An economist’s point of view on IPBES: How can assessments of ecosystem services benefit decision-

makers?

Patrick ten Brink TEEB for Policy Makers Co-ordinator

Senior Fellow and Head of Environmental Economics Programme

Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)

Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Reconnecting science to policy: Why? What? How?

11:30 – 13:30 Tuesday 29 May 2012

European Parliament, Brussels Room PHS 7C050

The value of biodiversity and ecosystem services are not fully reflected in the

markets, in price signals, and policies

Decision making (at company, policy & citizen level) still too often fails to take into

account the local to global benefits, contributing to a loss of biodiversity and

ecosystem services.

Critical issues

Assessing ecosystem service benefits (and links to biodiversity and

ecosystem functions) and identifying who benefits from what natural capital

is critical for policy making, interest and instrument choice, design and

implementation, and enforcement.

IPBES is an opportunity to drive understanding and awareness of the roles

and value of nature for people, society, and the economy & hence help

develop the evidence base needed by policy makers

Diversity/variety – e.g. pharmaceuticals, food security, biomimicry;

E.g. genetic resources: > than

Biodiversity (genes, species, ecosystems) & its value is about

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Quantity – e.g. timber, carbon storage, fish stock, flood control, water retention

E.g. for fish production: > than

Quality – e.g landscape & tourism, ecosystems & water filtration, resilience

(to climate change, IAS)

Many ecosystem services from the

same piece of land Benefits local to global

Benefits are spatially dependent Benefits depend on supply/demand,

scarcity and availability of substitutes

Benefits are time dependent (as are costs)

There are trade-offs in decisions

Benefits also differ across stakeholders

There will be winners and losers

Benefits depend on what you cover in the analysis

Fit for purpose: what level of precision is needed?

EU Policy Making – if benefits an order of magnitude > costs (or vice versa), then clear signal for need for policy action (or not). Precision less critical in Impact Assessment (IA) - robust order of magnitude can suffice.

Instrument Design – eg PES, REDD+, ETS – greater precision needed to get the design right (e.g. what level of payments, defining additionality & conditionality) + confidence in instrument

In project and permit assessment – as precise an answer is needed where possible, but whole picture also needed

In compliance checking (e.g. performance under PES/REDD) – as precise an answer as possible is needed. Verifiability.

Fit for purpose: Policy needs & context defines the level of robustness and precision needed

Good governance only requires answers fit for purpose – proportionality principle

Understanding values has many aspects – this is both an opportunity for decision making

(better evidence, fuller understanding) & a challenge (tools and resources to assess values)

The Global Biodiversity Crisis • Nature’s assets & biodiversity loss

• Economic values and loss

• Social dimension

Transforming our approach to natural capital

Available Solutions • PES (e.g. water), PES: REDD+

• Markets, GPP

• Subsidy reform

• Legislation, liability, taxes & charges

• Protected Areas

• Investment in natural capital (restoration et al)

Measuring what we manage • Indicators

• Accounts (SEEA/Waves)

• Valuation

• Assessment

http://www.teebweb.org/

TEEB for Policy Makers

Evidence base - Assessing values and actions Assessments can identify where ecosystems can provide goods and services at

lower cost than by man-made technological alternatives >> significant savings

• USA-NY: Catskills-Delaware watershed for NY: PES/working with nature saves money (~5US$bn)

• New Zealand: Te Papanui Park - water supply to hydropower, Dunedin city, farmers (~$136m)

• Mexico: PSAH to forest owners, aquifer recharge, water quality, deforestation, poverty (~US$303m)

• France & Belgium: Priv. Sector: Vittel (Mineral water) Bionade (soft drink) PES for water quality

• Venezuela: PA helps avoid potential replacement costs of hydro dams (~US$90-$134m over 30yr)

• Vietnam restoring/investing in Mangroves - cheaper than dyke maintenance (~US$: 1m to 7m/yr)

• South Africa: WfW public PES to address IAS, avoids costs and provides jobs (~20,000; 52%♀)

• Germany : peatland restoration: avoidance cost of CO2 ~ 8 to 12 €/t CO2 (0-4 alt. land use)

• Belgium: Schelde flood control: 14 year payback for option using green infrastructures

(ecosystem restoration); 41 years for traditional man-made infrastructure (storm surge barrier)

Sources: various. Mainly in TEEB for National and International Policy Makers, TEEB for local and regional policy and TEEB cases

Assessing where working with nature saves money for public (city, region, national), private sector, communities and citizens & who can make it happen can be valuable for policy making

Evidence base for decision making

Economic assessments can help decision making :

By adding to the evidence base – helping understand trade-offs in decision making, winners and losers across stakeholders, time and location.

Inform and encourage decisions and support ambition : where additional evidence (e.g. on costs of policy inaction) underlines urgency of action.

Facilitate political buy-in / reduce opposition: by presenting clear economic insights

Encourage synergies and good governance: by underlining where actions in different policy domains support (or run counter) others’ objectives

Help in instrument design, implementation and enforcement: e.g. in PES/REDD+ schemes to define incentive and non-compliance response.

IPBES & contributing to the evidence Links with other processes and options over time

Core IPBES

Values of nature

Thematic Assessments

UNFCCC / UNCCD

Climate adaptation &

REDD+ assessments

National TEEBs & support for development

Regional Assessments

Thematic Assessments Thematic

Assessments

2018? Global Assessment

Land degradation & desertification

assessments

WAVES and SEEA

CBD: ESS value & accounting 2015?

‘coordination orbit’ M

nonM Values of

nature

M

nonM Values of

nature

M

nonM

• Assessing the value of nature improves the evidence base for decisions

• Qualitative, quantitative, spatial and monetary analysis each have a role

• Range of tools available, sometimes alternative, sometimes complementary

• Has proven to be useful for investment decisions, permit decisions, encouraging support (political and public) for action, helped in instrument choice, design, political and legal launch and implementation.

The whole picture of benefits and costs need to be appreciated – the here and now, the over there and over time, the private and public

…always better to look at the whole board …and engage all the key players

…is this enough to work out what to do?

Investing in the evidence base important for decision making: IPBES and affiliated regional or country bodies, are new players that have the potential to play an important role.

Summary

Thank you

TEEB Reports available on http://www.teebweb.org/

See also www.teeb4me.com

Patrick ten Brink

ptenbrink@ieep.eu

IEEP is an independent, not-for-profit institute dedicated to the analysis, understanding and promotion of

policies for a sustainable environment. www.ieep.eu

See also IEEP’s award winning Manual of European Environmental Policy

http://www.ieep.eu/the-manual/introduction/ http://www.europeanenvironmentalpolicy.eu/

CBD COP 10 Nagoya: Strategic Plan 2011-20

5 strategic goals & 20 headline targets ….extracts…

Strategic goal A: Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming

biodiversity across government and society

Target 1:… people aware of the values of biodiversity …..

Target 2: …. biodiversity values have been integrated ….into strategies… planning … national accounting…. reporting systems.

Evidence on values of biodiversity can also support many other targets e.g. On sustainable fisheries, agriculture, forestry, sustainable use …

Strategic goal D: Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services

Target 14: … ecosystems that provide essential services…. restored and safeguarded

Target 15: … contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced…

Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization;

DG Env Presentation at

´‘Investing in Peattlands‘

Sterling 2011.

Actions

EU Biodiversity Strategy

Action 5: Improve Knowledge of ecosystems and their services in the EU. Member Sates,

with the assistance of the Commission, will map and assess the state of ecosystems and their

services in their national territory by 2014, assess the economic value of such services, and promote

the integration of these values into accounting and reporting systems at EU and national level by 2020

Economic evidence base for policy making- useful areas of focus. IPBES activities/products ?

UNFCCC links: thematic assessments on

• Ecosystem based adaptation to climate change: major need to clarify areas,

cost savings, ESS benefits and wider community benefits

• REDD+ Mapping/Assessment of wider ESS and community benefits/losses

Wider Sector integration studies/assessments

• Financial services: insurance, rating agencies, ethical investment funds; assessment, capacity building re risk assessment, management tools etc.

• Water: ecosystem based clean water provision, water stress, health, crops, savings

• Agriculture & pollination: specific thematic assessment. Food security, sector resilience

UNCCD links: thematic assessments on

• Land degradation, desertification, loss of services, impacts on poverty & MDGs, need for investment in natural capital.

CBD links: thematic assessments on

• Fisheries and marine environment: resource efficiency, ESS, community impacts, limits of substitution.

• Coral reefs: Critical natural capital at threat: BD, services, communities

• Assessment/evaluation of how ESS values assessed and taken into account

- in different socio-economic contexts. E.g. 2015 to give time for 2020

Biodiversity ‘values’: What can you know; wish to know

To get the full picture one needs

mix of monetary, quantitative,

spatial, and qualitative

information / understanding

Valuation tends to build on

physical assessment

The Evidence Base

and Demand

Monetary

Quantitative

/ qualitative

Available

information

Press

interest

Policy

needs

IPBES has potential to help with both