1. 7th Biennial GEF International Waters Conference
Bridgetown, Barbados
Key outcomes from the pre-workshop on Economic valuation
Eduard Interwies, InterSus

2. Aim of the presentation
Present briefly the key outcomes of the pre-workshop
“Set the scene” for the upcoming table dialogues on economic valuation

3. The pre-workshop: Sat & Sun 26 & 27.10
Centered on economic valuation as a tool to link science-based management & policy
Aims:
Raising capacity among GEF project managers and partner organizations representatives on the topic
Better use & integration of valuation approaches and methods during GEF IW project implementation (esp. TDA-SAP process)
More than 100 registered participants
Presentations, 3 breakout groups, facilitated discussions etc. – conveying economic valuation methodologies and practical examples – what worked, what not

4. The background/basis:
Management of aquatic resources based on the ecosystem understanding!
Multiple uses…limited resources…
...ecosystem services (ES) approach fosters understanding and integration
Variety of objectives and underlying conditions per ecosystem

5. Ecosystem
Services:
(MEA, TEEB)

7. An example:
Various ecosystem services related to wetlands-estuaries, e.g.:
Provisioning:
Food, water (direct values)
Regulating:
Climate regulation, moderation of extreme events (indirect values)
Habitat:
Maintenance of life cycle of migratory species (indirect value)
Cultural:
Aestetic and religious role (non-use values)

8. Economic valuation of ES
Decision-making needs to integrate a variety of socio-economic factors & issues:
Economic growth needs/related investments;
Livelihood & distributional issues;
Costs and benefits of specific policy decisions…
but also how a policy decision influences the ES functioning & the related values!
Valuation of ES only one part of socio-economic consideration for policy making
has its specific role to play within the different steps of the policy cycle (analysis & advice – decision making – implementation – Review/evaluation & monitoring)

9. Economic valuation of ES - methods
Various approaches & methods for economic valuation exist
Many options for managers, but: “you need first to be clear on what question you want to answer”
Very case specific
 No silver bullet: method selection should be “purpose driven, objective specific” (what question, policy, sector, stakeholders, scale, timeline, data available?)

10. Economic valuation of ES
Variety of examples available, some presented & discussed (both LMEs and River Basins)
Key insights on successful link to policy-making:
Valuation only one of the tools supporting better decision making
Do it at the scale of the policy question
Strong local partnership & stakeholder engagement
Local demand for valuation
Opportunities of revenue raising
Effective communication & access to decision makers – integration, not “stand alone”
Clear presentation of methods, assumptions & limitations

11. Regarding market-based instruments…
..and the links to economic valuation:

12. Regarding market-based instruments…
..and the links to economic valuation:
Relevant for Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)-schemes, but also other market-based instruments e.g. taxes, quantity-based, liability-based, voluntary
FIRST SLIDE BY MARK???

13. Regarding PES – and use of valuation
Promising, good examples of work done so far
Specific “do´s and dont´s” out of this experience
Fundamental concerns: water as a human right vs. water as a commodity
Role of GEF: to be further discussed
Continue exploration:
how to upscale to national/transboundary level? ”Out-of-box”-thinking – innovative ideas
Further case study applications (part of TDA-SAF-process) to promote and use PES-schemes

14. Linking valuation to policy-making
GEF-Action points:
Broad(er): Incorporate all relevant aspects of social, economic data/analysis as an integral part of the TDA – SAP framework and related documents
Part of effective governance – of the entire policy cycle
Foster indicator use: further develop socio-economic indicators (linked to data access & availability) & baseline/trends in GEF-SAP results framework
Use of e.g. Cost-Benefit-analysis/Multi-criteria analysis (quantitative & qualitative information) in the assessment of options throughout the process (not only towards the end!)
Complements – does not replace – other data and analysis currently used in GEF-projects

15. Linking valuation to policy-making
GEF-Action points:
Incorporate valuation as an integral part of the TDA – SAP framework and related documents
Ecosystem diagnostic analysis (including valuation) to identify national & regional key issues: for each member country (communication issues, collecting information/data) undertake individual evaluation & then bring together into the TDA-SAP-process
Causal chain analysis (including valuation) maybe useful earlier in designing the process (in assessment of options) – identifying the key use & methods of ES valuation
Include values of large ecosystem assets - add information on economic impacts of options - use CBA (qualitative-quantitative) of options – for the SAP

16. Linking valuation to policy-making
GEF-Action points:
Develop guidance for the use of socio-economic assessments, esp. ES valuation:
Guidelines – practical manual
Clear framework for project managers on what is most useful for their project
Show the needs for socio-economic assessments (CBA etc.) and the specific use of ES valuation
Use of specific methods (flexible: not all aspects suited to all projects), considering data availability
Success stories – lessons learned (evidence of approach advocacy)
Improve data availability / accessability for ES valuation (“do it quicker and easier”)

17. Linking valuation to policy-making
GEF-Action points:
Support capacity building:
Improve capacity (within GEF-projects, but also of users/authorities)
Creating a critical mass of expertise – professionalization – community of practice
Support a stronger incorporation of decision makers & stakeholders in the ES valuation-process

18. Linking valuation to policy-making
GEF-Action points:
Foster practical application of ES-valuation at the project level:
Conduct high-level ecosystem valuation studies (“fast and cheap”) to kick-start acceptance & understanding – improve “buy-in” by users/authorities through involvement & awareness raising
Conduct Pilot projects - Demonstration projects: Hot-spot and small demonstration projects in national diagnostic analysis/TDA/SAP formulation – with strong decision maker & stakeholder involvement

19. Special thanks to: The IWLearn-team The co-facilitators:
* Mark Smith & Stefano Barchiesi (IUCN)
* Christian Susan (UNIDO)
* Warwick Sauer (Rhodes University)
* Stephen Lutz (UNEP GRID-Arendal - Blue Forest project)
* Adrian Cashman & David Gil (University of the West Indies)
* Peter Edwards (NOAA)
The presenters
…and of course the very involved participants!