1. Experimental ecosystem accounts – classification of ecosystem services
London Group conference
October 2017
Rocky Harris
Defra, UK

2. Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES)
Apologies from Jan Erik!
Brief history of CICES:
Started Version 4.3 in 2013
Consulted widely about revision in 2016 and 2017
Two workshops with experts and stakeholders
Result is Version Spreadsheet and separate guidance are now available
Near final - to be published on 1 November 2017
HOORAY!

3. Key features of CICES Version 5.1
Use clauses (final service) are included to help distinguish relationship between ecosystem contribution and final benefit
Includes parallel classification of abiotic flows to support broader natural capital accounts
Additional guidance for users
Structure has been modified for ecosystem account compilers to allow aggregation where end use is not known
Better alignment of cultural services to SEEA EEA concepts
Working on equivalence tables with other classifications

4. Warnings (personal views)
No distinction between intermediate (inter-ecosystem) and final services
Does not necessarily endorse any single view of the boundary between the environment and the economy (production boundary)
E.g. livestock production is shown as a service as well as fodder production
Best used as a checklist and as an aid to clarity as to the nature of the service being assessed
More work needed on the examples of particular services – sometimes the examples don’t seem to cover the different aspects of some services particularly well