1. UK National Ecosystem Assessment
progress and products
Robert Bradburne
Defra
March 11th 2010

2. Summary (English) context for the National Ecosystem Assessment
Structure and objectives of the National Ecosystem Assessment
Progress and outputs to date
Challenges ahead
Preparing for the outputs

3. PSA28: Secure a healthy natural environment for today and the future
Paving the way for the NEA: The Public Service Agreement on the Natural Environment
PSA28: Secure a healthy natural environment for today and the future
This means:
Air free from harmful levels of pollutants
Sustainable water use
Land and soils managed sustainably
Biodiversity valued, safeguarded and enhanced
Clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas
People enjoying the natural environment
Vision
“To secure a diverse, healthy and resilient natural environment, which provides the basis for everyone’s well-being, health and prosperity now and in the future; and where the value of the services provided by the natural environment is reflected in decision-making”
New message for the whole of government
Links to human health and wellbeing
Delivered through an ecosystems-based approach
Many departments are delivery partners.

4. Taking an ecosystems approach to policy and decision making
A more strategic, integrated approach to the natural environment
Valuing the full range of benefits that the natural environment provides
Ensuring environmental limits are respected
Adaptive management to respond to changing pressures,
Decisions taken at appropriate spatial scales
Identifying and involving all relevant stakeholders
Healthy ecosystems maintained and enhanced
Sustainable flows of ecosystem services
Balanced use of natural resources
And an ecosystems approach is a way to raise our game.
We published “Securing a healthy Natural env” in December, and it builds on the work done in the Millennium Assessment and the work of the CBD to derive five core principles of what we consider an ecosystems approach to be.
And what they lead to.
Note the action plan does not seek to impose a single, rigid definition of an ecosystems approach,
Our intention is to promote a generic approach that can be applied in a range of policy areas and decision making contexts, based on a number of core principles.
Need that fleixbility: allows us to open more doors. Environmental management may need all principles, others, e.g., OGDs may benefit from parts, e.g., valuation.

5. The UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) is the first analysis of the UK’s natural environment in terms of the benefits it provides to society and our continuing prosperity.
Part of the Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) initiative, it is an inclusive process involving individuals and institutions with a wide range of perspectives, in Government, academia, NGOs and the private sector.

6. Why Undertake the NEA now?
Evidence of change
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) reported on widespread change to ecosystems worldwide in the last fifty years, with increases in benefits to many people, but degradation of ecosystem services adversely affecting others.
Natural England reported in 2008 that England has less natural diversity than 50 years ago and that it is still under pressure.
Pressures on our natural environment are changing – climate change and other pressures are predicted to alter many aspects of our land, water and seas over the next fifty years.

7. What will the NEA do? New solutions and new stakeholders
“The UK NEA will help people to make better decisions that impact on the UK’s ecosystems to ensure the long-term sustainable delivery of ecosystem services for the benefit of current and future populations in the UK”
New solutions and new stakeholders
The NEA will:
Produce an independent and peer-reviewed National Ecosystem Assessment for the whole of the UK.
Raise awareness of the importance of the natural environment to human well-being and economic prosperity
Ensure full stakeholder participation and encourage different stakeholders and communities to interact and, in particular, to foster better inter-disciplinary co-operation between natural and social scientists, as well as economists

8. People involved in the NEA
A diverse group of academics, consisting of natural scientists, economists and social scientists, form the 27-member Expert Panel. This is chaired by Professor Robert Watson and Professor Steve Albon
A wide range of public, private and third sector decision-makers and
stakeholders form a User Group
200 authors from more than 50 academic institutions, government agencies and NGOs, managed by a group of Co-ordinating Lead Authors.
The organisations that commissioned the UK NEA form the Client Group.
Co-ordinating all the different assessment activities is an independent Secretariat, provided by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

9. NEA timeline Release of progress and plans for 2010 – 22 February 2010
Full external review of the chapters on ecosystems and ecosystem services - 4 May – 15 June 2010
Finalisation of ecosystem and ecosystem services assessment – end September 2010
Valuation, scenarios and response options work completed – September 2010
External review – September/October 2010
Release of findings – February 2011

10. Progress to date (1)

11. Ecosystems Freshwater, wetlands and floodplains Urban Marine
Coastal margins
Mountains, moors and heathlands
Semi-natural grasslands
Enclosed farmland
Woodland

12. Ecosystem services Supporting services Provisioning services
soil formation
nutrient cycling
water cycling
primary production
Provisioning services
food
fibre
fuel
bio-materials
water
Regulating services
climate
hazard control (flood/erosion)
pests & disease
pollination
pollution (noise/toxic)
air/soil/water quality
Cultural services
aesthetic
cultural heritage/ sense of place
education
health
recreation
spiritual/religious
tourism 12

13. Biodiversity in the NEA
Biodiversity is considered in the NEA through its roles of:
Supporting ecosystem processes: biodiversity may play a role in the dynamics of ecosystem services, e.g., in nutrient cycling or rates of decomposition
Providing genes and species: some species and the genetic variability within them contribute directly to valuable goods, e.g., the use of genetic diversity in wild crop and livestock relatives contributing to breeding programmes, and this increase in genetic diversity can increase resistance to the spread of disease
Its value to people: people gain direct personal benefits from the appreciation of wildlife and scenic places and biodiversity also has further spiritual, religious and education value 13

14. Valuing the benefits we get from our ecosystems

15. Challenges for 2010
The NEA is now looking forwards to assess how ecosystems might change in future.
Challenges include:
Producing relevant, internally consistent and quantifiable scenarios with which to assess possible change to ecosystem services in future
Incorporating both economic and non-economic forms of value into the assessment of ecosystem change
Developing a suite of societal response options in light of the future scenarios

16. NEA weblinks
Further information (including how to get involved) can be found at:
Recent outputs and other communications materials can be found at:

17. Preparing others for the outputs of the NEA
Helping others to understand
The natural environment narrative
“Recovery, Growth and the Environment”
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
“Delivering a healthy natural environment”
Other “points of view” articles

18. Preparing others for the outputs of the NEA
Working out what you should consider
Identifying priorities
Case studies and examples of application
Environmental Limits resources
Building the evidence/monitoring base

19. Preparing others for the outputs of the NEA
Valuing the environment
Introductory Guide to the Valuation of ecosystem services
Value Transfer guidelines
Data sources – the EVRI database
Incorporating valuation into other appraisal tools
Participatory and Deliberative Techniques

20. Thank you