Ecosystem services

Question 1

Definition

Answer 1

“Ecological processes considered to benefit humans”
(Alessandra La Notte et al., 2017)

Benefits can be both tangible or intangible resources obtained from ecosystems

Debate on the sustainability of our economic model

More Biodiversity = Healthier Ecosystems = More Ecosystem Services

Question 2

The four services

Answer 2

Regulating: air quality, climate, water runoff, erosion, natural hazards, pollination

Supporting: Nutrient cycling, water cycling, soil formation, photosynthesis

Cultural: ethical values, existence values, recreation, ecotourism

Provisioning: Food, fibre, biomass, fuel, fresh water and natural medicines

Question 3

Provisioning services:

Answer 3

“Tangible physical benefits directly obtained from ecosystems.”
(Braat and R.S. de Groot, 2012)

examples: medicinal plants and crops

Mainly deals with the extraction of raw materials from nature.
e.g. Food, Water, Raw Materials, Medicinal Resources, Genetic Resources
They are generally physically transformed to provide a benefit.

Question 4

Regulating services:

Answer 4

“Benefits that provide help to control the health of an ecosystem and mitigate natural processes”
(Mengist et al., 2020)

Control and maintain ecosystem functions

Important in maintaining the world in which people can live, through processes such as:
Local Climate, Air Quality, Waste Decomposition, Buffer on Natural Disasters and Water Purification.

Water Purification has been found to be the most valued service (Eurostat, 2021)

• This process is prevalent in wetland environments

Question 5

Supporting services

Answer 5

“The fundamental processes that act as the foundation for ecosystems to exist”
(Nayak and Anoop Kumar Shukla, 2022)

*Debate on supporting services being considered more of a ‘function’ rather than a ‘service’.

*e.g. Primary productivity (e.g. Photosynthesis), Nutrient Cycling, Soil formation.

*These allow the ecosystem to continue providing services such as food supply, flood regulation, and water purification.

• e.g. Mung Bean Cultivation in Southeast Asia increases nitrogen fixation in soils helping to restore them

Question 6

Cultural services:

Answer 6

“Natures numerous immaterial benefits which are usually harder to quantify”
(Alessandra La Notte et al., 2017)

• benefits can influence humans, for example triggering inspiration, a physiological relaxation, a sense of fulfilment, or a spiritual experience.
  e.g. Religious, Recreational, Educational

*All cultural services involve information, and they are generally assessed through questionnaires and mental models.
* Including: tourism, outdoor activities, spiritual importance

e.g. Ganges River which >450 million people depend on (Khairnar, 2016)
^Ganges river India is of religious significance yet sewage companies deposit into it without regulation

Question 7

Ecological relevance: Why is an understanding of ecosystem services important to ecologists today?

Answer 7

Ecology provides the relevant skills and knowledge

“The study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and the biotic/abiotic interactions which determine this.” (Dawson, 2022)

*Ecology is required to understand how ecosystem services work and are maintained.

*Ecology is required to measure and quantify ecosystem services.

Deep understanding on the interconnectivity of species within an environment are essential

Question 8

Monetising ecology

Answer 8

*Provides a ‘common language’ for scientists, politicians and the public.

*This allows policy-makers to quantitatively appreciate an ecosystems value.

*Informs calculated land-planning and conservation.

e.g. the EU in 2018 was able to show that water filtration and purification across all of Europe’s waterways was worth €40 billion.

e.g. Mountain gorillas generated $113 million in Rwanda during 2022 (RDB, 2023).

Question 9

Ecosystem services and development

Answer 9

*In LEDC’s, ecosystem services are especially relied upon.

*It is estimated up to 80% of human waste enters waterways untreated (Ramsar, 2017).

Example: Nakivubo Swamp in Uganda filters Kampala’s (Uganda capital city) water supply.
Service valued at $1.75 million per annum
(Emerton et al., 1999).
^ Ugandan swamp Nakivubo acts as a filter for human sewage cleaning water resulting in clean water in Lake Victoria – however the swamp has been artificially reduced in size by 80% in recent years

Question 10

Ecosystem services and climate change

Answer 10

*Ecosystem services can be harnessed to help mitigate climate change. E.g. seagrass as a carbon sink

*Natural resilience reduces the risks posed by many climate related threats. E.g. Mangroves to reduce storm wave intensity on shoreline areas

Question 11

Harnessing ecosystem services: UK beaver reintroduction

Answer 11

Beavers attenuate flow by up to 60% during storm events. (Puttock et al., 2020)

Increased lateral connectivity improves flow maintenance during drought.

Increases river stability and creates new habitats for invertebrates and fish.

Increase in otter populations as a result and ecotourism could generate over £2 million per year for local economies (Campbell et al., 2007).

Question 12

Summary: why are ecosystem services relevant to us?

Answer 12

1They are universally relied upon by humanity.
2 They provide solutions to some of humanities greatest issues
3 They give economic justification for conservation.
4 Ecologists are needed to measure and sustainably harness them
^ they create employment opportunities

Question 13

Ecosystem valuation:

Answer 13

*Ensures policies consider costs and benefits to the environment
*Market Based Valuation
*Value placed on goods that are traded e.g. the cost of timber
£35.7 Billion Annual value of England’s ecosystem services in 2020
£1.4 Trillion Value of England’s Natural Capital 2020

Question 14

6 main ecosystem valuation techniques

Answer 14

1-avoided cost – money that would be spent in the absence of this service

2-replacement cost – natural service that if not maintained would require artificial replacement

3-factor income e.g. higher water quality, higher fish stocks

4-travel cost – cost incurred for individuals to reach a service

5-hedonic price – directly affecting surrounding value e.g. value of houses in area around natural park higher

6-contingent value - willingness of individuals to pay for a natural park etc.

Question 15

Future valuation of ecosystem services:

Answer 15

These services are increasingly gaining value:
-Nutrient waste
-Biodiversity
-Carbon
-Water Contamination

E.g. new housing developments are having to pay to offset nutrient contributions to water networks to complete nutrient neutrality

Question 16

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) new DEFRA policy

Answer 16

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

– all new developments have to achieve a biodiversity net gain of 10% in UK determined by DEFRA
- New laws proposed by DEFRA under the Environment Act 2021
- All new developments have to achieve a BNG of 10%
- During the 2-year implementation period, government will sell statutory credits to Biodiversity Unit Habitat Bank

Predicted outcomes:
- Promote a higher economic value for Biodiversity
- Change of land use to generating Biodiversity
- Regrowth of the UK’s species rich habitats
- Kickstart a voluntary market

Question 17

Durham University Biodiversity Net Gain strategy

Answer 17

• Pledged to a 14 step Biodiversity strategy
• University manages 251 ha of ‘highly biodiverse’ land
• Using DEFRA’s ‘Biodiversity Metric 3.1’
  Aim to:
• Achieve biodiversity net gain
• Boost biodiversity through habitat creation
• Build a habitat bank

Question 18

Ecosystem Services and Governance

Answer 18

Application of ecosystem services in governance and policies. An introduction to the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment

Question 19

The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA)

Answer 19

Created in response to the establishment of the Millenium Development Goals.
Objective:
(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005)
- Assess the consequence of changing ecosystems on human well-being.
- Provide scientific backing to conserve and sustainably use these ecosystems to further benefit human well-being

see slide in notes linking ecosystem services to social and economic factors

Question 20

conclusions

Answer 20

*Human actions have rapidly changed ecosystems depleting natural resources and services to meet increasing demands for development.

*Provided an indispensable framework with which to value ecosystem services and implement them in a wide range of policies.

*Facilitated and popularized the application of ecosystem services as the ecological backbone of policies for conservation and environmental issues at international and national levels.

Question 21

National implementations

Answer 21

National Implementations
* Designing subsidies and payments for ecosystem services.
* Establishing protected areas and promoting their worth especially in LEDCs.MPA National Park Zonation plan, Source: (DNAC, 2011)

Mozambique:
- Land Use Planning.
- Further implementation of ecosystem service valuing as scientific backing to future biodiversity policies.
- Establishing and Managing Marine Protected Areas: Ponta do Ouro Marine Reserve(Atumane and Cabral, 2021)

^finding the value of ecosystem services for LEDC countries to improve policy making

Marine reserve image in notes:
Red zone: no usage
orange zone: for local subsistence use
green zone: for tourists (diving, snorkelling and surfing allowed)

Question 22

International implementation

Answer 22

The MEA’s findings and framework have been used in negotiating various targets and international agreements such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy For 2030:
“By 2030 the value of biodiversity and ecosystems will be recognised across the economy and society, and taken into account across all economic sectors and areas of policy, leading to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services being halted.”- IEEP Suggestion to the EU for its 2030 Biodiversity Target (IEEP, 2022)

Question 23

Challenges
This approach to valuing ecosystem services poses challenges in policy implementation.

Answer 23

Defining value
-This approach to valuing ecosystem services poses challenges in policy implementation.
-Particularly hard to quantify cultural significance value.
-All ecosystem services need to be considered at once

Risk of overlooking certain services
*Non-material benefits such as cultural services prove difficult to value.
*Policies can tend to prioritize one service leading to a loss of biodiversity and may threaten the provision of the other services.
E.g. Maximising carbon sequestration through tree plantation (supporting services)
- has in some cases had detrimental effects. Including a lack of biodiversity, introduction of invasive species, potential increase in forest fire risk, soil degradation and upsetting hydrology in the area which is a regulating service

Local vs. Global benefits
*Initiatives with a focus on global benefits may not benefit the local communities
*Approaches should consider both global and local perspectives
- Policy makers need to find a balance of both
- E.g. Maximising carbon sequestration through tree plantation

Long vs. Short-term priority
*Conflicting long and short-term economic gain and benefits within the political landscape.
E.g. Removing forests for agricultural land
-Short term gain: selling timber and growing crops
- Long term: reduction in biodiversity, species extinction, increase in atmospheric carbon and impact on other ecosystem functions

Uncertainty and complexities
*As ecosystems and their services are so complex, predicting their response to changes can be difficult.
E.g. The introduction of cane toads in Australia in an attempt to curb populations of beetles eating crops however Cane toads are toxic so caused reduction in local species that had pest control function resulting overall in reduced crop productivity

Moral and ethical concerns
Assigning a monetary value undermines the intrinsic value of nature.
Conservation of a service should not be dependent on its economic value.

Risk of commodifying nature?
‘The total value of biodiversity is infinite, so having debate about what is the total value of nature is actually pointless because we can’t live without it’.
(Salles, 2011)

Question 24

Notes on UK beaver re-wilding project

Answer 24

Excess of beavers are now causing flooding issues – communities require continuous management to prevent them becoming pests. Consider the increased biodiversity that results from beaver reintroduction e.g. in Scotland beaver introduction has resulted in increase in brown trout populations so increasing tourism draw of fly fishing, beavers presence also tends to correlate with increased otter populations again beneficial for tourism.