The economics of soil/land in the urban and peri-urban context

Transcription

1 Global Soil Week 2013 Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative How ELD can improve decision making Berlin, Germany, 28 October 2013 The economics of soil/land in the urban and peri-urban context Geertrui Louwagie*, Mark Kibblewhite, Joe Morris *Ecosystems assessment group Natural systems and vulnerability (NSV) programme

2 EEA Resources and Tools Networks and governance

3 Urban Atlas Reference year 2006 High-resolution land cover & land use Pan-European Major urban zones (> inhabitants) Geospatial complement to statistics Urban Audit Update 2014 (reference 2012) Implementation Copernicus By DG REGIO - EEA Sources: EEA Urban Atlas website: Copernicus The European Earth Observation Programme:

4 Soil Survey in Urban Areas Sources: Soil Map of Belgium Scale 1:20000 Soil Resources of Europe (Jones et al., (2005) 2 ed., JRC): [ ] for urban agglomerations [ ] no soil survey has been performed, due to the absence of soils sensu stricto.

5 Soil and Land Integrated elements of ecosystems 1. Biodiversity pool (habitat for soil organisms) 2. Storing, filtering and transforming nutrients, substances and water 3. Biomass production (food, feed, fibre, fuel) 4. Carbon sink 5. Platform/medium for buildings and human activity 6. Archive for natural & cultural heritage 7. Source of raw materials Cf. EU Soil Thematic Strategy [COM(2006) 231] Source: Circular Flow Land Use Management Access:

6 Soil and Land Soil-related ecosystem services Food, fodder, fibre & fuel prod. Filtr./transf. Flood control Carbon & biodiv. pool Archive cultural and natural heritage

7 Soil: an integrated part of an inclusive green economy Source: EEA, Environmental Indicator Report

8 Soil-related Ecosystem Services Contribution to urbanised economy? Definition and assumptions - urbanised: core urban and peri-urban (transition) - soil is a non-renewable natural resource - resource use to maximise long-term social welfare

9 Contribution to Urbanised Economy? Questions Soil management interventions should focus on essentialness, non-substitutability, and resilience. Therefore: Where/how do soils and their use and management make a difference in delivering services? How are the (degradation) costs and benefits distributed? Placing excess demand (for benefits) on natural resources (including soil) causes a decline in their performance. How can demand be managed optimally?

10 Natural Capital and Ecosystems Framework for valuation Stocks, capital, assets Flows, services, benefits and costs Stocks of Natural (Ecosystem) Capital Ecosystem Functions Flows of Ecosystem Services Governance Values and Stakeholders: Utility/well-being

11 Economic Criteria The total economic value of soils

12 Indicative relative importance of soil attributes to added value of land uses LAND USE CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE URBAN Main supporting Biodiversity, Medium for Platform role of soils habitat production Ecosystem services Provisioning Low High Low Regulating & High Moderate Low-High supporting Cultural High Moderate Moderate-High

13 Soil degradation and its impacts

14 Distribution of soil degradation costs Evidence suggests that off-site (mainly public) costs exceed on-site (mainly private) costs by a large margin On-site private benefits of soil conservation may be insufficient to recover the private costs involved. There is a weak incentive for private users to protect soil resources. Potentially strong incentives for policy intervention to correct failures of soil governance. Source: euroluftbild.de/grahn

15 Economics of local soil contamination Case: semi-urban industrial area in France Estimated annual equivalent costs of soil contamination due to industrial activity on c. 30 ha (Source: Gorlach et al, 2004) Private costs Mitigation costs a Off-site social Reclamation of the site within redevelopment project, performed by private investor Monitoring impact Included in mitigation costs Demolition of contaminated buildings Soil decontamination treatment Acquisition of contaminated land and re-fitting forests 947,800 Euros 2003 year -1 damage costs Human health impact (costs of disease, lost work days, etc.) Agricultural impact (lost income) Urban impact (decrease in housing prices) 4,429,647 Euros 2003 year -1 Off-site damage avoidance cost Hydraulic pumping in the aquifer to limit propagation of the plume Survey of groundwater quality Decontamination of school yards 312,400 Euros 2003 year -1 Cost of the loss of non-use values Loss of non-use value for citizens Not estimated Source: DJN

16 Economics of carbon (C) sink/pool function Case: C-rich soils under climate change East of England peatlands (Graves and Morris, 2013): Wetland restoration versus continued agricultural use and carbon loss annual net benefits for 2012 of about 150/ha between 330/ha and over 1,000/ha in 2080, depending on the climate change scenario. A dynamic assessment identified about 40,000/ha net present value of benefits of peatland restoration over period , allowing for real price changes in food and carbon.

17 Key messages The role of soils in urbanised areas Urbanised areas are defined as the combination of urban core and peri-urban (transition to rural) areas. An ecosystems approach is helpful to identify the particular contribution of soils to delivery of land-based services and goods, as a basis for their valuation: the essentialness of soils. In the urbanised environment, soil particularly contributes to: providing a platform for structures/buildings regulating the environment (e.g. reducing risks of flooding) delivering cultural services (e.g. archive cultural heritage).

18 Key messages Economics of soils in urbanised areas Cost-benefit analysis can help assess options for soil use and management in urbanised areas that maximise net social welfare. However, there are challenges regarding definition of counterfactuals and valuation of non-traded (e.g. cultural) and non-use services (e.g. legacy value). Cost effectiveness analysis can help determine least cost options for achieving soil-related policy targets. The literature contains little quantitative economic analysis of soil use and management in urbanised areas. The few studies that are available suggest that appropriate use of soil in urbanised areas is associated with substantial economic benefit.

19 Key messages How to promote awareness of soil value? Two recent developments The ecosystem services framework helps to identify the potential benefits of soil resource management, although their designation as supporting services can hide their full value and impact. The development of green infrastructure provides an appropriate intervention framework for appreciating and promoting the economic contribution of soil management. Inclusion of soil in governance tools Spatial planning Other decision-making tools

20 Thank you