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Ecosystem Services Concept: A Synthesis of Regional Studies

This study explores the value of the ecosystem services concept through a review of regional studies, their methods, results, and promises. It highlights the importance of ecosystem services in raising awareness of Nature's work, acting as a framework for interdisciplinary work, and utilizing economic approaches to tackle environmental problems.

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Ecosystem Services Concept: A Synthesis of Regional Studies

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  1. On the value of the ecosystem services concept: An idiosyncratic synthesis of regional studies their methods, results and promises Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg R. Seppelt, C.F. Dormann, B. Gruber, F. Eppink, S. Lautenbach, M. Volk ACES Conference, Naples Florida, 9th Dec. 2008

  2. ESS raise awareness of Nature’s silent work. Acts as a framework for inter- and transdisciplinary work. It gives us specific ecosystem properties to focus on. Through monetarisation of ESS we can employ the full economic weaponry to tackle environmental problems. It’s a new buzzword, a selling point. Why are we interested in Ecosystem Services? political technical practical economical cynical

  3. Background of this study • German Ministry of Research and Technology (BMBF) • State of the art review of international research on regional land use management and impacts to ecosystem services and green house gas emissions • Resulted in a call for research projects (published October 2008, Review 2009, Funding 2010-15)

  4. Approach • Scientific Review, Web of Science • Doubling time of 2 year • ~250 paper analyzed in detail • Results • Meta-analysis • Synthesis • Research recommendations

  5. General conclusion from 250 papers • models and field experiments often fail to consider interactions between ecological processes • majority of studies consider one or two ecosystem services • disregard the link between policy measures and ecological dynamics. • the relation between ecological processes and human welfare is often limited to monetarisation • many studies involve stakeholders only to evaluate parameters and outcomes of models. • McCauley, 2006 • Balmford et al., 2007; Ghazoul, 2007 • Armsworth et al., 2007; Boyd and Banzhaf, 2007; Turner and Daily, 2008; Costanza, 2008

  6. 4 facets of Ecosystem Service Assessments ensure biophysical realism of ecosystem indicators and models; provide information on trade-offs consider off-site effects ensure implementation of management options by comprehensive stakeholder involvement

  7. Biophysical realism • measurement, modelling and monitoring of ecosystem services is the foundation • studies make use of simple (proxy) indicators for variables • degree of aggregation is beneficial without losing too much of the complexity of ecological systems • consistent insights into the ecosystem impacts of human actions • Sandhu et al. (2008) • Kremen et al. (2002) • Schröter et al. (2005) • Boumans et al. (2002) • Jakeman et al. (2006)

  8. Trade-offs • Ecosystem services are not independent of one another • many ecosystem studies focus on a small number of selected services • Ecosystem service could play an important role in helping policy makers understand local welfare impacts that they may not have considered otherwise • Foley et al. (2005) • Carpenter et al. (2006) • Chan et al. (2006) • Naidoo et al. (2008) • Steffen-Deventer (2006)

  9. Off site effects • Ecosystem processes are coupled at small as well as large scales, both temporally and spatially • consequences of local decisions on far-away ecosystem (‘off-site effects’) are not considered • So far the consideration of off-site effects has been virtually absent in the ecosystem services literature. • Ecological Footprint (EF) • Water Footprint (WF) • CBD §3 • Scharlemann & Laurance (2008) • Wackernagel & Rees (1996) • Hoekstra & Chapagain (2006)

  10. Stakeholder Involvements • ecosystem functions become ecosystem services when they benefit humans • The contribution of stakeholders can be broadly allocated to three stages of ecosystem services research: • identification of relevant ecosystem services and indicators, • prioritizing of services according • ownership of suggested policy options • Research into the role of stakeholders and the success • Cowling et al. (2008) • Goosen et al. (2007)

  11. Summary • Consolidate the progress made • Develop consistent frameworks for designing and assessing policy options for the sustainable use of natural resources. • Including all four characteristics in one research study implies a major effort, with respect to finance, time and interdisciplinary cooperation. • Nevertheless, lets try it….

  12. Project Proposal: BESSER BESSER: Blueprint for EcoSystem SErvices Research • Objective: Develop Blueprint with • Concept for Ecosystem Services studies • Protocol for Ecosystem Services Assessment • Toolbox for Ecosystem Services models • Series of international in situ workshops at ESS project sites • Review / discuss Study according to Concept, Protocol and Models • Funding of Workshops, PH.d. Students, Sabbaticals, International Networking • Homework: • Case Studies? • Participation? • E-mail: Ralf

  13. Many thanks for patiently listening and of course to Co-authors and others for discussion, BMBF for funding Remarks, Questions to <ralf.seppelt@ufz.de>

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