Values of ecosystem services challenges and opportunities

Transcription

1 Values of ecosystem services challenges and opportunities N O R D I C W O R K S H O P ON H O W T O A S S E S S A N D V A L U E E C O S Y S T E M S E R V I C E S I N F O R E S T S O S L O 1 3 S E P T E M B E R D A G H E S S E N, U N I V E R S I T Y O F O S L O, A N D M E M B E R O F T H E N O R W E G I A N G O V E R N M E N T S E X P E R T C O M M I S S I O N O N V A L U E S O F E C O S Y S T E M S E R V I C E S

2 Introduction Presentation overview Norwegian expert commission on values of ecosystem services Challenges and opportunities related to values and valuation Questions and comments 2

3 Relevant: The new Norwegian Act on biodiversity to secure by protection and sustainable use that nature with its diversity and ecological (and evolutionary) processes are maintained for the future. Not a preservation or a museum Act, but aimed at securing the future as well as the present diversity! Ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services are important aspects Should have priority relative to other acts 3

4 Why conserve biological diversity? Intrinsic value of nature (rooted in deep ecology and ethics) 4 Experiences in and from nature, e.g. aestetic or recreational values (both biocentic and antopocentric) Basis for life and foundation for welfare and economic activity

5 Benefits people obtain from ecosystems

6 Environmentalists don t care about people 6

7 We don t understand our dependence on nature - ES as an eye-opener. 7

8 Cf. flowers, bees and fungi Pollination 430 mill. year -1 in Great Brittain $153 bill. year -1 globally (Honey is a minor contribution) Coffea arabica (C=0,39) Uganda $ * 0,39 = $ Coffea canephora (robusta) Vietnam * 1 = I.e. Great monetary value 8

9 Norwegian expert commission An expert commission on the values of ecosystem services was established by the Norwegian Government on 28 October members with broad background and experience Chaired by Stein Lier-Hansen, director of Norwegian Industry Geographical coverage and key socio-political perspectives Academic and professional experience, including in ecological sciences and economics The commission is to present a Norwegian public report (NOU) to the government by 31 August 2013 NOUs used by government for clarifying issues 9

10 Expert commission mandate 10 Consider and extract if and how key terms and approaches from the TEEB study can be used in Norway Collect, consider and present knowledge on the values that biodiversity and ecosystem services constitute for Norway today and for future generations Explore how knowledge on values biodiversity and ecosystem services can be strengthened Propose methods for assessing and valuing consequences for welfare and quality of life resulting from changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services Consider how such values can be estimated or valued as part of Norway s national wealth

11 Some provisional expectations Necessary to show how and to what extent we depend on nature and ecosystems for our well-being including economic welfare, health and security Must find terms, examples and arguments that work in a Norwegian context Demanding to capture the inherent complexity 11 Need for interdiciplinarity both natural and social sciences Need sound academic basis for advice that should be applicable in practice and tempting for policy-makers Need to have dialogue with relevant stakeholders

12 Expert commission mandate on valuation 12 The committee will review different ways of measuring and demonstrating the values related to ecosystem services, and assess the advantages and disadvantages of and the potential for valuation in monetary terms. The committee will identify needs for better statistics and indicators relating to ecosystem services in Norway. The committee will review and evaluate different valuation methods and measurement tools, and make recommendations on their use in Norway.

13 Helpful for managing trade-offs Temporal trade offs Advantages now, costs later Spatial trade-offs Advantages here, disadvantages there Beneficiary trade-offs Some win, some lose Service trade-offs Manage for one service, lose others 13

14 Challenges in valuation Capturing how different users see different values People s behaviour and choices Institutional framework, users and target groups Legitimacy, costs, stakeholder involvement, Risk and uncertainty People s preferences over time (preference uncertainty) Future ecosystem service production (supply uncertainty) Uncertainty in valuation methods Ecosystem complexity, resilience and non-linearity Role of discount rates 14

15 Understand, describe, measure, value, Ecosystem Services Qualitative Review Quantitative Review of Effects Lack of knowledge: Known and unknown Uses and benefits: eg. health, income, well-being, security Quantification: eg. number of people using a forest or park for recreation Monetary Value Monetization: eg. market value of fish or timber

16 More information Ministry of the Environment home page for the expert commission on values of ecosystem services 16