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The UK National Ecosystem Assessment
Professor Andrew Church University of Brighton.
UK National Ecosystem Assessment 2011The national level analysis of the natural environment
in terms of the benefits that it provides people.Ecosystem – a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organisms communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit
Ecosystem services – The benefits people obtain from ecosystems
The Natural Environment White Paper 2011
• Evidence base – the UK National Ecosystem Assessment
• Joining up the Government’s environmental monitoring, to enhance understanding the of ecosystem services
National Planning Policy Framework 2012
The planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by:
recognising the wider benefits of ecosystem services;
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UK NEA Conceptual Framework
REPLACE
*Note that the term good(s) includes all use and non-use, material and non-material benefits from ecosystems that have value for people.
Air, land, water, and all living organisms
ECOSYSTEMS
Places (e.g: Broad Habitats) where biological, chemical and physical interactions occur.
In terrestrial habitats these include above and below ground processes
ECOSYSTEM APPROACH
“the integrated management of land, water and
living resources that promotes conservation
and sustainable use in an equitable way”
Convention on Biological Diversity
Building on the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment
ECOSYSTEM SERVICESThe benefits people get from ecosystems
Supporting servicesNecessary for the delivery of other ecosystem
services
Soil formation, Nutrient cycling, Water cycling, Primary production
Provisioning servicesCrops, Livestock, Game, Fisheries,
Water supply, Wild species diversity
(genetic resources)
Regulating services
Climate regulation, Detoxification &
Purification, Disease/pest
control Pollination
Cultural servicesEnvironmental
settings (gardens, parks , landscapes)
Wild species diversity
Environmental settings contribute to a series of cultural goods enhancing well being
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UK NEA Broad Habitats (ecosystem based approach)
Mountains, moors and heathlands
Semi-natural grasslands
Enclosed farmland Woodlands
Freshwaters - Openwaters, Wetlands and Floodplains
Urban Marine Coastal Margins
Present challenges
30% of services are in decline or a degraded stateSoil condition – fundamental to productivity and
biodiversity – degradedPollinators are decliningMarine fish catches are low + ecological impact of
fisheries
Present challenges
Change and prevalence of growing your own food the EU, 2003-2007
But ecosystem services are consistently undervalued in economic analysis and decision making
Therefore the UK NEA explored:How and why the economic value of ecosystem
services should be incorporated into decision making
Importance of considering both market and non-market goods, and at different spatial scales
Responding to the challenges
Case study: rural land use in Wales Potential
economic value of conversion from farming to multi-purpose woodland
Natural England Ecosystem Services Pilots
Three pilot areas each run regionally with technical aspects being coordinated nationally
UK NEA Follow on phase 2012-14
The overall aim to further develop and communicate the evidence base of the UK NEA and make it relevant to decision and policy making at different spatial scales across the UK.
Further development of the economic analysis of the UK NEA.
UK NEA Follow on phase 2012-14Further exploration of cultural ecosystem services and
cultural, shared and plural values for ecosystem services
Analysis of future ecosystem changes, applying and developing the UK NEA scenarios
The development and enhancement of tools and other supporting materials for use by a range of key user groups from the public, private and voluntary sectors
Publications
SYNTHESIS TECHNICAL REPORT
Advocacy - Plausible Future Scenarios How might ecosystems and their services in the UK change in the future under plausible scenarios? Changes in land use and greenspace?
NEA Urban Greenspace amenity scenario analysis
3 categories city parks, the urban/rural fringe and informal greenspace.
Meta analysis of existing studies to generate value function
Analysis of UK urban centres – proximity to homes and percentage land cover
Change in greenspace land cover from NEA scenariosUse value functions and summing process for
valuations of greenspace under scenarios
Substantial change in values with different levels of ecosystem service provision
Importance of including valuation of non-market goods in decision making
Responding to the challenges
Changes in the past 60-years
Gains in production have impacted on other ecosystems and ecosystem services:90% decline in semi-natural grasslands (through
conversion)Fertiliser run-off impacted aquatic systemsConiferous forest plantations at the expense of
other habitats
Present challenges & future outlookUK is, and will likely remain an active trading nation
– trading in products of ecosystem services
2008: imported 50m tonnes biomass
Significant overseas ecological footprint
Influenced by social, economic and ecological changes elsewhere
Governance of the UK NEA 27 member Expert Panel (natural and social scientists, economists)
2 Co-chairs of the Expert Panel: Bob Watson (Defra Chief Scientist) and Steve Albon (Macaulay Institute)
12 member Client Group (funders)
26 member User Group (agencies, NGOs, private sector, other government departments)
The assessment team: with ~400 authors, led by a team of Coordinating Lead Authors (CLAs)
A Secretariat based at UNEP-WCMC
A move towards a sustainable future will require:Changes to individual and societal behaviourAdopting an integrated approach to ecosystems
management• Appropriate mix of regulations, technology, financial
investment and education (i.e. multiple responses)• Range of actors and collaborations: government,
private sector, voluntary organizations, civil society at large
• Addressing issues at a range of spatial and temporal scales
Moving forward
UK NEA has identified that there are still knowledge gaps, uncertainty and controversy in our evidence
However, has also demonstrated:Have sufficient understanding to start managing
ecosystems more sustainablySocial benefits of such management
Moving forward
Mourato et al. 2011 – New primary data Questionnaire survey on interactions between environmental settings and
health. A geographically referenced quota survey of 1,851 respondents Statistically significant relations between health measures of physical
functioning/emotional well being and the use of the environmental settings of domestic gardens and local green spaces.
Respondents who at least once a month visit non-countryside green spaces, such as urban parks, report significantly better health on both measures compared to those who do not.
As do respondents who at least once a week spend time in their garden
NEA Valuing health goods linked to environmental settings
Mourato et al. 2011 - Scenario valuation with existing dataA change in natural habitats that causes a 1 percentage
point reduction in sedentary behaviour - total benefit of almost £2 billion (using WTP-based values), across the three physical conditions (CHD, colo-rectal cancer and stroke) and the mental health condition considered (stress and anxiety)
Value of health goods linked to some environmental setting likely to be high
NEA Valuing health goods linked to environmental settings
Key challenges arising from NEA and other analysis
Causality between physical exercise and greenspace is likely to be bi-directional
A recent large scale study of nearly 5,000 Dutch people by Maas et al. (2008) found that the amount of greenspace in people’s living environment has little influence on their level of physical activity.
Uncertainty of benefits of outdoor exercise relative to indoor exercise (Thompson Coon et al. 2011)
NEA Valuing health goods linked to environmental settings
Key challenges arising from NEA and other analysis
“no conclusive evidence on the strength of the relationship between the amount of green space and the level of physical activity..not possible to accurately value, at the present time, the health benefits of created exercise due to additional green space provision” Mourato et al.2010
NEA Valuing health goods linked to environmental settings
