Abstract
Ecosystem services have emerged as a critical concept for Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) in aquatic environments, namely in coastal and marine environments. However, despite conceptual advances over the last two decades, major challenges remain in the operationalisation of ecosystem service concepts and practical application. This chapter describes a selection of EBM assessment approaches applied to coastal and marine environments, where the ecosystem services approach is key. These approaches range from qualitative to quantitative, all being transdisciplinary. In the first, (ODEMM project, supported by linkage frameworks) trade-offs in EBM management options can be considered, in terms of their potential to reduce ecological risk, maintain sustainable supply of ecosystem services, and the governance complexity associated with implementing them. In the second, (AQUACROSS project, combining causality links relations and spatial multicriteria analysis) trade-offs are supported by maps with governance boundaries, spatially explicit valuation of ecosystem services and ecological risk. In the third, (MCES project, supported by the GIS-based modelling tool InVest) trade-offs are supported by a developed spatially explicit proxy for the habitats’ vulnerability to deliver ecosystem services. Finally, we describe a policy-based operational assessment tool that allows users to assess the current and future capacity of regional seas to supply ecosystem services, based on their current and future ecosystem status reporting. We go on to describe some lessons learnt from our experience in applying these approaches.
Highlights
The concept of nature benefits for humans, is not new, it was first in 1983, almost forty years ago, that Ehrlich and Mooney used the term ‘Ecosystem Services’ in an International Scientific Indexing (ISI) journal (see Flood et al (2020) for a discussion of earlier development of the concept)
We show that there is existing information that can be applied to ecosystem service assessments for marine environments, and this should not be a barrier to carrying out assessments
In 2012, an independent intergovernmental body of the United Nations ‘The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)’ was established “to strengthen knowledge foundations for better policy through science, for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development”. This platform stands for nature and biodiversity, in the same way that the ‘Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’ provides the latest sciencebased assessments related to climate change, including possible response options
Summary
The concept of nature benefits for humans, is not new, it was first in 1983, almost forty years ago, that Ehrlich and Mooney used the term ‘Ecosystem Services’ in an International Scientific Indexing (ISI) journal (see Flood et al (2020) for a discussion of earlier development of the concept). The biggest biome in the world, and the accompanying ecosystems services, authors highlighted the impact of fisheries over fish stocks and the role of economy as a driver for extinction and for substitution of target species. Since the concept of ‘Ecosystem Services’ has evolved in order to become effectively operationalised, but major challenges still remain, namely, how to decide who will win and who will lose, as trade-offs are inherent to the decision making process This is of paramount importance in the context of global socio-ecological challenges and Approaches for Estimating the Supply of Ecosystem Services: Concepts for. Sustainable development strategies for coastal and marine environments Such challenges include human indirect drivers like sea level rise, extreme weather events (e.g. floods and storm surges) and invasive species, and human direct drivers (e.g. economic activities). Ecosystem services have emerged as a critical concept to operationalise EBM
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