ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: MOVING FROM

STRATEGIC PLAN TO ACTIONABLE

IMPACTS?

Jodi Schoenen, PhD Student Fellow, NSF IGERT Ecosystem Services for Urbanizing Regions School of the Environment Portland State University

ACES 2012: ECOSYSTEM SERVICES VERSION 3.0: VALUATION TO GOVERNANCE IN ACTION

Presentation Overview

• The challenge

• Define objectives

• Six characteristics for actionable impacts

• Celebrate and build upon collective

success

The Challenge “It’s in The Plan. Now what?”

• Moving from ES theory to practice requires agreement on what we are talking about

• Currently there is no system nor consensus on what ecosystem services are, nor what objectives are trying to be reached.

• This work is often place-based and context-specific

Historical Overview

2009 – NRCS includes specific reference to “ecosystem services” in rule revisions

July 2011 – PCAST issues recommendations for the U.S. Federal Government “to fulfill more effectively….[its] responsibility in relation to the protection of environmental capital and ecosystem services.”

Historical Overview

April 2012 -- U.S. Forest Service Planning Rule

“…to maintain and restore NFS land and water ecosystems while providing for ecosystem services.….[and] the sustainability of ecosystems and resources; meet the need for forest restoration and conservation, watershed protection, and species diversity and conservation; and assist the Agency in providing a sustainable flow of benefits, services, and uses of NFS lands that provide jobs and contribute to the local economic and social sustainability of communities.” – 36 CFR Part 219; April 9, 2012

Historical Overview

September 2010– National Park Service

• Climate Change Mitigation Strategy includes ecosystem services in context of carbon sequestration

Winter 2012 – Yosemite National Park

• 2 high profile river plans, the Merced River Plan and the Tuolumne River Plan, are expected to include explicit reference to ecosystem services

Define Objectives “Take small bites”

The process by which ecosystem service concepts move into practice

Taken from: A. M. Nahlik et al. 2012. Ecological Economics 77 (2012) 27-35

Examples of Potential ES Objectives

Measure, quantify, and value ES for inclusion in a strategy to prioritize

restoration and

protection

Aggregate ES over space

and time for land use planning

Evaluate trade-offs

among management

options

Develop an ES

accounting system

From: Nahlik et. al. 2012

…and ES “bonus” objectives

Communication and

Education Tool

Facilitate collaboration between

agencies and organizations

Build a common language

for working between

disciplines

Build relationships between

stakeholder groups

Characteristics of Actionable Plans “Six for Success”

Six Characteristics of Actionable ES Plans

• ES definition and classification system

• Transdisciplinary

• Community engagement

• Resilient

• Cohesive and coherent

• Policy-relevant

From: A. M. Nahlik et al. (2012); Carpenter et al (2009)

Build on Collective

Success

USFS All-Lands Approach

National Park Service

• NPS Climate Change Response Plan

• Merced River Plan

• Tuolumne River Plan

Taking the Leap

Acknowledgments