scholarly journals Integrating ecosystem markets to co-ordinate landscape-scale public benefits from nature

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0258334
Author(s):  
Mark S. Reed ◽  
Tom Curtis ◽  
Arjan Gosal ◽  
Helen Kendall ◽  
Sarah Pyndt Andersen ◽  
...  

Ecosystem markets are proliferating around the world in response to increasing demand for climate change mitigation and provision of other public goods. However, this may lead to perverse outcomes, for example where public funding crowds out private investment or different schemes create trade-offs between the ecosystem services they each target. The integration of ecosystem markets could address some of these issues but to date there have been few attempts to do this, and there is limited understanding of either the opportunities or barriers to such integration. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of eleven ecosystem markets in operation or close to market in Europe, based on qualitative analysis of 25 interviews, scheme documentation and two focus groups. Our results indicate three distinct types of markets operating from the regional to national scale, with different modes of operation, funding and outcomes: regional ecosystem markets, national carbon markets and green finance. The typology provides new insights into the operation of ecosystem markets in practice, which may challenge traditionally held notions of Payment for Ecosystem Services. Regional ecosystem markets, in particular, represent a departure from traditional models, by using a risk-based funding model and aggregating both supply and demand to overcome issues of free-riding, ecosystem service trade-offs and land manager engagement. Central to all types of market were trusted intermediaries, brokers and platforms to aggregate supply and demand, build trust and lower transaction costs. The paper outlines six options for blending public and private funding for the provision of ecosystem services and proposes a framework for integrating national carbon markets and green finance with regional ecosystem markets. Such integration may significantly increase funding for regenerative agriculture and conservation across multiple habitats and services, whilst addressing issues of additionality and ecosystem service trade-offs between multiple schemes.

Author(s):  
Xiaolong Gao ◽  
Binbin Huang ◽  
Ying Hou ◽  
Weihua Xu ◽  
Hua Zheng ◽  
...  

Ecological compensation is a crucial policy instrument that realigns the benefits of stakeholders to the ecosystem service provision. However, the spatial disconnections between locations where ecosystem services produced and used are common. The supply and demand for ecosystem services are calculated to reflect the status of the districts or counties based on ecosystem service flows. The replacement cost methods provide necessary technical supports for the calculation of compensation funds. The realigning of compensation funds between service-benefiting areas and service-providing areas not only identifies the beneficiaries and suppliers but also realizes the connection between them, which may be a feasible methodology. Fuzhou City is the study area, and two ecosystem services of water conservation and soil retention were taken into consideration. The prioritized development zone, Linchuan, and the key agricultural production zones paid ecological compensation funds. Linchuan paid the highest, 5.76 billion yuan. The key ecological function zones and the key agricultural production zones received the ecological compensation funds, of which Yihuang obtained the highest, 1.66 billion yuan. The realigning of compensation funds between the service benefiting and providing areas addresses the trade-offs between ecosystem services, social development, and ecosystem protection. Embedding the ecosystem service flows into the ecological compensation mechanism can most truly realize the value of ecosystem services, achieve the “beneficiary pays” principle, and be conducive to regional sustainable development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solveig Höfer ◽  
Alex Ziemba ◽  
Ghada El Serafy

Abstract The concept of ecosystem services is gaining attention in the context of sustainable resource management. However, it is inherently difficult to account for tangible and intangible services in a combined model. The aim of this study is to extend the definition of ecosystem service trade-offs by using Bayesian Networks to capture the relationship between tangible and intangible ecosystem services. Tested is the potential of creating such a network based on existing literature and enhancement via expert elicitation. This study discusses the significance of expert elicitation to enhance the value of a Bayesian Network in data-restricted case studies, underlines the importance of inclusion of experts’ certainty, and demonstrates how multiple sources of knowledge can be combined into one model accounting for both tangible and intangible ecosystem services. Bayesian Networks appear to be a promising tool in this context, nevertheless, this approach is still in need of further refinement in structure and applicable guidelines for expert involvement and elicitation for a more unified methodology.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 563
Author(s):  
Ruida Li ◽  
Ruonan Li ◽  
Hua Zheng ◽  
Yanzheng Yang ◽  
Zhiyun Ouyang

Specific forest restoration aims to maximum ecosystem services (ESs); however, the complex trade-offs among ecosystem services pose considerable challenges for fulfilling such goals. Based on forest restoration on Hainan Island, China, we integrated spatially explicit models of ecosystem services and spatial prioritization techniques based on the efficiency frontier between habitat quality and plantation revenue to analyze the impacts of decision-makers’ preferences on optimal configurations of forest restoration. We then investigated the effects of different optimal restoration schemes on water purification, soil retention, carbon sequestration, and coastal hazard mitigation. Based on our results, plantation revenue and habitat quality exhibited an obvious trade-off during the process of restoration. Forest restoration patterns also varied with the degree of preference for plantation yield or habitat quality, indicating that understanding ecosystem service tradeoffs can support the optimal selection of forest restoration schemes under different preferences. However, when the values of multiple ecosystem services associated with forest restoration were considered (e.g., water purification, soil retention, carbon sequestration, and coastal hazard mitigation), the optimal solution choice varied. Our results suggest the application of the efficiency frontier can deepen quantitative understanding of ecosystem service trade-offs, and the addition of multi-benefit evaluation based on optimal solutions can provide a more detailed and broader picture of forest restoration plans. Integrated efficiency frontier assessment with the valuation of ecosystem services associated with forest restoration provides a quantitative approach for optimal forest restoration, which can be applied in broad forest restoration programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Liu ◽  
Liang Zheng ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
Yonghao Liao

AbstractPoyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China and is an important wetland in the world. The scientific assessment of ecosystem service trade-offs in Poyang Lake Basin is of great significance for maintaining regional ecological balance and global biodiversity. This study uses land use as the main data source and the “equivalent factor method” to estimate the ecosystem service value of the Poyang Lake Basin from 1990 to 2015; the study also analyzes the trade-off synergy among ecosystem services. On this basis, land use information was simulated under three scenarios: planning scenario (government policy-oriented), development scenario (economic benefit-oriented), and protection scenario (ecological protection-oriented). The trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services under different scenarios were evaluated. The results demonstrate that the ecosystem service value for the entire basin steadily increased from 1990 to 2015. The relationships among ecosystem services in the basin were mainly synergistic, and there were few trade-offs. Among the three simulation scenarios, the ecosystem service value was the highest and the trade-offs among ecosystem services were the lowest under the protection scenario, the ecosystem service value was the lowest and the trade-offs among ecosystem services were the highest under the development scenario, and the trade-offs under the planning scenario were between the values of the protection scenario and the development scenario. From the perspective of maximizing the value of ecosystem services and minimizing trade-offs in ecosystem services, the protection scenario is the optimal scenario among the three scenarios.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingqiao Kong

<p>The complex trade-offs of ecosystem services make ecosystem management difficult to achieve win-win goals, especially in a watershed with intensive agriculture. Although a lot of research has been carried out on the types, characteristics and harmonized measures of ecosystem service trade-offs, how to achieve synergistic gain through effective land use management still lacks quantitative Optimization. Combined with models of land use optimization and spatially assessment of ecosystem services, the study build a multi-objective function and a land use optimization method to realize maximization of the total benefit based on the characteristics of ecosystem service trade-off and the driving factors in the Dongting Lake watershed, which is one of the priority areas for ecological protection in China and is also agricultural intensive. First we quantitatively model the water purification service, sediment reduction service and agricultural production using field observation and spatial models of ecosystem services, then the integrated response characteristics of multi-objectives are analyzed according to different land use scenarios based on driven mechanism of ecosystem service trade-offs. Finally the way of optimizing land use allocation and synergetic development of multiple ecosystem services in the watershed is proposed to provide quantitative means for regional land use optimization.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Fu ◽  
Pei Xu ◽  
Yukuan Wang ◽  
Yingman Guo

Ecological management based on the ecosystem approach promotes ecological protection and the sustainable use of natural resources. We developed a quantitative approach to identify the ecological function zones at the country-scale, through integrating supply and demand of ecosystem services. We selected the biologically diverse hotspot of Baoxing County, which forms a part of the Sichuan Giant Panda World Heritage Site, to explore the integration of ecosystem services supply and demand for ecosystem management. Specifically, we assessed the various support, provision, regulating, and cultural services as classified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. We applied the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) model to spatially map habitat quality, water retention, and carbon sinks, and used statistical data to evaluate food products, animal husbandry, and product supply services. We then quantified the demands for these services in terms of population, protected species, hydropower, water, and land use. The relationship between areas of supply and areas of demand was discussed for each township, and the spatial variability in the supply–demand relationship was also considered. As a result, we spatially divided the county into six ecological functional areas, and the linkages between each region were comprehensively discussed. This study thus provides a detailed methodology for the successful implementation of an ecosystem management framework on a county-scale based on the spatial partitioning of supply and demand.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Peng Tian ◽  
Jialin Li ◽  
Luodan Cao ◽  
Ruiliang Pu ◽  
Hongbo Gong ◽  
...  

Ecosystem services (ESs) is a term used to describe the foundations of the well-being of human society, and several relevant studies have been carried out in this area. However, given the fact that the complex trade-offs/synergy relationships of ESs are a challenging area, studies on matching mechanisms for ES supply and demand are still rare. In this study, using the InVEST model, ArcGIS, and other professional tools, we first mapped and quantitatively evaluated the supply and demand of five ES types (water yield, soil conservation, carbon retention, food supply, and leisure and entertainment) in Hangzhou, China, based on land use, meteorology, soil, and socio-economic data. Then, we analyzed the matching characteristics between the supply and demand of these ESs and analyzed the complex trade-offs and synergy between the supply and demand of ESs and factors affecting ESs. The results of this analysis indicate that although the ES supply and demand of carbon retention tended to be out of balance (supply was less than demand), the supply and demand of the other four ES types (i.e., water yield, soil conservation, food supply, and leisure and entertainment) were in balance (supply exceeded demand). Finally, the spatial heterogeneity of the supply and demand of ESs in Hangzhou was significant, especially in urban areas in the northeast and mountainous areas in the southwest. The supply of ESs was based on trade-offs, whereas the demand of ESs was based on synergy. Our results further show that the supply and demand of ESs in the urban area in Hangzhou were out of balance, whereas the supply and demand of ESs in the western region were coordinated. Therefore, the linkage of ES flows between this urban area and the western region should be strengthened. This innovative study could provide useful information for regional land use planning and environmental protection.


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