A Valuation of England s Terrestrial Ecosystem Services

Transcription

1 A Valuation of England s Terrestrial Ecosystem Services Presented by: Keith Lawrence, CI Study leads: Stefanie O Gorman & Camille Bann, Jacobs UK Ltd.

2 Presentation Outline Background Key issues considered The value of England s Terrestrial ES Recommendations

3 Jacobs, for UK government (Defra) 2008 Ecosystems Approach project : holistic approach to policy-making fully reflect value of ecosystem services in decision-making respect environmental limits

4 Study Aims 1. Estimate total annual value of England's terrestrial ecosystem services 2. Investigate existing evidence base, valuation methodologies & limitations Broad, ambitious scope A journey, not an end point

5 Key Issues: Prioritization Academic panel: Prof. Kerry Turner, UEA Prof. Dave Rafaelli, University of York Prof. Ken Willis, University of Newcastle Client Board Workshop

6 Issue Rank Issue Rank Scale of services & benefits 1 Cultural services & landscape 8 Multi-functional nature of habitats 2 Uncertainty 9 Double counting 3 Other types of value 9 Variables affecting values 4 Extent/ availability/ scarcity of services or habitats 9 Variation of values by location 4 The counterfactual 12 Interactions with other habitats and ecosystems 4 Existing and future pressures, identification & consideration 13 Temporal considerations 7 Typology of values 13

7 Key Issues Why do a total valuation? (Specific policies need marginal valuations) Advocacy National accounting Compare natural capital to produced capital Prioritizing locations / services / habitats Time series Conceptually & practically harder

8 Key Issues The counterfactual: What does no ecosystems mean? Strong sustainability argument infinite value Assumed basics of life remain: O 2 Fresh drinking water Sufficient food Comfortable climate

9 Key Issues A service based rather than a habitats approach Each service valued at an appropriate scale Consider value of the system, not of a given habitat

10 Key Issues Gaps in understanding biophysical mechanisms that result in ES e.g. role of forests in water provision Data gaps What is is the the service? The The role role of of ecosystems in in providing the the service How people benefit Monetised benefit

11 Key Issues Aggregation & disaggregation From region to nation & v.v. Summing different services From marginal source studies to total value estimates

12 A typology of ecosystem services & benefits Millennium Ecosystem Assessment categories Maps ES against final benefits to society Helps avoid double counting e.g. health Records valuation methods, data sources, what s valued & what isn t Clear, consistent terminology

13 Benefits Provisioning Regulating Cultural Food Fibre & Fuel Economic income Medicine from agriculture Climate Erosion Natural hazard regulation Air quality regulation Lower flood damages Water regulation Water / waste purification Recreation Opportunities Knowledge systems Consumer surplus Goods with Social Use Economic Values income Goods with Non-use Values

14 The value of England s Terrestrial ES Annual benefits Illustrative, lower bound estimates Supporting Services not valued they are intermediate rather than final benefits their value may be considered infinite?

15 Provisioning Services Market Value (MV) of goods sold: 10.2 billion p.a. Gross Valued Added (GVA) generated: 4.2 billion p.a. >80% of this is Agricultural Food production Used central statistics

16 Regulating Services Damage Cost Avoided Carbon sequestration 1.0 billion p.a. Valued using UK government guidelines on Shadow Price of Carbon Flood control & storm buffering 1.2 billion p.a. Wetlands only Benefits transfer Case study on air quality regulation Gap for water provision / quality

17 Cultural Services Recreation: Participant expenditure: 5.4 billion p.a. generating 2.0 billion economic income p.a million consumer surplus p.a. Used central statistics & one-off studies Non-use value: Lower bound, based on an illustrative source Bateman & Langford (1997): Mean WTP to preserve the Broads National Park = p.a. per individual At least 399 million p.a.

18 Summary of annual values Research Social Use CS 266M Provisioning GVA 4,211M Regulating Damages avoided 2,250M Recreation Economic Income 1,951M Non-use CS 399M

19 Recommendations 1. Focus should be on marginal valuations, both to inform policy & for advocacy 2. Research into how (and at what scales) benefits are generated

20 Recommendations 3. Develop a benefits transfer strategy 4. Design primary valuations with benefit transfer requirements in mind 5. Employ standards on MV & GVA that fit ecosystems approach

21 And finally Lots of issues with total valuations A serious underestimate of infinity? Some categories easier than others Different conceptual frameworks for different valuations Data gaps Can generate results that illustrate where values stem from Non monetized metrics also interesting

22 Thank you! Keith Lawrence