you doubt it, don’t buy it • Support truly sustainable producers and businesses • Lobby • Support your charity