Ecosystem Services

1. Ecosystem Services What Nature Does for Us

2. Ecosystem Services Approach • Ecosystem – environment • Ecosystem Services – the goods and services which the environment provides for people • Ecosystem Services Approach – putting a value on these services and considering that value when making land and sea use decisions

3. Provisioning Services The products obtained from ecosystems Renewable Energy Livestock Timber Crops Fisheries Drinking Water

4. Regulating Services The benefits obtained from ecosystem processes Pollination Flood Control Water Purification Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Carbon Storage

5. Cultural Services The non-material benefits of ecosystems Scenery Tourism Sense of Place Archaeology

6. Supporting Services The functions necessary for ecosystems to deliver services Water Cycling Biodiversity Nutrient Cycling Soil Formation

7. Northern Ireland’s Ecosystem Services Scenery Renewable Energy Livestock Crops Tourism Timber Fisheries Drinking Water Flood Control Biodiversity Water Purification Soil Formation Sense of Place Carbon Storage

8. New Jargon or New Thinking? • Accepted Internationally and at UK level – Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, UK National EA, TEEB, Nagoya treaty, UK Environment White Paper • Natural Capital, Green Infrastructure • Criticised for being ‘too human oriented’ – but any value is better than zero value

9. New Approach! • Holistic, integrated, long term • Identifying ‘win-win’ outcomes • Way to deliver legislation and policy • Water Framework Directive • Greenhouse Gas Targets • Energy and Resource Efficiency • Food and Energy Security • Deal with Climate Change – resilience and adaptation; Low Carbon Economy

10. Integration ‘Effectively establishing coherent and resilient ecological networks on land and at sea requires a shift in emphasis, away from piecemeal conservation actions and towards a more effective, more integrated, landscape scale approach.’ Biodiversity 2020; a strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystem services DEFRA 2011

11. Framework & Evidence • Baseline assessment – to monitor change • Linkages to other major strategies & themes • Biodiversity – TEEB • Landscape scale conservation • Green infrastructure & Natural capital • Climate change adaptation & mitigation • Evocative & understandable language & rationale • Highlights local action & financial benefits

12. The NI NEA

13. Northern Ireland’s Ecosystems

14. Land Uses % of Total Land Area (Northern Ireland)

15. Changes in Land Use 1998 - 2007

17. NEA – Next Steps • Defra – £1.2 million / 18 months; Scottish Government – £10 million/ 5 years • UK 4 priority areas • Research and valuation • Cultural Services • Scenarios – future planning • Promotion and Communication • NIEA – Peatland Services • DARD – Policy review

18. Value and Price • Functioning ecosystems deliver Goods (public and private) • These ‘goods’ have value (but are they valued?) • Without a price, value is underestimated or ignored completely in political and developmental decisions • Not easy • Only provisioning is commonly given a financial value • Others complex to evaluate - use proxies, partials

19. Is our Environment Valuable? Globally degradation of ecosystems & services costs $50 billion annually In 2011 the historic environment of NI generated $287 million of output and sustains 5,400 FTE jobs In 2006 the environment contributed £573 million and accounted for 32,750 FTE jobs Ireland’s National Biodiversity Plan estimates value of ecosystem services at €2.6 billion/year

20. Valuing an Ecosystem

21. What does Peatland do for us? • Livestock grazing • Fuel peat • Wind farms • Carbon storage • Flood prevention • Water purification • Tourism • Archaeological heritage • Scenery • Soil formation • Biodiversity How can we obtain many of these outputs without endangering the ability to provide the others?

22. Ecosystems work for free! But only if they’re cared for

23. Sustainable Catchment Management Good Carbon Bad Carbon WTW & Extension WTW

24. Drivers of Change

25. The Ecosystem Services Approach • Determine what public goods – including energy, food and their security – Northern Ireland wants its land to provide • Compare this with the capacityof different ecosystems and areas to deliver different services • Develop policy and fiscal incentives to encourage the use of land to provide multiple ecosystem services suited to the capacity of the land to deliver, taking care to avoid unintended or perverse outcomes

26. Realising Land Capability • The capability of land to provide different services depends upon its inherent characteristics and land use history. • Soil type • Soil quality • Water availability • Natural ecosystems • Current and historical vegetation • Not all land is suitable for all uses. Land use decisions should be based on capability of the land and society’s needs

27. How Do We Manage Land?

28. We are Ignorant – but it’s no Excuse • No perfect valuation for ecosystem services in NI (or anywhere else) • We do know: • What they are and what they do for us • They need to be actively protected • They incur costs if degraded (fire, alien species) • They cost to replace (pollination, water purification) • Try to avoid unintended consequences • Manage to enhance resilience

29. Moorland Forest Water Bare ground Grass A Systems Approach • What type of system is this? • How can we describe this system? • How does this system work? • Is this system working well – is it sustainable? • How do we value this system? • How is this system changing? • What causes this system to change? • How might this system change? • What differences will system change produce? • How should this system change? Aesthetic Cultural Heritage Educational Wood Water Regulation Nutrient cycling Fuel and Energy Pollution Control Soil formation Inspirational Spiritual Water Purification Disease Regulation Food Primary production Freshwater Fibre Genetic resources Pollination

31. Benefits of the Approach • Increase long term resilience of policies and actions • Reduce risks from failure of natural systems • Reduce public costs of degraded systems • Help to deliver policy objectives • Delivers other aspects of legislation and policy

32. Today’s Work How can adopting the ecosystem services approach help to address many of the issues facing Northern Ireland’s environment, economy and rural community? How can the ecosystem approach help DARD deliver its legislative requirements and policy commitments?