The concept of ecological infrastructure and its uptake in policy and practice. Mandy Driver

Transcription

1 The concept of ecological infrastructure and its uptake in policy and practice Mandy Driver

2 Overview Key milestones in the process to date EI concept and definition Uptake of the EI concept in policy and practice Framework for investing in ecological infrastructure

3 Key milestones in the process to date Biodiversity Planning Forum May 2012 (Kruger) Workshop session on mapping EI for ecosystem services National Ecological Infrastructure Dialogue 8-9 November 2012, Grasslands Programme Biodiversity Planning Forum May 2013 (Golden Gate) Plenary session on concept of EI much more clarity Significant uptake of EI in various initiatives

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5 Definition of ecological infrastructure Ecological infrastructure refers to naturally functioning* ecosystems that deliver valuable services to people e.g. mountain catchments, wetlands, riparian zones, coastal dunes, kelp beds, spawning grounds network of interconnected structural elements in the landscape and seascape One piece of EI can provide several different services

6 Key characteristics of ecological infrastructure The nature-based equivalent of built infrastructure Crucial for providing services and underpinning socioeconomic development Unlike built infrastructure, EI already exists we don t have to build it Like built infrastructure needs to be managed, maintained and in some cases restored Value often not captured in market transactions tends to be under-valued and under-invested in Public sector has a central role to play in leading investment in EI

7 well-recognised Underpins economic development Delivers services to people Creates jobs Supports rural development Physical infrastructure (e.g. roads, ports, powerlines, ICT) - Construction - Maintenance In some cases Social infrastructure (e.g. schools, hospitals) - Construction - Maintenance In some cases Ecological infrastructure underpins physical and social infrastructure Ecological infrastructure (e.g. healthy catchments, wetlands, coastal dunes) - Restoration - Maintenance In many cases under-recognised

8 Manage, maintain & restore ecological infrastructure Produce and deliver services Create jobs, especially in rural areas Augment, enhance and protect built infrastructure (e.g. restoring degraded catchments prevents siltation and prolongs life of dams; kelp beds and coastal dunes protect human settlements from impacts of storm surges) Contribute to water security (e.g. by assuring the quality and quantity of water supplies) Contribute to food security (e.g. through ensuring productive rangelands, preventing erosion and contributing to soil health) Reduce the risk of disasters (e.g. intact ecosystems are better able to help humans cope with extreme events such as droughts and floods, also important for climate change adaptation)

9 FAQs What s the difference between EI and green infrastructure? Green infrastructure used VERY broadly E.g. roof garden; artificial wetland; bridge/dam for which EIA was done ecological infrastructure green infrastructure

10 FAQs What s the difference between EI and ecosystem services (ES)? EI is the underlying asset (stock) ES flow from EI Like the difference between capital (EI) and income (ES) Not all ES flow from EI (e.g. some ES come from highly modified ecosystems) flow of ecosystem services stock of ecological infrastructure

11 FAQs What s the difference between EI and biodiversity?

12 What do we mean by biodiversity? species and ecosystem types ecological infrastructure After Noss 1990

13 Ecological infrastructure = naturally functioning ecosystems that deliver valuable services to people Ecological infrastructure focuses on the function aspect of biodiversity, rather than structure or composition An aspect/subset of biodiversity Not something separate from or other than biodiversity

14 Not all biodiversity is ecological infrastructure Useful phrase: Biodiversity assets and ecological infrastructure

15 FAQs cont Do artificial wetlands (or other forms of man-made infrastructure that mimic ecosystems) count as EI? No artificial wetlands are artificial EI We should be rigorous about this distinction between real EI and artificial EI Do restored wetlands count as EI? Yes John Dini: a person with a hip replacement is still a person

16 Uptake of the EI concept Key policy and implementation messages re EI have resonated Examples of uptake: NWRS UEIP SIP19

17 Traction with new audiences Opening new doors e.g. National Treasury, Dept of Agriculture, municipal engineers

18 National Water Resource Strategy recently revised These areas form the foundational ecological infrastructure on which a great deal of built infrastructure for water services depends. They are thus strategic national assets that are vital for water security, and need to be acknowledged as such at the highest level across all sectors. June 2013

19 umngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership launched Nov 2013 umngeni catchment supplies water to city of Durban: SA s 3 rd largest city major challenges with water quality & quantity Engineers have run out of conventional engineering solutions

20 National Infrastructure Plan 2012 flows from National Development Plan implementation co-ordinated by a Presidential Commission investment of R1trillion (~$100 billion) over next 3 years speaks to government s long-term priorities of job creation, poverty alleviation and service delivery

21 Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) SIPs 1-18: key infrastructure investments e.g. energy, transport, health, municipal, dams Possibility for SIP19: Ecological infrastructure for water security SIP18 conventional water infrastructure below the dam SIP19 ecological infrastructure above the dam

22 Framework for Investing in Ecological Infrastructure Finalised in March 2014 SANBI in collaboration with partners To guide efforts of the sector

23 7 principles for IEI Investment in ecological infrastructure: should focus on achieving clearly defined benefits & outcomes should focus on systematically identified spatially strategic areas will be strengthened by a transdisciplinary approach should build on and learn from existing experience and programmes (e.g. Working for s) should optimise its contribution to job creation, poverty alleviation and rural development should take place in a participatory and socially sensitive manner should include monitoring and evaluation

24 Initial mapping of EI Last year: Strategic Water Source Areas EI for greater umngeni catchment Many more examples this year

25 Key points re mapping EI Services flow from something an underlying stock of assets Often easier to map the underlying asset than the services (think of roads, ports, schools) Avoid the trap of mapping ALL intact ecosystems as EI build a bottom-up case for particular features Why map EI?

26 Same reason we map biodiversity priority areas 3-way action plan Reduce loss / maintain in good condition - Land use planning - Environmental authorisations - Classification of water resources Protect - PA expansion strategy - Biodiversity stewardship - Management effectiveness in PAs Restore - Working for s - Pilots to show value of ecol infrastructure

27 How will EI maps relate to existing maps of biodiversity priority areas? Biodiversity priority areas include Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBAs) and Ecological Support Areas (ESAs) Definition of ESAs: Areas that play an important role in supporting the ecological functioning of CBAs and/or in delivering ecosystem services Still need to explore: Is EI a subset of ESAs? Is EI a subset of ESAs and CBAs? Should we keep CBA maps and EI maps separate or merge them? How to present maps products & accompanying guidelines

28 The State of South Africa s Ecological Infrastructure 2017?

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30 Ecological infrastructure for (Benefits) Water security Food security Disaster risk reduction Other (tourism, traditional medicine) more? Examples of features Strategic Water Source Areas Wetlands with water purification function Wetlands with flow regulation function Areas important for erosion control Groundwater recharge areas Forage for pollinators Areas important for erosion control Estuaries that provide a nursery function for harvested marine species Spawning grounds Coastal dunes Mangroves Kelp beds Wetlands important for flow regulation Riparian vegetation Relevant ecological functions Soil infiltration rate Plant water use Filtering capacity / nutrient retention capacity Sediment and erosion dynamics (e.g. impacts on dam sedimentation) Flow dynamics (timing and volume of flow) Pollination Salinisation Sediment and erosion dynamics Nutrient cycling Habitat for spawning Freshwater cues Estuary mouth dynamics Soil infiltration rate Biomass load Sediment and erosion dynamics (e.g. beach erosion) Flow dynamics (timing and volume of flow) (impacts on stream regulation and flood attenuation)

31 Questions for discussion What ecological infrastructure that you would find useful to have mapped in your region or province? Do you know of other work currently underway related to mapping / measuring / monitoring EI? If so, what and who? What are the strategic priorities for EI mapping? Brainstorm Choose top three to report back on

32 10 groups of about 20 each Each map reports back on 3 priorities for EI mapping (paper and pens for note taking)

33 Discussion EI should be considered a biodiversity surrogate in systematic biodiversity planning CBAs should be a sub-category of EI. When we create CBA maps and do prioritisation, include EI areas even if it s spatially a bit less efficient. EI could be used as a way of incorporating biodiversity into municipal planning Problem of still using old datasets eg NLC2000 Nervous about how we link EI and CBAs CBAs can t just be a subset of EI some CBAs won t fit as subset of EI Opps for funding for EI projects need to be giving direction and support on this Need better understanding of soils and their role in EI links to agric and hydrology. Finding better surrogates and ways of interpreting the data.

34 Wcape example: attempt to include floodplain EI in CBA map led to v big CBAs which were then simplified might have been better to just make them EI CBAs are something very specific arrived at through a particular approach. There are other approaches to spatial planning. We could look at principles for mapping EI, and compare and contrast these with SBP principles Need some categories of EI based on condition and ability to manage/intervene Step back: lessons learned from CBA process and implementation of CBAs. Think about how EI maps will be used BEFORE we make maps and put them out there. Work of this community of practice not necessarily filtering down to on-the-ground work. There are existing tools for on the ground work that could feed into EI mapping and implementation. Need more discusion on how/whether D side is incroporated

35 More emphasis on science side data, numbers. A lot of what we have is quite tenuous. Coastal vulnerability work on the Eastern seaboard natural areas provided protection from impacts need to integrate this type of mapping into EI (not just water-related) (useful for e.g. insurance industry) Useful to put something out there on the value of EI and the sowhat for eg IDPs and SDFs Concern about stifling innovation if we develop guidelines now. Maybe another couple of years. Useful to have a clear definition of EI to work with. Not yet useful to have detailed guidance, but could be useful to agree on terminology for eg intact EI, degraded EI what s in these baskets, and making sure it doesn t conflict with terminology we re using in CBA maps. Concern that we don t want too MUCH innovation that inhibits implementation Responsibility to minimise the number of products we expect

36 Example from Eden: a lot of data needed to map EI exists can be relatively cheap and easy to get people around the table Definition of EI: valuable services has this been quantified and described? Which services are valuable? Do we set quantifiable thresholds for how valuable in order to qualify as EI? So we don t end up with everything! EI is a huge topic that spans many departmental mandates. Each department focuses on/pushes its mandate, and the municipalities are lumped with all the layers in the end. Need some discussion between depts on what aspects of EI they are responsible for and get clarity on this before we push it onto municipal level. Can t always restore/fix EI once it s destroyed people need to know this

37 Clusters of issues CBAs / EI same, different, integrated etc Are there EI categories that we could use generically (along the lines of CBAs) And what would we use to populate these categories Communicating, mainstreaming and implementing maps Forums / learning networks related to EI Integrating D Quantification of value (in financial and other terms) and return on investment Getting back to the science and data on ecosystem functioning Are we at the point where we could get together some initial guidelines on mapping EI? Relationship between EI and regulation what relationships already exist, and what could we aim to put in place