Linking ecosystem services to strategic environmental assessment in development policies

This paper first, introduces the concept of mainstreaming ecosystem services by showing its relevance for development planning. Second, it presents the role and importance of strategic environmental assessment in designing and implementation of development policy. Third, the paper sets-out the concept of economic valuation of ecosystem services by discussing what it means and what is at stake if valuation of ecosystem services is ignored in the process of development policy making. The methods of capturing economic contribution of ecosystem services at policy level are discussed with examples in the paper.The main focus of this paper is how ecosystem services can be used in policy scale environmental impact assessment. The paper argues that ecosystem services can be an appropriate indicator to weight developmental policies, programs and plans to ensure the consideration of environmental balancing at the policy level. The paper suggests that the roles of ecosystem services in macroeconomic policies including ecosystem accounting, poverty alleviation and employment generation can be used to link environmental policies and SEA with development policies for a successful impact assessment at policy and program levels. By building upon the various contemporary initiatives within UNEP and outside, the paper in its synthesis section, flags-up necessary knowledge gaps, challenges and lessons learned in integrating values of ecosystem services in strategic environmental assessments.     

Multi-actor involvement for integrating ecosystem services in strategic environmental assessment of spatial plans

Integrating an ecosystem services (ES) approach into Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of spatial plans potentially enhances the consideration of the value of nature in decision making and policy processes. However, there is increasing concern about the institutional context and a lack of a common understanding of SEA and ecosystem services for adopting them as an integrated framework. This paper addresses this concern by analysing the current understanding and network relations in a multi-actor arrangement as a first step towards a successful integration of ES in SEA and spatial planning. Our analysis focuses on a case study in Chile, where we administered a questionnaire survey to some of the main actors involved in the spatial planning process. The questionnaire focused on issues such as network relations among actors and on conceptual understanding, perceptions and challenges for integrating ES in SEA and spatial planning, knowledge on methodological approaches, and the connections and gaps in the science-policy interface. Our findings suggest that a common understanding of SEA and especially of ES in a context of multiple actors is still at an initial stage in Chile. Additionally, the lack of institutional guidelines and methodological support is considered the main challenge for integration. We conclude that preconditions exist in Chile for integrating ES in SEA for spatial planning, but they strongly depend on appropriate governance schemes that promote a close science-policy interaction, as well as collaborative work and learning.     

Assessing the impact of alternative land-use zoning policies on future ecosystem services

Land use conversions rank among the most significant drivers of change in ecosystem services worldwide, affecting human wellbeing and threatening the survival of other species. Hence, predicting the effects of land use decisions on ecosystem services has emerged as a crucial need in spatial planning, and in the associated Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) practice. The paper presents a case-study research aimed at empirically exploring how the implementation of different land-use zoning policies affect the future provision of a set of ecosystem services (water purification, soil conservation, habitat for species, carbon sequestration and timber production). The study area is located in The Araucanía, one of Chile's Administrative Regions. The first part of the methods consisted in the construction of land-use scenarios associated to different policies. Subsequently, the effects of the land-use scenarios on the provision of the selected ecosystem services were assessed in a spatially explicit way, by using modeling tools. Finally, a set of metrics was developed to compare scenarios, and trade-offs in the provision of different ecosystem services were made explicit through trade-off curves. The results indicate that, for this case study, spatial configuration of land uses is as an important factor as their size. This suggests that the analysis of land-use patterns deserves attention, and that this information should be included in scenario exercises aimed to support spatial planning. The paper concludes by discussing the potential contribution of the approach to support SEA of spatial plans.     

Biodiversity and ecosystem services in strategic environmental assessment: An evaluation of six Australian cases

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) aims to provide a sound theoretical basis on which to plan for biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES). With the multi-purpose and increasing use of SEA worldwide, it is timely to evaluate the effectiveness of SEA practice in integrating biodiversity and ES considerations. Here, we derive criteria from the International Best Practice Principles on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Impact Assessment to evaluate six Australian SEAs conducted for urban development plans. We use qualitative and quantitative content analysis to examine the endorsed SEA reports. We identify and analyse text references related to the evaluation criteria and use word counting of keywords to supplement and cross-check the validity of our findings. Four significant results emerge from our analysis. First, while goals to achieve no net loss (NNL) or net gain outcomes for biodiversity are mentioned in all case studies, their poor specification may limit their effectiveness. Second, there is limited integration of ES considerations into the SEA reports, limiting the potential advantages that such an approach could provide. Third, offsetting is the most documented type of mitigation measure, potentially signalling a lack of evidence in implementing early steps of the mitigation hierarchy, including avoidance. This could be explained by the low level of integration of biodiversity and ES considerations from the early stages in the planning process, where there is more flexibility to apply such steps. Fourth, biodiversity management systems and follow-up activities lack detailed information to judge whether they will be useful to demonstrate NNL outcomes. Based on these findings, we present recommendations for enhancing the integration of biodiversity and ES considerations in SEAs. Our approach provides a general framework that can be applied to evaluate SEAs elsewhere in the world from a biodiversity and ES conservation perspective.     

Integrating ecosystem services in spatial planning and strategic environmental assessment: The role of the cascade model

Over the last decade, the ecosystem service (ES) approach has gained increasing attention because it offers important advantages for enhancing decision-making. However, a key and remaining challenge is how to implement this approach in real-world decision problems. This challenge is particularly relevant for governance and policy instruments, such as spatial planning and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), where including the ES approach is recognized as a great opportunity for achieving sustainable development goals. Consequently, this opinion paper proposes the use of the ES cascade model, as the basis to develop a framework that makes explicit the links among development objectives, sustainability goals, and the overall dependency on the ES supply. The main reflections address the need for a collaborative work between policy and science as a cross-cutting aspect for an interactive, participative and transparent research process that allows 1) the development of spatial indicators of ecosystem structures, 2) valuation and spatial modeling of ES, 3) identification of benefits and networks of actors, 4) the definition of values and, 5) generation of scenarios for a trade-off assessment of development alternatives. Finally, in addition to the information and knowledge generation regarding multi-scale relationships of the different components of the ES cascade, real-world evidence is urgently needed.     

Equity-focused health impact assessment: A tool to assist policy makers in addressing health inequalities

In Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) the use of health impact assessment (HIA) as a tool for improved policy development is comparatively new. The public health workforce do not routinely assess the potential health and equity impacts of proposed policies or programs. The Australasian Collaboration for Health Equity Impact Assessment was funded to develop a strategic framework for equity-focused HIA (EFHIA) with the intent of strengthening the ways in which equity is addressed in each step of HIA. The collaboration developed a draft framework for EFHIA that mirrored, but modified the commonly accepted steps of HIA; tested the draft framework in six different health service delivery settings; analysed the feedback about application of the draft EFHIA framework and modified it accordingly. The strategic framework shows promise in providing a systematic process for identifying potential differential health impacts and assessing the extent to which these are avoidable and unfair. This paper presents the EFHIA framework and discusses some of the issues that arose in the case study sites undertaking equity-focused HIA.     

Exploring spatial change and gravity center movement for ecosystem services value using a spatially explicit ecosystem services value index and gravity model

Spatially explicit ecosystem services valuation and change is a newly developing area of research in the field of ecology. Using the Beijing region as a study area, the authors have developed a spatially explicit ecosystem services value index and implemented this to quantify and spatially differentiate ecosystem services value at 1-km grid resolution. A gravity model was developed to trace spatial change in the total ecosystem services value of the Beijing study area from a holistic point of view. Study results show that the total value of ecosystem services for the study area decreased by 19.75% during the period 1996?C2006 (3,226.2739 US$ × 10⁶ in 1996, 2,589.0321 US$ × 10⁶ in 2006). However, 27.63% of the total area of the Beijing study area increased in ecosystem services value. Spatial differences in ecosystem services values for both 1996 and 2006 are very clear. The center of gravity of total ecosystem services value for the study area moved 32.28 km northwestward over the 10 years due to intensive human intervention taking place in southeast Beijing. The authors suggest that policy-makers should pay greater attention to ecological protection under conditions of rapid socio-economic development and increase the area of green belt in the southeastern part of Beijing.     

Air quality impact assessment

Air quality impact assessment (AQIA) is an important technique for determining the relative contribution to ground level pollutant concentrations of specific current or future source emissions at receptor sites. The principal activities in AQIA are air quality modelling and monitoring techniques. The choice of techniques which are applicable to a particular situation is intimately related to the problem to be assessed. A review of relevant modelling techniques has been presented, with emphasis placed on Gaussian plume models because of their ease of use and broad applicability. Alternative modelling techniques have been suggested when departures from the Gaussian form in the atmosphere occurs or when more detailed information on atmospheric chemistry, deposition or long range transport is required. The objectives and techniques of ambient air quality monitoring have been examined and the siting of instruments, duration and frequency of sampling, choice of monitoring rationale (fixed or mobile), minimization of sampling errors, data storage and analysis are discussed. Modelling and monitoring are essential to successful AQIA. An orderly approach to the principles and procedures involved in performing AQIA studies, using these two techniques in conjunction, has been presented.     

Ecosystem services inclusive strategic environmental assessment

A consistent framework to address biodiversity, ecosystem services and their societal values is now established with the MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) and the TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity). These and other studies point to the urgency in considering actions that can revert the process of degradation of biodiversity values and its supporting ecosystems. Safeguarding livelihoods is a common objective in ecosystem approaches as well as in strategic environmental assessment (SEA) effort to promote sustainability. Human activities, as direct and indirect development drivers, are crucial targets for SEA to have a strategic contribution in influencing priorities, by showing strategic reasons for change. Rather than keeping only a control and mitigation role on the assessment of effects and impacts of development on the environment, SEA has the capacity to understand the decisional and development context and to drive development opportunities into pathways that are inclusive of environmental and sustainability priorities. The development opportunities provided by ecosystem services can be explored in SEA through strategic approaches to enhance the value of the benefits and avoid the negative impact of human actions on ecosystem services. SENSU, a research team at IST-Portugal, advocates the strategic-based and collaborative oriented approach in SEA based on Partidario (2007) SEA framework of critical decision factors (CDF). A methodology to allow the consideration of ecosystem services in SEA is being developed and tested. This paper will share research advances on how ecosystem services can be incorporated into SEA as a fundamental component of strategic assessment in support of decision-making.     

Logical chains in territorial impact assessment

In a way similar to the established impact assessment system (e.g. EIA, SEA), territorial impact assessment (TIA) explores the causal links between proposed actions and impacts. TIA constitutes a case of special interest in impact assessment as it operates at an uncommonly high tier of proposed action – e.g. EU directives – with a wide reach of potential outcomes, at various scales. Recent TIA developments have been using a causality analysis technique known as ‘logical chains’, and it is precisely here that a recent experimental application of TIA encountered shortcomings capable of compromising TIA itself. The article reports on these shortcomings, conceptual and practical resolutions, as well as case-study feedback from stakeholders.     

Computer-aided rapid environmental impact assessment

Environmental impact assessment of a project attempts to bring about compatibility between ecology and economics. A computer-aided, quantitative and rapid methodology for environmental impact assessment is presented in this paper. The cost of abatement of deleterious environmental impacts is one of the factors used to identify the best project option from environmental and cost considerations. The methodology is based on the three basic steps of environmental impact assessment vis-à-vis identification, prediction, and evaluation. Several models and predictors for different environmental components are incorporated in the computer program. An evaluation method is presented based on mathematical functions for value function graphs for different aesthetic, environmental, and health risks.