Ecosystem services for water policy: Insights across Europe

In this research we explored how the concepts and approaches of ecosystem services are currently used in water management in Europe, in the application of River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) developed for the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Five case studies have been considered, located in the River Basin Districts of the Po river (Italy), Scotland (United Kingdom), Scheldt river (Belgium), Danube river (Romania), Sado and Mira rivers and Ribeiras do Algarve (Portugal). These cases represent different regional contexts of application of this EU water policy, with specific socio-economic drivers and environmental issues. Each case study has developed an operational framework to analyse ecosystem services in practice together with a group of local stakeholders. In each regional case, we examined how EU water policy and RBMPs are implemented, considered legal and planning instruments from the national to the local scale, and we analysed the use of ecosystem service terms and concepts in the relevant planning instruments. In parallel, we explored the view of local stakeholders and water managers on the topic, collecting their opinion on three major aspects: the usefulness of the concepts and approaches of ecosystem services for WFD river basin management plans, the risks and benefits of their use, and the knowledge needs to put the concepts into practice. The major drawback of the ecosystem service approach seems to be the challenge for practitioners of understanding new concepts and methodologies, while the major advantages are that it highlights all the hidden benefits of a water body in good health and promotes multi-functionality and sustainability in water management. The results of this study provide a picture across Europe of the current use of the concepts of ecosystem services in the RBMP and relevant insight on the opinion of local stakeholders and water managers.     

The social dimension of biodiversity policy in the European Union: Valuing the benefits to vulnerable communities

This paper uses GIS-based mapping tools and economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services to explore the social dimension of biodiversity policy. We investigate the linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem service values, and socio-economic vulnerability indicators in a spatially explicit framework and at different geographic scales. Our focus is on Europe, where biodiversity and ecosystem benefits have been well studied for many ecosystems, such as forests, coastal ecosystems and freshwater wetlands. The analysis focuses in particular on rural agricultural areas and remote mountainous regions accounting for the differences across various income groups, both at national and regional levels. The results of the study provide useful insights for EU policymakers in designing policy instruments that can promote biodiversity conservation and prevent natural resource degradation, on the one hand, while contributing to social stability and human livelihoods, on the other hand.     

Managing forest ecosystem services for hydropower production

In many countries, hydropower development is rapidly becoming a focus of green growth policies. This represents a significant opportunity for ecosystem services-based land management that integrates environmental and development goals to benefit the hydropower sector and support economic growth. In this study, we present an approach for targeting ecosystem-provision investment in hydropower catchments coupled with hydrologic modeling to quantify the benefits of soil and water conservation activities. We demonstrate the application of this approach in five hydropower facility catchments in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. The results show that there is a high potential for targeted soil and water conservation to increase sediment retention services that benefit hydropower facilities (up to a 44% reduction in sediment transported from uplands into streams), although this benefit is distributed non-uniformly across catchments and levels of investment. The extent to which services can be improved is strongly driven by current land use and management practices that impact how and where conservation activities can be located. Iterative use of the method described here, in a process of stakeholder engagement and capacity-building, enables policy makers to determine the optimal mix of land management strategies and budget allocation to maximize service improvements that support hydropower production.     

Quantifying nonuse and indirect economic benefits of impingement & entrainment reductions at U.S. power plants

Monetizing ecological benefits of reducing impingement and entrainment (I&E) at cooling water intake structures presents both ecological and economic challenges. Ecological challenges arise because it is difficult to demonstrate and measure these impacts. Economic challenges arise because of these ecological uncertainties and because many of the potentially affected ecosystem services cannot be valued using traditional methods. Under a recently promulgated U.S. regulation certain power generation and industrial water permit applicants may be required to monetize these “nonuse” benefits. However, stated preference (SP) surveys, the only method available for valuing nonuse services have not seen acceptance by mainstream economists. This paper describes an approach to valuation that incorporates the ecological service function approach advocated by the USEPA Science Advisory Board to characterize impacts. Data and models are used to quantify, to the extent possible, direct and indirect impacts of I&E on ecosystem services. Nonuse values are then estimated by an SP survey that measures respondents’ willingness to pay for reducing I&E. Methods are proposed for calibrating and validating results including identifying the source of nonuse values from commonly ascribed motivations (i.e. existence, bequest, altruistic), considering the role of pre-survey awareness of impacts, and evaluating results in the context of respondent willingness to pay for other nonuse benefits.     

中国陆地地表水生态系统服务功能及其生态经济价值评价

根据水生态系统提供服务特点,可将水的生态系统服务功能划分为具有直接使用价值的产品和具有间接使用价值的支持系统功能两大类。在评价中,将我国陆地水生态系统分为河流、水库、湖泊、沼泽4个类型,结合基础数据的可获得性,建立了由生活及工农业供水、水力发电、内陆航运、水产品生产、休闲娱乐5个直接使用价值指标和调蓄洪水、河流输沙、蓄积水分、保持土壤、净化水质、固定碳、维持生物多样性7个间接使用价值指标构成的评价指标体系。以2000年为评价基准年份,对全国陆地水生态系统生态经济价值进行了评价,结果表明,陆地地表水生态系统2000年的直接使用价值为4263.91×10⁸元,间接使用价值为5546.92×10⁸元,总价值为9810.83×10⁸元,相当于2000年我国国内生产总值的10.97%。     

Evaluating the impact of ecosystem service assessments on decision-makers

Ecosystem services support human livelihoods and economies but are declining in many places. Ecosystem service assessments estimate the benefits that nature provides to people and can be used to evaluate trade-offs in impacts and changes resulting from land use decisions. Such assessments can affect the capacity of decision-makers to make sustainable land use decisions, but the actual impact of such projects on decision-maker attitudes is almost entirely unstudied. We addressed this knowledge gap by evaluating the impact of an ecosystem service assessment on decision-makers in California. We asked how decision-makers’ understanding of and attitudes about ecosystem services changed “pre-” and “post-” assessments and between treatment groups where ecosystem services were assessed and a comparison group where ecosystem services were not assessed. Mixed methods included regression models to estimate the treatment effect of the assessment (using a difference-in-differences approach), as well as interviews and direct observations to further understand how decision-makers responded to the assessment. Regression results showed small increases relative to the comparison group in decision-maker understanding of ecosystem services and perceived relevance of ecosystem services to their work. Interviews confirmed that decision-makers learned specific ways that they could use ecosystem services in conservation and development decisions and believed that doing so would improve outcomes. These results demonstrate how ecosystem services assessments can facilitate a conceptual shift in the minds of decision-makers, which is a necessary ingredient for subsequent policy impact. Impact evaluation studies of this type − that estimate a counterfactual and explore rival explanations for observed outcomes − are needed to truly understand whether ecosystem service projects impact decision-makers and, ultimately, produce outcomes for environmental and human well-being.     

基于生态系统服务功能的城市规划研究

健康的生态系统是城市可持续发展的重要基础,生态系统服务功能及价值评估是评价生态系统的重要指标,森林、草地、湿地等生态系统在调节气候、保持土壤、涵养水源等方面具有重要作用.以宁波市北仑区为例,应用市场价值化方法粗略地分析了该区域的生态系统服务功能现状,结果表明,13年间北仑区的生态服务价值下降11.35%,其中,草地的生态服务价值下降最快,降幅达79.84%.从生态经济学角度阐释森林等生态系统在城市开发建设中的重要性.     

The value of urban ecosystem services in New York City: A spatially explicit multicriteria analysis of landscape scale valuation scenarios

Mapping, modeling, and valuing urban ecosystem services are important for integrating the ecosystem services concept in urban planning and decision-making. However, decision-support tools able to consider multiple ecosystem services in the urban setting using complex and heterogeneous data are still in early development. Here, we use New York City (NYC) as a case study to evaluate and analyze how the value of multiple ecosystem services of urban green infrastructure shifts with shifting governance priorities. We first examined the spatial distribution of five ecosystem services – storm water absorption, carbon storage, air pollution removal, local climate regulation, and recreation – to create the first multiple ecosystem services evaluation of all green infrastructure in NYC. Then, combining an urban ecosystem services landscape approach with spatial multicriteria analysis weighting scenarios, we examine the distribution of these ecosystem services in the city. We contrast the current NYC policy preference – which is focused on heavy investment in stormwater absorption – with a valuation approach that also accounts for other ecosystem services. We find substantial differences in the spatial distribution of priority areas for green infrastructure for the valuation scenarios. Among the scenarios we examined for NYC, we find that a scenario in which only stormwater absorption is prioritized leads to the most unevenly distributed ES values. By contrast, we find least variation in ES values where stormwater absorption, local climate regulation, carbon storage, air pollution removal, and recreational potential are all weighted equally.We suggest that green infrastructure planning strategies should include all landscape components that contribute to the production of ecosystem services and consider how planning priority alternatives generate different ecosystem services values.     

Ecosystem mapping for the implementation of the European Biodiversity Strategy at the national level: The case of Italy

Several international initiatives, including the European Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, promote the identification and mapping of ecosystems as basic tools for the conservation of biodiversity and related services. On coarse scales, the spatial representation of ecosystems is usually based on broad land cover categories that largely overlook important ecological and biogeographic features of the biotic communities they are meant to exemplify. This paper presents a nationwide ecosystem mapping approach that promotes a degree of thematic detail, which is more suited than that found in the continental maps to meeting biodiversity conservation targets in Italy. The approach is based on the rationale that current and potential vegetation cover are valuable proxies for outlining ecosystems. The resulting Ecosystem Map of Italy includes 43 types of forest ecosystems instead of the 5 woodland, forest and other wooded land types recognized at the European level. We outline the expected advantages of this enhanced thematic detail for a number of conservation purposes and highlight how the resulting maps may help to meet biodiversity conservation targets at the national level. In particular, we refer to the assessment of conservation status, the definition of restoration priorities, the planning of green infrastructure and the identification of collapse risks for the ecosystems identified. Comprehensively, the definition, characterization and assessment of ecosystem types represent the carrying structure of the recently launched national system of natural capital accounting.     

中国自然资源生态服务重要性评价与空间格局分析

自然资源是保障经济社会发展的重要物质基础,同时又发挥了重要的生态服务功能。选取水源涵养、水土保持、防风固沙、生物多样性维护和产品提供五类生态服务,采用NPP定量指标法识别中国自然资源生态服务的重要区域,并进一步分析空间格局特征。结果表明：中国自然资源生态服务极重要和高度重要区约占总面积的1/4,以东北山地、江南地区、西南地区和青藏高原东部等水源涵养能力强、水土保持较好、防风固沙水平高、生物多样性较丰富的地区为主;不同类型自然资源的生态服务重要性差异显著,耕地资源的产品提供服务重要性显著,林地和草地资源的水源涵养、水土保持、防风固沙及生物多样性维护服务重要性均较显著,水域主要提供水源涵养服务;各生态服务重要性在空间上均显著集聚,自然资源综合生态服务的热点区主要分布在大兴安岭、长白山、浙闽山地、武夷山、南岭山地、秦岭山地、滇西南地区和藏东南山地等;自然资源综合生态服务重要性的空间分布与农业自然带/亚带呈现较高的一致性,热带和温带地区的重要性级别较高。研究结果可为区域自然资源管理及生态保护修复提供决策依据。     

厦门市生态系统供水服务量化与价值评估

突出的水污染问题严重影响生态系统供水服务,针对现有研究对水质影响和供水价值的评估考虑不足,尚无法将水质、供水服务及其价值与管理措施相联系,难以满足水资源和水环境管理的决策需求等问题,综合考虑水资源和水环境,建立了水质水量-供水服务-供水价值的联系,应用于厦门市生态系统供水服务评估并提出管理建议.采用SWAT（Soil and Water Assessment Tool）模型模拟水量,引入主要污染物超标当量和水质当量的概念评估水质,采用市场价值法和环境恢复成本法评估其价值.结果表明:2015年厦门市生态系统供水量为9.26×108 m3,供水价值量为14.82×108元,比2010年分别增加了1.77×108 m3和2.60×108元.2015年和2010年厦门市水质恶化导致供水价值量分别损失0.31×108和0.27×108元.厦门市供水服务具有较强的时空异质性和水体差异性,发掘潜力较大,受到总体下降的水质影响,建议从提升水源涵养能力和改善水质这两方面入手开展研究,以提升供水服务.该研究方法操作简单,评估结果易于比较和被决策者理解,但对经济发展程度的影响和水质定价考虑不足,在今后研究中应将地方经济发展程度纳入评估体系,并修正水污染处理成本.      

中国森林生态系统服务功能及其价值评价

森林生态系统对维持我国自然生态系统格局、功能和过程具有特殊的生态意义。客观衡量森林生态系统的服务效能,对于森林资源保护及其科学利用具有重要意义。论文在分析森林生态系统服务功能的基础上,根据其提供服务的机制、类型和效用,把森林生态系统的服务功能划分为提供产品、调节功能、文化功能和生命支持功能四大类,建立了由林木产品、林副产品、气候调节、光合固C、涵养水源、土壤保持、净化环境、养分循环、防风固沙、文化多样性、休闲旅游、释放氧气、维持生物多样性13项功能指标构成的森林生态系统评价指标体系,并对其中的10项功能指标以2000年为评价基准年份进行了初步评价。结果表明,森林生态系统10类生态系统服务功能的总生态经济价值为14060.05×108元/a,其中直接价值和间接价值分别为2519.45×108元和11540.60×108元,间接价值是直接价值的4.6倍。研究认为,森林生态系统服务功能及其价值评价工作应进一步加强森林生态系统服务功能机制的基础研究和不同尺度下空间数据的耦合和应用方法研究。     

生态系统服务价值研究进展

生态系统服务价值评价结合了生态学、经济学、社会学、伦理学等学科的相关内容,是当前国际上科学研究的热点和前沿.本文论述了生态系统服务功能的内涵,就国内外生态系统服务价值评价研究的进展情况分别进行了回顾和总结,提出今后应重点关注生态系统服务价值的时空动态模型开发、时空变化驱动力分析、不确定性分析、评价指标体系与评价方法的标...     

西部生态脆弱区矿山不同开采强度下生态系统服务时空变化——以神府矿区为例

以神府矿区为例,选取土地利用、植被覆盖、土壤、气象等生态环境与统计数据指标,利用RS和GIS技术构建生态系统服务遥感测量评估指标体系,评估研究区2005-2015年生态系统服务变化及时空分布特征,进一步探究神府矿区不同开采强度对生态系统服务的影响并进行驱动力分析。研究结果表明：（1）2005年、2010年、2015年研究区的总生态系统服务分别为1.598×10¹⁰元、1.905×10¹⁰元、2.134×10¹⁰元,呈现逐年递增的趋势;（2）生态系统服务功能中水土保持价值比例最大,草地的单位面积生态系统服务价值最高,耕地、草地生态系统为该地区贡献了最多的生态系统服务价值;（3）研究区生态系统服务分布表现为由东北向西南逐渐降低的趋势,不同开采强度下的生态系统服务增长变化较为相似,煤炭开采区域生态系统服务未显著下降,整体较为平稳。对生态系统服务变化的驱动分析表明在近年来相对改善的气候环境与人工修复共同作用下,神府矿区生态系统服务未发生明显的缩减。此类半干旱生态脆弱矿区国土空间生态修复适宜通过主动的“保护性开发”以及“人工诱导+自然修复”为主的方式,避免大范围与高强度的水土扰动型治理,通过适度的人为干预保证与维持区域内生态系统服务的功能。研究成果不但揭示高强度煤矿开采下的生态环境变化,也对西部生态脆弱区环境做了定量评估;同时,为将来的矿区重建提供了重要的依据。     

基于选择实验法的城市生态系统服务价值评估——以四川温江为例

对城市生态系统服务价值的全面认知是实现城市生态系统可持续发展的基础。论文以四川温江为例,首先,基于选择实验法,构建城市生态系统服务功能属性指标和设置属性水平,了解温江居民对不同状态水平的选择偏好;然后,采用Mixed Logit模型对居民城市生态系统服务效用函数进行拟合,探讨生态系统服务各属性隐含价格和居民补偿剩余;最后,对温江城市生态系统服务价值进行评估。结果表明：1）温江居民对于城市生态系统服务功能偏好由高到低分别为城市小气候、水环境、空气质量、城市噪声污染和休闲娱乐文化。2）各生态系统服务功能属性指标隐含价格分别为：为了在5 a内实现温江城市生态系统服务功能各指标预设目标,空气质量达标天数比率每提高1%,当地居民支付意愿为399.45元/(人·a);河流综合污染指数每下降1%,当地居民支付意愿为564.03元/(人·a);一类地区环境噪声比每降低1%,当地居民支付意愿为295.25元/(人·a);夏季最高温度比每提高1%,当地居民支付意愿为630.81元/(人·a);人均公共绿地面积比重每提高1%,当地居民支付意愿为219.29元/(人·a)。3）为在5 a内实现目标,温江居民的整体人均意愿支付成本为113.59元/(人·a),据此可以计算得出目前温江城市生态系统服务全价值为3 733.08万元/a。     

Modeling soil conservation, water conservation and their tradeoffs:A case study in Beijing

Natural ecosystems provide society with important goods and services. With the rapid increase in human populations and excessive utilization of natural resources, humans frequently enhance the production of some services at the expense of the others. Although the need for tradeoffs between conservation and development is urgent, the lack of efficient methods to assess such tradeoffs has impeded progress. Three land use strategy scenarios (development scenario, plan trend scenario and conservation scenario) were created to forecast potential changes in ecosystem services from 2007 to 2050 in Beijing, China. GIS-based techniques were used to map spatial and temporal distribution and changes in ecosystem services for each scenario. The provision of ecosystem services differed spatially, with significant changes being associated with different scenarios. Scenario analysis of water yield (as average annual yield) and soil retention (as retention rate per unit area) for the period 2007 to 2050 indicated that the highest values for these parameters were predicted for the forest habitat under all three scenarios. Annual yield/retention of forest, shrub, and grassland ranked the highest in the conservation scenario. Total water yield and soil retention increased in the conservation scenario and declined dramatically in the other two scenarios, especially the development scenario. The conservation scenario was the optimal land use strategy, resulting in the highest soil retention and water yield. Our study suggests that the evaluation and visualization of ecosystem services can effectively assist in understanding the tradeoffs between conservation and development. Results of this study have implications for planning and monitoring future management of natural capital and ecosystem services, which can be integrated into land use decision-making.     

生态系统服务价值与人类活动强度关联性分析及权衡——以淇河流域为例

以淇河流域为研究对象，利用2000~2015年土地利用/覆被数据，结合当量因子法修正中国陆地不同生态系统服务价值当量表，采用双变量相关分析法和生态系统服务权衡模型分析生态系统服务权衡协同关系，引入人类活动强度指数评估模型分析人类活动影响空间特征，运用空间自相关探讨人类活动影响与生态系统服务价值的空间关联性及LISA聚类分析.结果表明：（1）2000~2015年淇河流域生态系统服务价值呈下降趋势，2010年生态系统服务最低（19.29亿元），废物处理平均价值最大（3.68亿元），娱乐文化平均价值最小（0.81亿元）；（2）从生态系统权衡协同关系来看，两种相关性分析均表明研究区生态系统服务以协同关系为主，由线性关系发现供给服务、调节服务与支持服务呈现为互为增益的协同关系，文化服务与支持服务、供给服务、调节服务分别表现为此消彼长的权衡关系，生态系统服务权衡协同度表明土壤保持和原材料及土壤保持和生物多样性协同度最高（4.4），权衡度最高（-5.2）为水源涵养和原材料、水源涵养和生物多样性；（3）淇河流域人类活动强度空间分异显著，流域下游人类活动影响强度明显高于上游地区，人类活动强度与生态系统服务价值空间相关性由正相关转向负相关.     

秦巴山区生态系统服务与居民福祉耦合关系的时空变化

保护生态系统、提高居民福祉是实现联合国2030可持续发展目标的核心内容。在分析秦巴山区生态系统服务与居民福祉时空演化特征的基础上,采用弹性系数揭示了二者的时空耦合关系。研究发现：（1）1990—2018年秦巴山区水源涵养总量、土壤保持总量均呈波动下降趋势,碳储量总量则呈缓慢增长趋势,且各生态系统服务呈不同的空间分异特征。（2）1990—2018年居民福祉呈上升趋势,增幅高达220%,并呈“南高北低”的分布格局。（3）县域尺度上,三种生态系统服务与居民福祉明显不协调发展。其中,水源涵养、固碳服务与居民福祉的耦合关系均以“福祉增—服务减”为主,占比分别为88.75%、62.5%;而土壤保持服务与居民福祉的耦合关系则以“双增”为主,占比为57.5%。此外,各项生态系统服务与居民福祉反向变化区多分布于汉江河谷盆地和秦岭山脉中段。研究结果可为促进贫困山区生态系统服务与居民福祉协调发展提供决策依据。     

城市区域开发对生态系统服务功能影响评价—以东莞市为例

以东莞市为例,运用环境经济学方法对“十一五”期间城市区域开发对生态系统服务功能的影响进行评价。2011年东莞市生态系统服务功能总价值约为25．44亿元,较2005年（31．20亿元）减少18．5％。气体调节、气候调节、水源涵养等9种生态系统服务功能价值均有不同程度的减少,其中水源涵养、废物处理和休闲娱乐3种生态系统服务功能的价值减少均超过20％。结果表明,东莞城市建设已经对区域生态系统服务功能造成了较大的影响,土地利用方式有待进一步优化。     

Is river rehabilitation economically viable in water-scarce basins?

Decisions on river rehabilitation actions are often based on cost-benefit analyses taking into account the costs and benefits of the considered management actions, but ecosystem services are often not included as benefits, despite recent evidences on the effects of river rehabilitations on ecosystem services. A cost-benefit analysis integrating market and non-market costs and benefits was undertaken in this study to assess the economic feasibility of a river rehabilitation project in a water scarce region, the Yarqon River Rehabilitation project (Israel). In this case, the costs included both the capital costs of implementing rehabilitation measures (including maintenance costs) and the opportunity costs of water allocation (foregone benefits to farmers from water provisioning for agriculture). The benefits of rehabilitation included the net marginal benefits of the cultural ecosystem services at local scale (estimated with a hedonic pricing method), and at regional scale (estimated with a value function transfer), in addition to the habitat service gene-pool protection (estimated with a replacement cost method). Bearing in mind the uncertainties surrounding water resource management decisions, especially in water scarce areas, a sensitivity and risk analysis was conducted using an analysis that included both Monte Carlo simulations and the standardized regression coefficients method. The rehabilitation of the Yarqon River provided positive net present values (approximately $139 million in 30-year period). This was thanks to the provision of cultural ecosystem services and despite the high rehabilitation costs, and that the massive water reallocation involved high foregone benefits to farmers. Therefore, these results highlight that river rehabilitation in water scarce regions can be economically viable due to the social amenity demand for urban rivers.