Ecosystem Services Quantification for Resource Management: Is it Appropriate for NRDA? ACES and Ecosystem Markets

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1 1 Ecosystem Services Quantification for Resource Management: Is it Appropriate for NRDA? ACES and Ecosystem Markets Fort Lauderdale, FL Pieter Booth, Exponent December 13, 2012

2 2 Natural Resource Damage Assessment: Some Concepts and Precepts Compensation for losses to the public Compensation goal is restoration of lost services Trustees typically pursue claims under threat of litigation Process entails many technical steps, some of which are analogous to ES quantification Concepts of baseline and causation are central to liability determination

3 3 Ecosystem Services: Some Concepts and Precepts By definition, human benefit is at the core Benefits people obtain from ecosystems (MEA 2005) Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems (ESA 1997) conditions and processes [that] sustain and fulfill human life (Daily 1997) Encompasses both use and nonuse services Biophysical production functions (BPFs) define linkages between ecosystem state and provision of services

4 4 Ecosystem Services: Some Basic Concepts and Precepts (continued) Ecosystem Services Ecological Services Ecological services are often considered an intermediate service in an ecosystem services context Ecological services must be of direct benefit to humans to be valued in an ecosystem services context Valuation is typically monetary Use in NRDA is not tested

5 Conceptual Framework for Ecosystem Services-Think 5

6 6 6 Why Might this be Important? Trustees are exploring ecosystem services quantification approaches for NRDA (NAS DWH Interim Report) EPA, USGS, and others are developing ecosystem services databases that include valuation Ecosystem services tools and approaches only seem to expand the scope of an NRDA and may clash with NRDA approaches, especially HEA and REA

7 7 Key Disconnects in Technical Underpinnings Ecosystem Services Quantification Identify universe of services based on what people care about Quantify the relationships between ecological processes and the provision of services (BPFs) Determine impacts of the release on ecological processes and the provision of services Preference for monetization over restoration scaling NRDA as Practiced (HEA/REA) Identify key habitats or populations injured based on Trustee imperatives Quantify service losses (DSAYs or DKYs) for key habitats or populations Determine restoration needed to compensate for service losses Damages for lost services = cost of restoration

8 An Ecosystem Services Approach Starts out Big 8

9 Definition of Services in Ecosystem Services versus NRD 9

10 Definition of Services in Ecosystem Services versus NRD 10

11 Definition of Services in Ecosystem Services versus NRD 11

12 12 An ES Approach to NRDA Suggests the Need to Model the World Implementing an ecosystem approach to damage assessment requires an understanding of the complex linkages amongst various ecosystem components, including the impact of humans on the structure and function of the ecosystem, the resulting changes in ecosystem services, and how these changes affect human well-being. (NAS 2012) NAS (2005) describes three phases for an ecosystem services-based NRDA: 1. Determine the impact of human actions on the structure and function of the ecosystem 2. Establish how changes in the ecosystem lead to changes in ecosystem services 3. Establish how changes in the provision of ecosystem services affect human well-being

13 13 An ES Approach to NRDA Leads to Monetization of Lost Services Services are strictly defined as benefits to human, thus defining value to humans leads toward monetization Examples of works-in-progress (Alee 2010): Elwha Floodplain Restoration, Ecosystem Services Valuation Survey (Stated Preference), and Cultural Services (Tribal Values non monetary) Ecosystem Services and Markets Chesapeake Bay; ESV-based modeling tool (Marine InVest) uses benefits transfer from database of monetary valuations

14 14 Conclusions ES assessments are bound to influence the NRDA process Key technical issues are unresolved Uncertainty in BPFs How to manage baseline and causation Consideration of only final services in an ecosystem services approach precludes HEA and to a lesser extent, REA in most cases Ecosystem services framework might be appropriate for restoration planning but not determination of liability

15 15 Questions?

16 16 References Alee, R NOAA activities to improve decision-making: Valuing ecosystem services. Presentation, ACES NOAA Coastal Services Center. Daily G. C. (ed.) Nature's services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, DC. Ecological Society of America Issues in Ecology (2): Ecosystem Services: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems. Ecological Society of America. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC.