www.nienvironmentlink.org

Ecosystem Services

What Nature Does for Us

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

Renewable Energy

Timber

Livestock

Crops

FisheriesDrinking

Water

Provisioning ServicesThe products obtained from ecosystems

Flood Control

Water Purification

Regulating ServicesThe benefits obtained from ecosystem processes

Carbon Storage

Pollination

Climate Change Mitigation and

Adaptation

Scenery

Tourism

Sense of Place

Cultural ServicesThe non-material benefits of

ecosystems

Archaeology

Biodiversity

Soil Formation

Supporting ServicesThe functions necessary for ecosystems to deliver

services

Nutrient Cycling

Water Cycling

SceneryRenewable

Energy

Tourism Timber

Livestock

Crops

FisheriesDrinking Water

Flood ControlBiodiversity

Sense of Place

Water Purification

Carbon Storage

Soil Formation

Northern Ireland’s Ecosystem Services

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

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

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

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

The NI NEA

Northern Ireland’s Ecosystems

Land Uses

Woodland

Habitats

Agricultural Land Use

Agricultural Land Classification

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

BroadleafConiferousAncientOtherMountains Moors and HeathsSNGEnclosed FarmlandWoodlandsFreshwaterUrban Coastal Margin Rough GrazingGrassAgricultural Crops Horticulture Other Agricultural Land useOtherClass 2 - Very Good QualityClass 3a - Good QualityClass 3b - Moderate QualityClass 4 - Poor QualityClass 5 - Very Poor QualityUrbanDisturbedWaterNS

% of Total Land Area (Northern Ireland)

Changes in Land Use 1998 - 2007

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

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

Is our Environment Valuable?

Globally degradation of ecosystems & services costs $50 billion annually

In 2006 the environment contributed £573 million and accounted for 32,750 FTE jobs

A CT IO N S FO R B IO D IVE RS ITY 2011-2016 IR ELAN D ’S N ATIO N AL B IO D IVER SITY PLAN

In 2011 the historic environment of NI generated $287 million of output and sustains 5,400 FTE jobs

Ireland’s National Biodiversity Plan estimates value of ecosystem services at €2.6 billion/year

Valuing an Ecosystem

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?

Ecosystems work for free!

But only if they’re cared for

Sustainable Catchment Management

CarbonGood

WTW

CarbonBadWTW & Extension

Drivers of Change

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 capacity of 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

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

How Do We Manage Land?

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

Pollination

EducationalAesthetic

Cultural Heritage

InspirationalSpiritual

Food Freshwater

Fuel and EnergyWood

FibreGenetic resources

Water Regulation

Disease Regulation

Pollution ControlWater Purification

Nutrient cycling

Primary production

Soil formationGrass

Forest

Moorland

Bare groundWater

• 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?

A Systems Approach

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

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?

Today’s Work