Ecosystem services management linking ecology and economics

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Ecosystem services management linking ecology
and economics

• Klara Hajdu CEEWEB
• hajdu_at_ceeweb.org

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Ecosystem services

• those functions of ecosystems that directly or
  indirectly support human well-being
• human well-being
• Security
• Basic material for good life
• Health
• Good social relations
• Freedom of choice and action

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Ecosystem services

• Supporting and regulating services
• Provisioning services
• Cultural services

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Ecosystem services

• Supporting services
• Soil formation
• Net primary production
• Nutrient cycling
• Water cycling
• Pollination
• ...

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Ecosystem services

• Regulating services
• Climate regulation
• Water regulation
• Disease regulation
• Pest regulation
• Water purification, waste treatment
• Natural hazard regulation
• ...

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Ecosystem services

• Provisioning services
• Food
• Fresh water
• Fiber, wood fuel
• Biochemicals, natural medicines, pharmaceuticals
• Genetic resources
• ...

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Ecosystem services

• Cultural services
• Spiritual and religious values
• Aesthetic values
• Social relations
• Sense of place
• Recreational values
• ...

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Ecosystem services

• Trade-off relations between different services
• Different scales
• Monetary values (market methods, avoided cost,
  replacement cost, travel cost method, hedonic
  pricing, contingent valuation, etc.)

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Ecosystem services management

• Primarily for setting the objectives of
  management
• Management for maintaining and enhancing
  ecosystem services
• Helps to explain the effects of human policies
  and impacts on ecological functions and human
  well-being

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Ecosystem services management

• Weighting ecosystem services trade-offs require
  quantification
• Full ecological(-economic) models are the gold
  standard, but costly and time-consuming
• Consider service changes (gradients) from the
  status quo under a finite set of management
  options monetary or nonmonetary units (scales,
  ratings, ranking, etc.)
• Intrinsic values, moral obligations can set
  limitations!
• Nonlinearities, irreversibilities precautionary
  value

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Ecosystem services management

• When considering changes of several services
• Value of service changes V ?S
• Uncertainties using ranges
• Other considerations (equity) weighting
  services
• Aggregation of different value changes OR
  discussion of disaggregated results

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Ecosystem services management case study I.

• Central Arizona-Phoenix
• Mesic and xeric landscape management

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Ecosystem services management case study I.
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Ecosystem services management case study II.

• Agricultural ecosystem Kellogg Biological
  station in Michigan
• Three agricultural management options compared
  with traditional practices

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Ecosystem services management case study II.
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Ecosystem services management case study III.

• Agricultural watershed in Iowa
• Production scenario
• Water quality improvement scenario
• Biodiversity enhancement scenario

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Ecosystem services management case study III.
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Ecosystem services management case study III.
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Ecosystem services management summary

• Could be useful for considering ecosystems in
  their complexity at least to some extent
• Helps defining management objectives through the
  quantifications of trade-offs
• Requires knowledge of management options on
  service flows
• Valuation of service changes is the most
  complicated, especially in monetary terms

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Further reading

• Farber et al. 2006. Linking ecology and economics
  for ecosystem management, BioScience Vol. 56.
  No. 2 117- 129
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• Synthesis reports
• www.millenniumassessment.org
• TIME IS LIFE CD ROM prepared by CEEWEB

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Thank you for your attention!