The Benefits to People of Expanding Marine Protected Areas

This study focuses on how the economic value of marine ecosystem services to people and communities is expected to change with the expansion of marine protected areas (MPAs). It is recognised, however, that instrumental economic value derived from ecosystem services is only one component of the overall value of the marine environment and that the intrinsic value of nature also provides an argument for the conservation of the marine habitats and biodiversity

Social perspectives on climate change adaptation, sustainable development, and artificial snow production: a Swiss case study using Q methodology

Climate change has reduced the snow cover in the Swiss Alps, negatively impacting the winter tourist sector. The adaptation of artificial or technical snow, as a solution to combat a decline in tourism, is pervasive, yet controversial.This paper uses Q methodology to analyse the perspectives of stakeholders in relation to artificial snow production with regard to the three pillars of sustainable development. While all stakeholders agreed that there are ecological constraints to socioeconomic development, three distinct perspectives were identified. Perspective 1 prioritizes the environment, not accepting ecological compromises for socioeconomic development. Perspective 2 is more willingto accept trade-offs, focusing on economic diversification and long-term strategies. Perspective 3 focuses on the economy, with a preference for the status quo. The ecological awareness of all stakeholders provides a promisingbasis for sustainable development. However, the diverse views on priority setting present nontrivial obstacles towards devising future strategies for sustainable development

Punchin’ in, punchin’ out at the Music and Labour conference

Interview with Dr. Christina Baade

Recognising Stakeholder Conflict and Encouraging Consensus of ‘Science-Based Management’ Approaches for Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) encompass the seabed, subsoil and water column beyond coastal State jurisdiction and marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) is rich and varied. From providing sustenance and supporting livelihoods, to absorbing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, ABNJ ecosystems are vital to the wellbeing of humankind. However, an enhanced understanding of BBNJ and its significance has not equated to its successful conservation and sustainable use. Negotiations for a new international legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of BBNJ have scoped applicable principles for a future agreement, including the use of best available science and science-based approaches. But there remains a lack of convergence on what science-based approaches would look like, or how they would be operationalised. In order to negotiate and implement a meaningful BBNJ treaty that can meet conservation and sustainable use objectives, stakeholder perceptions must be identified, and areas of divergence must be overcome. Thisstudy uses Q-methodology to reveal and analyse the diversity of perceptions that exist amongst key stakeholders regarding what it means to operationalise science-based approaches for the conservation and sustainable use of BBNJ. The Q-study features 25 stakeholder interviews and 30 Q-study participants revealing four different perceptions, each of which represent a different interpretation of what science-based management means in the context of BBNJ. Across these perceptions, there were areas of stakeholder consensus (e.g., regarding the benefits of integrative management, the application of precautionary approaches when data are insufficient, and the issuespertaining to the trustworthiness and credibility of science) and areas of stakeholder conflict (e.g., regarding the definition, function and authority of science within current and future BBNJ governance processes). Key implications of this study include the evidencing of fundamental tensions between differing perceptions of the authority of science and between conservation and sustainable use objectives, that may be fueling stakeholder conflict, and the subsequent proposal of integrative and highly participatory management approaches to operationalise science-based management of BBNJ

Is an ecosystem services-based approach developed for setting specific protection goals for plant protection products applicable to other chemicals?

Clearly defined protection goals specifying what to protect, where and when, are required for designing scientifically sound risk assessments and effective risk management of chemicals. Environmental protection goals specified in EU legislation are defined in general terms, resulting in uncertainty in how to achieve them. In 2010, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a framework to identify more specific protection goals based on ecosystem services potentially affected by plant protection products. But how applicable is this framework to chemicals with different emission scenarios and receptor ecosystems? Four case studies used to address this question were: (i) oil refinery waste water exposure in estuarine environments; (ii) oil dispersant exposure in aquatic environments; (iii) down the drain chemicals exposure in a wide range of ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic); (iv) persistent organic pollutant exposure in remote (pristine) Arctic environments. A four-step process was followed to identify ecosystems and services potentially impacted by chemical emissions and to define specific protection goals. Case studies demonstrated that, in principle, the ecosystem services concept and the EFSA framework can be applied to derive specific protection goals for a broad range of chemical exposure scenarios. By identifying key habitats and ecosystem services of concern, the approach offers the potential for greater spatial and temporal resolution, together with increased environmental relevance, in chemical risk assessments. With modifications including improved clarity on terminology/definitions and further development/refinement of the key concepts, we believe the principles of the EFSA framework could provide a methodical approach to the identification and prioritization of ecosystems, ecosystem services and the service providing units that are most at risk from chemical exposure

Stakeholder-focused cost-benefit analysis in the water sector:Guidance Report

These guidelines are intended to show how economic tools can be used for a stakeholder-focused approach to planning and evaluating adaptation to climate change. Using cost-benefit analysis (CBA) as an overall framework, this guidance document presents the basic steps of an approach that enriches traditional economic analysis by focusing on stakeholders in the water sector. The guidance is informed by a project involving case studies in Nepal, Bangladesh, Morocco, Malawi and Bolivia. These case studies, all located in areas facing the impact of climate change in the water sector, used stakeholder approaches to undertake economic analyses of adapting to climate change. The added value of the stakeholder-focused approach lies in the way that CBA is undertaken and its findings used to inform adaptation actions and policie

Stakeholder-focused cost-benefit analysis in the water sector:Guidance Report

These guidelines are intended to show how economic tools can be used for a stakeholder-focused approach to planning and evaluating adaptation to climate change. Using cost-benefit analysis (CBA) as an overall framework, this guidance document presents the basic steps of an approach that enriches traditional economic analysis by focusing on stakeholders in the water sector. The guidance is informed by a project involving case studies in Nepal, Bangladesh, Morocco, Malawi and Bolivia. These case studies, all located in areas facing the impact of climate change in the water sector, used stakeholder approaches to undertake economic analyses of adapting to climate change. The added value of the stakeholder-focused approach lies in the way that CBA is undertaken and its findings used to inform adaptation actions and policie

Stakeholder-focused cost-benefit analysis in the water sector:Guidance Report

These guidelines are intended to show how economic tools can be used for a stakeholder-focused approach to planning and evaluating adaptation to climate change. Using cost-benefit analysis (CBA) as an overall framework, this guidance document presents the basic steps of an approach that enriches traditional economic analysis by focusing on stakeholders in the water sector. The guidance is informed by a project involving case studies in Nepal, Bangladesh, Morocco, Malawi and Bolivia. These case studies, all located in areas facing the impact of climate change in the water sector, used stakeholder approaches to undertake economic analyses of adapting to climate change. The added value of the stakeholder-focused approach lies in the way that CBA is undertaken and its findings used to inform adaptation actions and policie

The global costs and benefits of expanding Marine Protected Areas

Marine ecosystems and the services they provide contribute greatly to human well-being but are becoming degraded in many areas around the world. The expansion of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) has been advanced as a potential solution to this problem but their economic feasibility has hardly been studied. We conduct an economic assessment of the costs and benefits of six scenarios for the global expansion of MPAs. The analysis is conducted at a high spatial resolution, allowing the estimated costs and benefits to reflect the ecological and economic characteristics and context of each MPA and marine ecosystem. The results show that the global benefits of expanding MPAs exceed their costs by a factor 1.4–2.7 depending on the location and extent of MPA expansion. Targeting protection towards pristine areas with high biodiversity yields higher net returns than focusing on areas with low biodiversity or areas that have experienced high human impact

A pathway to identifying and valuing cultural ecosystem services: an application to marine food webs

Beyond recreation, little attention has been paid thus far to economically value Cultural Ecosystem Services (CESs), especially in the context of coastal or marine environment. This paper develops and tests a pathway to the identification and economic valuation of CESs. The pathway enables researchers to make more explicit, and to economically value, cultural dimensions of environmental change. We suggest that the valuation process includes a simultaneous development of the scenarios of environmental change including related biophysical impacts, and a documentation of culture-environment linkages. A well-defined ecosystem service typology is also needed to classify cultural-ecological linkages as specific CESs. The pathway then involves the development of detailed, multidimensional depictions of the culture-environment linkages for use in a stated preference survey. The anticipated CES interpretations should be confirmed through debriefing questions in the survey questionnaire. The proposed approach is demonstrated with a choice experiment-based case study in Turkey that focuses improvements to the food web of the Black Sea. The results of this study indicate that economic preferences for CESs other than recreation can be estimated in a way that is economically consistent using the proposed approach