PLANNING - CONSULTATION - DECISIONS - COMMUNICATION
Environmental impact assessments (EIA) are required for important projects. However, EIAs sometimes fail to reveal the negative externalities (hidden costs) associated with a project. Furthermore, they do not explicitly measure the extent to which different stakeholders will be affected by a project. In such instances, an ecosystem services approach will be useful.
WHAT ARE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES?
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An ecosystem services approach allows one to list and measure the services provided by “nature” that contribute to human well-being within a given perimeter. Through a participatory process, stakeholders evaluate the services provided in the current state, identify their uniqueness, and how to mitigate or compensate lost services through a deliberative process. Here, the favoured approach is to focus less on impacts (as in a traditional impact study) and more on an optimisation of available resources for all participants. |
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Human well-being depends directly or indirectly upon ecosystem services. Natural resource management has traditionally focused on services with associated markets (livestock, crops, energy production) at the expense of non-market services, such as pollinisation, landscapes, cultural values. For example, wetlands are drained and converted into agricultural land. In the process, services such as the purification of waters, the protection against floods, and the pollinisation by wild bees are partially lost. The ecosystem services approach describes, quantifies, and compares the magnitude of services under different scenarios.
An illustration of the different types of ecosystem services produced by a same tract of land under two different management scenarios.
IDENTIFYING AND MAPPING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Key ecosystem services are generally identified through a participatory process. One positive outcome of the participatory process is the increased awareness on behalf of the stakeholders of other potential groups’ values, and a better overall appreciation of the resource being managed.
GIS-tools are used to map, and overlay, the values of different services.
The ecosystem services approach provides a transparent and relatively objective framework for comparing the impacts of different projects or visions for a given location. For example, lost services can be mitigated or compensated, and the management of natural ressources is more likely to be transparent and fair.
GIS-tools are used to map, and overlay, the values of different services.
The ecosystem services approach provides a transparent and relatively objective framework for comparing the impacts of different projects or visions for a given location. For example, lost services can be mitigated or compensated, and the management of natural ressources is more likely to be transparent and fair.
MANAGING ONE'S NATURAL CAPITAL
Targeted investments and regular maintenance efforts can help maintain, or even increase, overall ecosystem services. With the total value of ecosystem services in hand, a resource manager is more likely to gain support among policy makers, especially if these can be expressed quantitatively or qualitatively in terms of a return on investment or total service value.
Illustration of hypothetical evolution of ecosystem services on a tract of land, with occasionally investments and regular maintenance costs.
COMMUNICATION
¬ Public consultation
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