Open questions on ecosystem service indicators Bálint Czúcz, MTA ÖK

EU Biodiversity strategy targets 2050 Vision 2020 headline target 1 Enhance implementation of nature legislation 2 Restore ecosystems est. Green Infrastructure 3 Sustainable Agriculture & Forestry 4 Achieve Maximum sustainable yield 5 Combat Invasive Alien Species 6 Contribute to averting global biodiversity loss ACTIONS 6 Targets: 3

Target 2: By 2020, ecosystems and their services are maintained and enhanced through the establishment of Green Infrastructure and the restoration of at least 15% of degraded ecosystems. Action 5: Member States, with the assistance of the Commission, will map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in their national territory by 2014, assess the economic value of such services, and promote the integration of these values into accounting and reporting systems at EU and national level by 2020.

Policy Science Ecosystem services Operationalization is needed! …tradeoff between detail / usefulness standardization !!! conceptual framework 5

The matrix approach Ecosystem types Service categories UrbanCroplandGrassland… Service 1I1, I2I3 I4 Service 2I4I5, I6, I7 Service 3I8I9 … indicators… 6

Standardized objects and services Ecosystem typology: MAES Broad classes (urban, cropland, grassland, forest…) Service classification: CICES Conceptual framework 7

Standardized objects and services Ecosystem typology: MAES Service classification: CICES Conceptual framework 8

Standardized objects and services Ecosystem typology: MAES Service classification: CICES Conceptual framework 10

11

12 the Cascade model… Biophysical structure or process (e.g. woodland habitat or net primary productivity ) Service (e.g. flood protection, or harvestable products) Service (e.g. flood protection, or harvestable products) Function (e.g. slow passage of water, or biomass) Function (e.g. slow passage of water, or biomass) Benefit (e.g. contribution to aspects of well-being such as health and safety) Benefit (e.g. contribution to aspects of well-being such as health and safety) Σ Pressures Value (e.g. willingness to pay for woodland protection or for more woodland, or harvestable products) Value (e.g. willingness to pay for woodland protection or for more woodland, or harvestable products) Limit pressures via policy action? Potschin and Haines-Young (2011)

13 fundamental principle … services / indicators – always accounted to the source ecosystem! (cf. ecological footprint…)

…and now: the open questions 14

15 Open questions… practical aspects of indicators levels of indicators unusual services production boundary issues abiotic ESS human inputs sustainable use

Ecosystem types Service categories UrbanCroplandGrassland… Service 1I1, I2I3 I4 Service 2I4I5, I6, I7 Service 3I8I9I4 … How many indicators per matrix cell? Can the same indicator be used for several services? Elementary indicators or aggregated indices? Practical aspects of the indicators… 16

17 Open questions… practical aspects of indicators levels of indicators unusual services production boundary issues abiotic ESS human inputs sustainable use

Levels of indicators… Biophysical structure or process (e.g. woodland habitat or net primary productivity ) Service (e.g. flood protection, or harvestable products) Service (e.g. flood protection, or harvestable products) Function (e.g. slow passage of water, or biomass) Function (e.g. slow passage of water, or biomass) Benefit (e.g. contribution to aspects of well-being such as health and safety) Benefit (e.g. contribution to aspects of well-being such as health and safety) Value (e.g. willingness to pay for woodland protection or for more woodland, or harvestable products) Value (e.g. willingness to pay for woodland protection or for more woodland, or harvestable products) Is this the „natural capital”? What is the main difference between state and capacity indicators? Do we need indicators for ESS demand? Indicators for state Indicators for function (=capacity, potential supply) Indicators for service flows (=actual use) Is value not just a benefit indicator Indicators for benefits 18

19 Open questions… practical aspects of indicators levels of indicators unusual services production boundary issues abiotic ESS human inputs sustainable use

Issues with disservices/ insurance-type services (e.g. invasive species, fire, flood…) Issues with rarity/uniqueness value (e.g. biodiversity (rare species), cultural values, etc.) Unusual services… 20

21 Open questions… practical aspects of indicators levels of indicators unusual services production boundary issues abiotic ESS human inputs sustainable use

The production boundary… Economy Environment Natural inputs Residuals The ‘production boundary’ 22

23 Biophysical structure or process (e.g. woodland habitat or net primary productivity ) Service (e.g. flood protection, or harvestable products) Service (e.g. flood protection, or harvestable products) Function (e.g. slow passage of water, or biomass) Function (e.g. slow passage of water, or biomass) Benefit (e.g. contribution to aspects of well-being such as health and safety) Benefit (e.g. contribution to aspects of well-being such as health and safety) Value (e.g. willingness to pay for woodland protection or for more woodland, or harvestable products) Value (e.g. willingness to pay for woodland protection or for more woodland, or harvestable products) The production boundary… The ‘production boundary’ intermediate (= supporting) services goods/ products

The production boundary ? pollination pest control soil fertility hay… crops meat/milk biofuels … The production boundary… 24

25 The production boundary… mown meadow mixed rural garden intensively managed arable field poultry reared in battery cages yeast in a barrel of vine genetically modified bacteria producing insulin in a laboratory ????? …?

26 Open questions… practical aspects of indicators levels of indicators unusual services production boundary issues abiotic ESS human inputs sustainable use

Why are solar/wind/minerals/fossil fuels etc not considered an ESS? Why is water provision considered as an ESS? Abiotic services… 27

Accompanying classification of abiotic outputs from natural systems (CICES 4.3) SectionDivisionGroupExamples Abiotic Provisioning Nutritional abiotic substancesMinerale.g. salt Non-minerale.g. sunlight Abiotic materialsMetallice.g. metal ores Non-metallice.g. minerals, aggregates, pigments, building materials (mud/clay) EnergyRenewable abiotic energy sourcese.g. wind, waves, hydropower Non-renewable energy sourcese.g. coal, oil, gas Regulation & Maintenance by natural physical structures and processes Mediation of waste, toxics and other nuisances By natural chemical and physical processes e.g. atmospheric dispersion and dilution; adsorption and sequestration of waters in sediments; screening by natural physical structures Mediation of flows by natural abiotic structures By soild (mass), liquid and gaseous (air)flows e.g. protection by sand and mud flats; topographic control of wind erosion Maintenance of physical, chemical, abiotic conditions By natural chemical and physical processes e.g. land and sea breezes; snow Cultural settings dependent on abiotic structures Physical and intellectual interactions with land- /seascapes [physical settings] By physical and experiential interactions or intellectual and representational interactions e.g. caves Spiritual, symbolic and other interactions with land- /seascapes [physical settings] By typee.g. scared rocks or other physical structures or spaces 28

29

30 Open questions… practical aspects of indicators levels of indicators unusual services production boundary issues abiotic ESS human inputs sustainable use

low input – low output… huge inputs – high output fuels, fertilizers, pesticides, machines, infrastructure, etc. correct for inputs  net ESS Human inputs… 31

How could human inputs be taken into account? What is a common denomiantor for crops / inputs? (…energy?) Human inputs… 32

33 Open questions… practical aspects of indicators levels of indicators unusual services production boundary issues abiotic ESS human inputs sustainable use

ESS definition – services supplied in a sustainable way. Can ecosystem „goods” extracted in an unsustainable way be considered as ESS? (What about „abiotic ESS”?) How can unsustainable overexploitation be noticed? Sustainable use… 34

Firstname Surname, Organization Thank You for your interest! Contact information: 35