Valuing our Life Support Systems

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Valuing our Life Support Systems
29.04.09

• Professor Rosie Hails

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Human health depends on biodiversity
Decomposition of waste Cycling of vital
nutrients Maintenance of healthy water, air
and soils But relationship
between the loss of species and
loss of these services is not well
understood
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Pollinators Are we close to a tipping point?
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The best things in life are not free Costs may
appear somewhere else Items may have financial
value, its just hard to estimate what that
is Can we put an economic value on
biodiversity for its own sake?
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Climate change has highlighted the issue
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Which way forward? Bring together scientists,
practitioners and policy makers Three
workshops over the next two days Future
events
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Balancing our options for rural land use food,
biodiversity, sustainable biofuels and flood
prevention

• Topics
• What should policy framework for sustainable
  land use look like?
• Is there really a tension between agriculture
  and the environment?
• Whose land is it anyway? Property rights and
  the market
• Questions
• Alternative economic models to ensure
  sufficient food, access and biodiversity from our
  rural land?
• Valuation of non-economic goods?
• How can we reconnect the public with an
  awareness of ecosystem services?

Coordinator Prof Rosie Hails, Centre for Ecology
Hydrology
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The Urban Planning System

• Topics
• Ecotowns
• Ecosystem services and urban areas
• Implications for planning

• Questions
• Should there be an end to the urban/rural divide?
• What issues impinge on our ability to manage and
  adapt urban land use?
• What might we do to protect and enhance ecosystem
  goods and service provision?

Coordinator Prof Jim Harris, Cranfield University
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Sustainable Use of the Marine Environment

• Topics
• The Marine Bill
• A business perspective of offshore renewable
  energy
• Valuing marine environments
• Questions
• How can legislation be appropriate to meet our
  needs?
• How can we value marine ecosystem goods and
  services?
• Governance of ecosystem goods and services at
  political, national and regional scales?

Coordinator Prof Paul Leonard, Environmental
Consultant
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Sustainable Cities, 15 June 2009

• Free event exploring how science can inform
  policy to ensure sustainable urban development
• Delivered in partnership with the British
  Library and sponsored by the Science Council
• Panel discussion, networking drinks reception
  and research showcase

• Panelists
• Ken Livingstone, Progressive London
• Sara Parkin, Forum for the Future
• Dr William Bird, Natural England
• Peter Wilder, Macfarlane Wilder
• Malcolm Smith, ARUP
• Lorna Walker, CABE
• 18.00 21.00, British Library, London
• BOX OFFICE
• http//boxoffice.bl.uk
• T 44 (0)1937 546546
• Contact science_at_bl.uk
• Pre-event blog
• www.britishecologicalsociety.org/blog

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Future projects
Human Health and Ecosystem Services Autumn
2009 A workshop for economists ecologists
Spring 2010 Action plans will develop from
workshops
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