FYI. wil Dr. Wil Burns, Associate Director Master of Science, Energy Policy & Climate Program Johns Hopkins University 1717 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20036 650.281.9126 (Mobile) 202.452.8713 (Fax) http://energy.jhu.edu
Skype ID: Wil.Burns Blog: http://www.teachingclimatelaw.org -----Original Message----- From: David Duthie [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2012 9:34 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Ecosystem Services journal - second issue; also open access Dear BIOPLANNERS, I have started my end of year vacation and hope that most of you have also, but I have one last posting to clear from my desktop. A while ago, I posted links to the first open access issue of the new journal "Ecosystem Services". Now, Volume 2 has just been released and, again, it is open access. The short editorial and a list of the articles is posted below my signature, whilst links to the full articles (PDF) can be accessed at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22120416/2 Best wishes to you all and your families for the New Year. David Duthie ********************************************* Editorial Editorial of Volume 2 The second issue of Ecosystem Services is now in front of you, with two sets of very interesting papers. The first set addresses a range of ecosystem services in different ecosystems. The second set continues the survey of ecosystem services research around the globe, addressing the state of the concept in science, policy and practice, reporting on North America (Jennifer Molnar and Ida Kubisewski), Latin America (Patty Balvanera and colleagues) and Africa (Benis Egoh and colleagues). Claire Armstrong and colleagues address the services from the deep: steps towards valuation of deep sea goods and services. This paper addresses a field which is rapidly attracting attention in the policy arena, but very little work has been done so far to identify and characterise the goods and services of the sea, and even less for the deep sea. The authors present a first description of deep- sea ecosystem goods and services, and review the current knowl- edge, possible valuation methods, and implementation options. Anna Tengberg and colleagues present a conceptual analysis of cultural ecosystem services provided by landscapes: assessment of heritage values and identity. This paper discusses how cultural ecosystem services can be assessed and integrated into spatial and physical planning and presents two case studies. They demonstrate that the methods from cultural heritage conserva- tion provide tools for the analysis of historical values as well as historical drivers of change. In the paper Facilitating implementation of landscape-scale water management: the integrated constructed wetland (ICW) con- cept Mark Everard and colleagues address measures necessary to overcome barriers to the implementation of integrated resource management. With a case study in County Waterford, Ireland, they show considerable local support for ICWs reflecting multiple social, environmental and economic benefits. The experience has generic relevance for the broader pervasion of the benefits of ICWs across Ireland and the wider world, but also in evaluating and implementing the efficacy of similar multi-benefit solutions. Martin De Wit en colleagues address the issue of investment in urban natural assets, and discuss whether this can leverage economic value in city economies. In a combination of a partici- pation process and economic valuation, it is conservatively estimated that for the City of Cape Town, natural assets yield value through the tourism industry, but recreation in parks, open spaces and beaches, as well as specific industries such as film- making, also benefit substantially from the services provided by well-functioning ecosystems. In addition we present the first book review and a report of the 5th Annual Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership in Portland, Oregon, this summer. The first and second issue cover a wide field of topics, and we are preparing to continue in some of these directions, such as mapping ecosystem services and pay- ments for ecosystem services, next year with Special Issues. Another future topic is the progress in implementation of the Aichi targets of the CBD, set in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and evaluated in Hyderabad, India, in October 2012 during the 11th CoP of the CBD, and their spin-off at national level across the world. In the first week of October, the 4th International Ecosummit 2012, Ecological sustainability, restoring the planets ecosystem services took place in Columbus Ohio, with many plenary speak- ers and sessions and posters dealing with ecosystem services, and the formal launching of the inaugural issue of the journal. About 1600 participants engaged in intensive discussions, and several potential papers for the journal were spotted. In the next issue we shall have a summary report on this great event. Editor-in-chief Leon Braat *********************************** Services from the deep: Steps towards valuation of deep sea goods and services Claire W. Armstrong, Naomi S. Foley, Rob Tinch, Sybille van den Hove Very little work has been done to identify and characterise the goods and services of the sea, and even less for the deep sea. We present a first categorisation and synthesis of deep-sea ecosystem goods and services, and review the current state of human knowledge about these services, the possible methods of their valuation, and possible steps forward in its implementation. Our conclusions highlight the nature and extent of research that is needed to overcome the gaps in knowledge that have been identified, and which have so far prevented the valuation of most deep-sea ecosystem goods and services. *********************************** Cultural ecosystem services provided by landscapes: Assessment of heritage values and identity Anna Tengberg, Susanne Fredholm, Ingegard Eliasson, Igor Knez, Katarina Saltzman, Ola Wetterberg This paper aims to provide a conceptual analysis of cultural ecosystem services and how they are linked to the concepts of landscape, heritage and identity. It discusses how these cultural ecosystem services can be assessed and integrated into spatial and physical planning. The paper presents two case studies to shed light on the assessment process. A case study from Sweden combines an analysis of ecosystem services with methods for documenting cultural heritage values in landscapes. A second case study from the ArafuraTimor Seas combines an analysis of cultural ecosystem services with methods for assessment of priority environmental concerns at the seascape scale. We demonstrate that the methods from cultural heritage conservation provide tools for the analysis of historical values as well as historical drivers of change in landscapes that can add time-depth to more spatially focused ecosystem assessments. We propose that methods for valuation of cultural heritage and identity in landscapes are integrated into assessments of ecosystem services to inform policy making and physical and spatial planning for sustainable management of ecosystems and landscapes. This could also provide an approach for bringing about integrated implementation of conventions and instruments from the environmental and cultural heritage fields, respectively. ********************************** Facilitating implementation of landscape-scale water management: The integrated constructed wetland concept Mark Everard, Rory Harrington, Robert J. McInnes This research addressed measures necessary to overcome barriers to the implementation of integrated resource management solutions delivering multiple ecosystem services, using the case of the Anne Valley integrated constructed wetlands (ICWs) in County Waterford, Ireland. The benefits of ICWs are reviewed, and feedback from interviews with a range of people from farming, national government and policy, business, County Council and other perspectives, is analysed using the STEEP framework. Whilst we acknowledge bias in interviewee selection, there is considerable local support for ICWs reflecting multiple social, environmental and economic benefits. Indeed, the Irish government has published design guidance for ICWs. However, there remain disconnects between some regulatory and other bodies, which appear to be related to their tradition of looking at issues from a more narrow, discipline-specific perspective. These barriers are not unique to Ireland, but representative of the areas of cultural change necessary to enable more connected ways of thinking, technological development and implementation and its subsequent licensing and regulation. The experience therefore has generic relevance not merely for the broader pervasion of the benefits of ICWs across Ireland and the wider world, but also in evaluating and implementing the efficacy of similar multi-benefit solutions. ************************************ Including the economic value of well-functioning urban ecosystems in financial decisions: Evidence from a process in Cape Town Martin de Wit, Hugo van Zyl, Doug Crookes, James Blignaut, Terence Jayiya, Valerie Goiset, Brian Mahumani Investing in urban natural assets can leverage relatively high economic value in city economies. It is not only the case for highly developed cities, but could also be the case for rapidly developing cities. This is the key message from a case study for the City of Cape Town in South Africa as presented in this paper. It was calculated that the leverage of municipal expenditure on maintaining and enhancing ecosystems is 1.22 times higher than the leverage of all municipal expenditure on the City economy. Investing and maintaining a City's natural assets or ecological infrastructure yields economically valuable services that could prove to be an important driver of value addition in a city's economy. It is conservatively estimated that for the City of Cape Town, natural assets yield a flow of ecosystem services valued in the order of R4 billion per annum, within a range between R2 billion and R6 billion per annum. Most of this value for the City of Cape Town is created through the tourism industry, but recreation in parks, open spaces and beaches, as well as specific industries such as film-making, also benefit substantially from the services provided by well-functioning ecosystems. Buffering services to better cope with natural hazards such as coastal surges, flooding and fires in urban contexts are important services from an insurance perspective. As entities focused on service provision and as enablers of economic growth and development, municipalities in rapidly developing urban centrums have the mandate and must create the opportunity to invest adequately in natural assets to maintain a healthy flow of ecosystem services to the benefit of people living in and visiting their cities. **************************************** Managing natural wealth: Research and implementation of ecosystem services in the United States and Canada Jennifer L. Molnar, Ida Kubiszewski The United States and Canada have vast stores of ecological wealth that provide often unseen but critical benefits to the people and economy of each country. The close ties between ecology and the economy make it urgent that action is taken to address the risks of ecosystem degradation, but these close ties also present opportunities to develop new incentives for ecosystem conservation. To highlight the diversity of approaches being implemented in the US and Canada, we describe examples of programs seeking to maintain ecosystem services from wetlands, agricultural lands, forests, and water quality. Corporations are also beginning to account for ecosystem service values. Innovative solutions are being developed mostly within existing government and corporate policies that allow for ecosystem service accounting. To further mainstream ecosystem service values into broader economic decisions, new policies are necessary that not only allow but mandate their inclusion in decisions and reporting. *************************************** Ecosystem services research in Latin America: The state of the art Patricia Balvanera, María Uriarte, Lucía Almeida-Leñero, Alice Altesor, Fabrice DeClerck, Toby Gardner, Jefferson Hall, Antonio Lara, Pedro Laterra, Marielos Peña-Claros, Dalva M. Silva Matos, Adrian L. Vogl, Luz Piedad Romero-Duque, Luis Felipe Arreola, Ángela Piedad Caro-Borrero, Federico Gallego, Meha Jain, Christian Little, Rafael de Oliveira Xavier, José M. Paruelo, et al. Ecosystem services science has developed at a fast rate in Latin America, a region characterized by a high biological and cultural diversity, strong emphasis in foreign investment, and high socioeconomic inequities. Here we conducted the following analyses at the regional and national scales: (1) how and when did the study of ecosystem services arise in each country?, (2) what is our present understanding of ecosystem service supply, delivery to societies, and social and economic values?, (3) what is the state of the art in integrating tradeoffs among services and in using interdisciplinary perspectives?, and (4) how has ecosystem service research been connected to policy design or management for sustainability? A large literature review (>1000 references) showed that in Latin America ES supply and links to policy have been the most frequently assessed. Overall, emphasis has been placed on a few services, namely carbon and water. Payments for ecosystem services have received considerable attention in the region, though with strong differences across nations and with important limitations in their application. The future of the ecosystem service paradigm in Latin America will largely depend on its capacity to demonstrate effectiveness in meeting both conservation and development goals. **************************************** An African account of ecosystem service provision: Use, threats and policy options for sustainable livelihoods Benis N. Egoh, Patrick J. O'Farrell, Aymen Charef, Leigh Josephine Gurney, Thomas Koellner, Henry Nibam Abi, Mody Egoh, Louise Willemen Scientific work on ecosystem services has been growing globally as well as in Africa. Human dependence on provisioning ecosystem services in particular is mostly acknowledged in developing countries like those in Africa, where many people are poor and reliant on natural resources. The reliance of communities on natural resources in Africa varies from place to place as aridity, vegetation and socio-economic conditions change. In the humid and forested areas in the west and central parts of Africa, food and raw materials coupled with agriculture are important ecosystem services while in the dryer arid and semi-arid countries in southern and northern Africa, tourism, water and grazing are priorities. Overexploitation of resources coupled with large scale agriculture threatens both ecosystem services and livelihoods. The need to safeguard ecosystem services is urgent. There are some efforts to safeguard ecosystem services in Africa. However, realizing benefits to livelihoods still faces serious challenges due to climate change, recent land grabbing and urbanization. These challenges are compounded by the land tenure situation in Africa. Whilst policy goals have been established at both the international and national levels the implementation of such policies and likelihood of them leading to sustainable land management for delivery of ecosystem services remains a key challenge. ================= Bioplan is a list server run jointly by UNDP and UNEP. To join / leave bioplan, email: [email protected] with "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Please note: If you wish to reply to the sender only you must create a new message addressed only to that individual, or forward the message to that individual. Using the "reply" or "reply all" option delivers your response to the entire network.
