Ecosystem Services Indicators

Ecosystem services are the benefits that people derive from nature, that directly or indirectly underpin human economies and livelihoods. Beginning with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005, efforts have been underway to help governments, businesses, and multilateral development banks include ecosystem services concepts into policy planning and decision-making. Ultimately, this integration requires the availability of concise, relevant information about ecosystems and the benefits and services they provide.

However, as elaborated by WRI analysis, ecosystem service metrics and indicators are underdeveloped, as are the tools to support their application. Overcoming this limitation will require metrics and indicators that communicate the current state and trends of ecosystems, ecosystem services, biodiversity in general, and the benefits that these provide. As these metrics become available, it will be increasingly possible to support policy-makers’ use of ecosystem services approaches in public and private sector decision-making.

Ecosystem Service Indicators Initiatives

WRI’s Ecosystem Service Indicators project is working to implement the preliminary recommendations identified in Measuring Nature’s Benefits: A Preliminary Roadmap for Improving Ecosystem Service Indicators:

• Convene an international partnership of institutions to develop ecosystem service metrics and indicators, and frameworks to organize and apply them in policy processes;
• Test ecosystem service indicators in national level policy processes;
• Develop models to organize ecosystem service indicators and visualization tools to help policy-makers apply ecosystem services concepts;
• Engage sub-global assessments to capitalize on the scientific and policy analysis expertise gathered for these undertakings;
• Support research focused on developing improved indicators;
• Ensure data availability and quality, in part by incorporating indicators for all ecosystem services into data-gathering institutions’ mandates.

Convening an Indicators Partnership

In collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Commission for Ecosystem Management (CEM), WRI is convening an experts meeting on ecosystem service indicators in September, 2009. In addition to recommendations on developing indicators and frameworks, a priority for the meeting is to identify common priorities for next steps on ecosystem service indicators, and possible steps toward forming a partnership to realize those priorities.

An Ecosystem Service Indicators Database

Building on Measuring Nature’s Benefits, WRI is compiling an online database of ecosystem services indicators. This database is intended to help policy-makers, business managers, ecosystem assessment teams and others apply the ecosystem services approach. Better indicators for ecosystem systems services, their drivers and pressures will help practitioners better understand both the benefits that ecosystem services provide, and how they can reduce harmful impacts.

If you would like more information about the Ecosystem Service Indicators Database, or to be notified when it is launched, please contact Christian Layke.