EBI: An index for delivery of ecosystem service bundles

Abstract

Integrating the ecosystem service concept into land use planning requires tools that allow rapid and transparent assessment of ecosystem services. The demand for simple indicators has stimulated the emergence of land use based proxy methods. Although these have been very powerful to create policy awareness on different levels, they are insufficient when it comes to land use and policy planning for ecosystem service delivery. Discarding the complex ecological reality or scientific uncertainty poses serious risks for adverse effects of policies. This explorative study constitutes the basis for the further development of a tool to link land use planning for ecosystem service bundle optimization, capturing inherent ecological complexity and uncertainty. Particular emphasis was placed on the biophysical potential of an ecosystem to deliver services and the link with the actual land use. The EBI – Ecosystem Service Bundle Index – builds on a Bayesian network model that allows integration of biophysical and socio-economic processes as well as land use planning policies driving the delivery of bundles of ecosystem services. The EBI prototype was tested in a pilot study area using three interacting ecosystem services. Incorporation of judicial land use claims, more intense involvement of stakeholders and other improvements are being developed.