WRI Stories Feed: People & Ecosystems

Fact Sheet: Stacking Payments for Ecosystem Services

Nicholas Bianco — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:29:42 -0500

Payments for ecosystem services are becoming an increasingly important part of the U.S. business and regulatory landscape. As programs that provide payments for ecosystem services grow, policy makers will need to determine how these various payments should interact with each other.

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Introduction

Payments for ecosystem services are becoming an increasingly important part of the U.S. business and regulatory landscape. Used properly, these payments can efficiently mitigate greenhouse gases, filter pollution from runoff, protect wildlife habitat, and prevent soil erosion. Recognizing this, the American Clean Energy Security Act establishes a cap-and-trade program that allows firms to “offset” their greenhouse gas emissions through practices that reduce or sequester greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere. Some state governments are also expanding water quality trading programs that allow facilities that discharge water pollutants to avoid expensive facility upgrades by, for example, paying farmers to improve land management practices. There are also long-standing federal programs that pay farmers and forest landowners for providing a range of ecosystem services, such as protection of wildlife habitat and prevention of erosion.

As programs that provide payments for ecosystem services grow, policy makers will need to determine how these various payments should interact with each other. This interaction presents an opportunity to expand the suite of services for which an ecosystem is managed. However, it also creates the risk that multiple payments will be made for the same ecosystem services, possibly reducing the efficiency of payments or diminishing the environmental benefits they were intended to provide. This factsheet offers an initial review of these risks and opportunities. It is part of a larger effort by WRI to develop a comprehensive framework for stacking payments for ecosystem services.

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Green Taxation

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:13:56 -0500

Ecosystem Services is playing a growing role in Brazilian environmental law.

Note: This post is a translation of the original article in Portuguese by Juliana Lopes with Ana Carolina Addario, which appeared on Ideia Socioambiental. It is posted here with permission.

The environmental legal dictionary has a new entry. The word is incentive, an economic benefit granted by the government, through taxes, to stimulate economic, social, and cultural activities. This practice is not new in traditional economic segments such as the automotive and construction industries. However, incentives to stimulate sustainable development are advancing in Brazilian environmental legislation.

Called active control, this new mechanism differs from the command and control methods traditionally adopted by governments and legislators. “Instead of discouraging certain behaviors, we seek to encourage positive attitudes. The establishment of sanctions only, adds nothing in terms of proactive behavior. It is therefore important to prioritize incentives”, says Judge Consuelo Yatsuda Moromizato, a federal judge with significant experience in environmental law.

Examples of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) in Brazil

Proambiente: Family Production Socio-environmental Development Program (Proambiente), created in 2000 by civil society and incorporated by the Ministry of Environment (MMA) in 2003, awards farmers and ranchers with up to one-third of the minimum wage when they incorporate less destructive production practices, such as not using pesticides or introducing sustainable agroforestry systems(SAF’s)
Ecological ICMS: Brazilian states give 25% of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) to cities. Some municipalities allocate 5% of these funds for environmental preservation projects
Environmental compensation: companies financially compensate for projects’ unavoidable environmental impacts (for example, testing chemicals at sea for drilling oil). States use these funds to invest in conservation projects
Reforestation: focused on timber companies, it promotes reforestation either through compliance with forest management rules (tree cutting restrictions), or paying for tree replacement, which will fund reforestation in other areas
Tax exemption for Private Reserves of Natural Heritage - RPPNs: exempts RPPN owners from paying the Rural Land Tax (ITR)
In deployment phase: some PES policies are not yet implemented, awaiting approval or regulation. This is the case, for example, of the ecological income tax (IR) scheme, which proposes a tax deduction for expenses on projects with an environmental benefit.

This new logic reflects the evolution of the guiding elements in environmental legislation. “The ‘polluter pays’ principle was initially used as a way to internalize the costs of environmental impacts, which were considered externalities,” she explains. Next, came the principle of ‘the user pays,’ which distinguishes between the polluter and the offender. “This concept envisages compensation for the use of natural resources, as occurs with the law of royalties for oil exploration,” she says.

These tax and fiscal mechanisms play an important role, especially in the transition to a low carbon economy, by encouraging the adoption of cleaner technologies. “It is essential that governments create policies through subsidized financing that encourage and enable the purchase of equipment. This public sector contribution will help promote a technological change by companies that will advance the transition toward a sustainable economy,” says Consuelo.

To Adriano Pires, president of the Center for Infrastructure (CBIE), incentive policies can be important tools for the development of new sources of renewable energy in Brazil. But in his analysis, the government still does not make proper use of these mechanisms. “The country needs policies that define what will be in the energy portfolio of the future. The implementation of these policies requires fiscal and tax mechanisms, which unfortunately are still underutilized. The government has not given any medium nor long-term signals to investors or consumers. Tax policy in relation to energy should be discussed because gasoline, diesel, and other fossil fuels cannot be a priority for the country due to their high environmental costs,” he says.

Other countries’ Payment for Environmental Services (PES) Initiatives

Mexico: The government rewards communities and owners of rural properties for preserving their forests and watersheds
Costa Rica: the government created a tax levied on the consumption of water and gasoline. The amount collected is given to forest owners for providing environmental services (about $80USD per hectare per year).

It is true though, that promoting the uptake of incentives will require a paradigm shift. According to Werner Grau Neto, managing partner at Pedro Pinheiro Lawyers, the best example of this transition is the Legal Amazon. Created in 1953 to be a hub of economic development, the region received a series of stimuli, such as preferential loan rates, designed to expand agribusiness. “Today, the paradigm has changed. The Legal Amazon is no longer an area focused purely on economic expansion; it has become an area of sustainable economic development. Instead of just developing, now it undertakes preservation to develop,” he said.

Environmental Services

Ongoing deforestation in the Amazon is a clear indication that the punitive mechanisms imposed by Brazilian law have not been sufficient to protect the environment. The integration of market instruments and self-regulation into national regulation is imperative, in order to balance long-term economic activity and ecosystem well-being.

This challenge becomes clear when the condition of environmental services is examined. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), a scientific inventory led by the United Nations, 15 of the 24 environmental services considered essential to human life are gradually disappearing or losing function. As a result of this trend, fisheries, for example, may be unsustainable by 2040 under current trends.

The pricing of these services has been discussed as an effective way to deter the indiscriminate use of natural resources. Thus, to be effective, it is essential that preservation be more profitable than destruction. Within this logic, the carbon market is one of the pioneering and most successful payment schemes for environmental services. But there are also projects and conservation reserves established on the principle of the non-polluter receiver. “The reasoning is simple: just as those who violate the law receive negative sanctions, those who abide by them should receive economic advantages,” says Consuelo.

Werner highlights the experience of the World Bank and the government of Amazonas state in the design of the JUMA Sustainable Development Reserve, in the city Apuí. “By creating a structure for selling forest carbon credits, the initiative provided the necessary resources for maintaining and monitoring the protected area,” he points out.

The same concept applies to farmers who maintain conservation reserves on their properties. “The conservation reserve is a cost to the farmer. However, with the pricing of environmental services and the possibility of developing projects to generate carbon credits, it becomes revenue. This is where the new concept of producer-receiver emerges. It establishes a paradigm shift in the principles that guide legal rules and future public policies,” he says.

In order to promote this practice, the National Water Agency (ANA), in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), initiated a program in 2007 called Water and Forest Producers that pays farmers for restoring and maintaining “standing” forests on their properties.

According to Fernando Veiga, Environmental Services Coordinator of TNC, the initiative seeks to enhance environmental stewardship by offering an environmentally friendly alternative to a society that is used to extraction. Paying conservation bonuses to producers is much more efficient, in economic terms, than having to remedy the problems caused by poor maintenance of services. When the forest and its services aren’t functioning well, the producer ends up having to pay to recover them”, he points out. In the context of local initiatives, some Brazilian cities have established an ecological Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS), whereby 5% of the 25% of tax revenue that states pass to cities will be invested in environmental protection projects. Although laudable, some experts still have reservations about the mechanism.

According to Mauricio Chapinoti, from Pedro Pinheiro Advogados, even working as a promoter, the ecological ICMS has limitations in that it divides already limited amount of government revenues at the risk of being subject to disputes among municipalities. “For investors or consumers, this instrument does not change anything. But from the point of view of cities, it changes a lot because it increases their revenue. However, as the total collected amount does not grow, the other municipalities do not like this kind of decision,” he explains.

Also according to Chapinoti, the proposal currently in Congress to create a green income tax (PL-5974/2005) is subject to similar risk, because it will be categorized as a mechanism for tax incentives, like the Rouanet Law (a tax incentives for cultural and educational investments). “This bill proposes to deduct part of the income tax allocation for environmental projects. But, as the rule puts all these tax benefits in the same box, setting an overall 6% deduction limit, the adoption of this mechanism will make environmental projects compete with cultural projects without changing anything in the state tax waiver.”

Chapinoti claims that it would be better if each type of project respected a specific limit of deduction, as happens today with the Municipal Fund for Children and Adolescent Rights (FUMCAD).

Tax versus Incentive

Across the country, there are many initiatives in favor of laws promoting environmental preservation. In the “Manifesto in Defense of Environmental Tax Reform,” some public defenders and prosecutors endorse tax benefits that reward environmentally sound processes and products, and on the other hand, higher taxation to discourage those who choose activities with high impacts on the environment.

In the same vein, three months ago Congressman Roberto Rocha (PSDB-MA) proposed an amendment to the Constitution (PEC 353/09) that would lay down general guidelines for an “environmental tax reform.” The PEC is based on an Environmental Tax Reform (ETR), a mechanism of tax reform for environmental purposes adopted by several European countries in the 90’s. According to this notion, the degree of increase or decrease of tax burden levied on a certain business activity must be proportional to the environmental benefits or losses it generates. Ultimately, however, the total tax burden should remain the same.

The proposed Brazilian tax reform brings three major changes to the existing Constitution. It

introduces the principle of environment “extrafiscality” (possibility of using taxes as a mechanism for encouraging or discouraging activities) for the entire set of taxes in the country;
establishes tax immunity in favor of goods and services considered environmentally beneficial; and
distributes tax revenues, among the entities of the Federation, using environmental criteria.

Anticipating trends

Facing an increasing pressure for cleaner processes and products, many companies have revised their production processes. Knowing how their activities impact and depend on environmental services inspires shifts in current business models.

The task is far from simple, since conventional corporate metrics ignore externalities, such as environmental and social impacts.

Considering this, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, in partnership with the Meridian Institute and the World Resources Institute (WRI), prepared the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review. The methodology helps companies to assess impacts and dependencies on environmental services to better understand future risks and opportunities.

According to Charles Iceland, Associate at WRI, companies are entering an era of “dual flow” [interdependence with the environment] because they rely on environmental services to produce goods and services, while the health of ecosystems depends on corporations for environmental stewardship. “Knowing the risks that will arise as a result of likely changes in government regulations is important. But knowing which environmental services the company depends on is even more urgent since they can determine business success. Identifying risks and opportunities from ecosystem change should guide every company’s decisions “, says the researcher.

Maps Link Clean Water, Sanitation, and Poverty for Uganda’s Development

Jessica Forres — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:05:13 -0400

A new set of maps illustrating levels of clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, and poverty in Uganda will help guide national development planning.

Limited access to clean water and sanitation threatens not only the health of Ugandans but also their education opportunities,” said Disan Ssozi, assistant commissioner at Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment, co-author of Mapping a Healthier Future: How Spatial Analysis Can Guide Pro-Poor Water and Sanitation Planning in Uganda - a new report released today in Kampala. “The maps and data in this report will help inform Uganda’s water infrastructure planners and protect the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”

In 2004, Uganda’s central government set national targets to increase access to clean water and sanitation to 100 percent in urban areas and 77 percent in rural districts by 2015.

So far, Uganda’s investment plans, which are expected to cost approximately US $1.4 billion, have helped improve drinking water coverage in rural sub-counties, from 25 percent in the early 1990s to 65 percent in 2009. However, work remains to be done to ensure that all areas meet national targets.

Mapping a Healthier Future finds that more than 14 million people live in 506 subcounties that are ahead of the interim target set by Uganda’s planners while approximately 11 million people live in 323 rural subcounties that have not kept pace with national progress on safe drinking water rates. These areas will require special attention and additional investments to keep pace with population growth.

“This report demonstrates that the supply of high quality data combined with analytical capacity can provide new information,” added John B. Male-Mukasa, executive director of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, which supplied detailed, localized maps on poverty levels and sanitation. “Increased use of and support for map-based analysis will strengthen policy planning and will help the government prioritize water, sanitation, and poverty reduction efforts and allocate resources more efficiently.”

Findings from the report also suggest that there is no clear spatial pattern between poverty rates and safe drinking water coverage rates, with past government investments targeting both poor and less poor areas. There are, however, strong geographic patterns in improved sanitation coverage rates, with lower coverage in northern and eastern Uganda, and higher coverage in central and southwestern parts of the country. Data behind the maps show a direct correlation in Uganda between high poverty rates and low access to improved sanitation.

“Improved access to clean water is essential for Uganda’s continued development” said Francis Runumi Mwesigye, health planning commissioner at the Uganda Ministry of Health and co-author of the report. “Water- related illness reduces family members’ ability to work and earn a living, exacerbating the threat of poverty.”

Water-related diseases, such as hepatitis, typhoid, and cholera, caused eight percent of all deaths in Uganda in 2002. Young children are particularly susceptible. Water-borne diarrheal diseases account for 17 percent of the deaths of children under the age of five annually.

Runumi added, “Clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, and improved hygiene are proven weapons against such illnesses.”

“This report is the result of successful collaboration between national ministries in Uganda and international organizations,” said co-author Florence Landsberg, an associate at the World Resources Institute (WRI). “The maps and analysis presented show areas with similar poverty, water, and sanitation characteristics and will help national and local leaders coordinate their interventions to meet 2015 targets.”

The report is the result of collaborative efforts between the Uganda Ministry of Health, the Uganda Ministry of Water and Environment, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the International Livestock Research Institute, and the World Resources Institute.

Maps Guide Water and Sanitation Planning in Africa

Norbert Henninger — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:49:03 -0400

State of the art GIS maps shed new light on Uganda’s development challenges.

A primary challenge for government agencies working on water and sanitation issues is coordination – planning and implementing effective interventions across multiple sectors and actors. Data is often siloed, with poverty figures kept separately from information on water access, sanitation, and hygiene.

A new report, Mapping a Healthier Future, published by the Ugandan government with the World Resources Institute, shows how new kinds of mapping can help tackle these coordination problems and lead to more effective interventions. The report compares for the first time various water and sanitation indicators, helping to identify regions and communities with the greatest need and strengthen poverty reduction efforts.

Uganda: Proportion on Households with Improved Sanitation Facilities, 2002 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps are valuable tools to help overcome common coordination challenges. Better information means better decisions about how to allocate resources, and a good map can literally put all parties on the same page, opening the door for more efficient, transparent decision-making.

An examination of the spatial relationships between poverty, safe drinking water, improved sanitation, and better hygiene behavior can provide new information to help craft more effective—and more evidence-based—investments and poverty reduction efforts. This kind of spatial information can also empower the public to query government priorities, advocate for alternative interventions, and demand better decision-making.

Uganda’s national policy already reflects the central role safe water and sanitation play in addressing poverty. In 2004, Uganda’s central government set ambitious national targets to increase access to clean water and sanitation to 100% in urban areas and 77% in rural districts by 2015.

So far, these investment plans have helped improve drinking water coverage in rural sub-counties, from 25 percent in the early 1990’s to 65 percent in 2009. However, work remains to be done to ensure that all areas meet national targets. That is where the new maps come in. They can help the government see which communities are lagging behind and target the areas that can benefit the most from interventions.

Combining maps with indicators such as poverty rates, unsafe drinking water sources, lack of sanitation facilities, and lack of basic necessities like soap provides a stark picture of trends and needs across the country. “Data behind the maps show a direct correlation in Uganda between a high poverty rates and low access to adequate sanitation facilities,” said Francis Runumi Mwesigye, Health Planning Commissioner at the Uganda Ministry of Heath and co-author of the report.

Photo credit: flickr/travellingtom

Improved access to clean water is essential for Uganda’s continued development. Water-related diseases, such as typhoid, cholera, and hepatitis, caused 8% of all deaths in Uganda in 2002. Young children are particularly susceptible – 17% of all deaths of children under the age of 5 are contributed to water-borne diarrheal diseases.

The Ugandan example shows what is possible for other counties who want to develop their own maps, and the kind of analysis that is possible with the right data. This report follows Mapping a Better Future, a detailed examination of the links between Uganda’s wetlands and the locations of poor communities.

Mapping a Healthier Future is the result of collaborative efforts between the Uganda Ministry of Health, the Uganda Ministry of Water and Environment, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the International Livestock Research Institute, and the World Resources Institute.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Ecosystems and the Business Bottom Line: New Thinking on Nature's Assets

Camilo Ramirez — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:36:30 -0400

Valuing Nature’s Assets: Business Accounts for Fresh Water, Biodiversity, Forests, Coral Reefs and Wetlands for Long-Term Viability and Profit

The earth’s diminishing natural and environmental resources are getting a new look from global business leaders – and not for the sake of philanthropy. Through new analytic approaches and tools that assess and value the fragile ecosystems virtually all businesses depend on, corporate leaders are beginning to understand that natural resources are as important to future profitability as interest rates or capital depreciation schedules.

WHAT: Leaders and experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) will participate in a media briefing on “Ecosystems Services” and a new eco-financial analytic discipline that creates tools for businesses to determine the role local habitats and natural resources play in their corporate bottom lines. The briefing will include a presentation of the Corporate Ecosystems Services Review (ESR), launched by WRI and WBCSD as the first tool of its kind that gives business leaders the ability to assess their own ecosystems risks and opportunities. WBCSD’s new Corporate Ecosystem Valuation Initiative (EVI), to help companies account for the benefits provided by ecosystems as well as the potential cost of their loss, will be outlined. Finally, a case study describing BC Hydro’s approach to ecosystems services, assessment and valuation will also be presented.

WHO: Jonathan Lash, President, WRI Bob Elton, President and CEO, BC Hydro Craig Hanson, Director, People and Ecosystems Program, WRI James Griffiths, Managing Director, WBCSD

WHEN: October 13, 2009, 1:00p.m. – 2:00p.m. (lunch will be available at 12:30)

WHERE: The World Resources Institute 10 G Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 (Metro: Red Line to Union Station)

Rainforest Preservation Project Underway in Indonesia

Jessica Forres — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:26:44 -0400

Palm Oil, Timber and Carbon Offsets (POTICO), a project of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the NewPage Corporation, is making progress toward conserving rainforests in Indonesia by creating an ecologically and fiscally sustainable palm oil industry.

“Oil palm plantations are one of the leading threats to Indonesia’s forests,” said WRI president Jonathan Lash. “POTICO’s revolutionary approach will help a region grow one of its largest industries while protecting its forests.”

Palm oil is a ubiquitous ingredient used in consumer goods, such as snack foods, soaps and cosmetics. To meet growing demand, companies clear-cut large tracts of land to plant oil palm plantations. This has led to the loss of more than 15 million acres of rainforest in Indonesia -one of the top five global emitters of greenhouse gases.

The three-year initiative will help improve the global environment by diverting planned oil palm plantations away from primary rainforests and locate them in areas that have been logged and degraded. Such “swaps” will help ensure that the oil palm industry can expand to meet demand yet reduce deforestation.

The project team recently launched a Web site (ProjectPOTICO.org) with statistics and maps of deforestation in Indonesia, videos on the environmental and social impacts of unsustainable palm oil and up-to-date progress reports. In the field, the team is mapping degraded areas on the Indonesian side of Borneo and working with a number of palm oil industry players in pursuit of the first set of POTICO swaps.

“The project clearly aligns with our desire to see the world’s forests managed as sustainably as we manage our own, ultimately promoting positive climate change,” said Rick Willett, president and chief executive officer for NewPage. “We are pleased to now have a Web site where the public can learn more about the effects of deforestation around the world and strategies for fostering sustainable forest management in the future.”

Caterpillar President, Experts in Clean Tech & Energy Markets Named Directors at WRI

Camilo Ramirez — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:09:36 -0400

The World Resources Institute (WRI) has elected three new members to its board of directors: Kathleen A. McGinty, a specialist in clean technologies and operating partner at Element LLC, Douglas R. Oberhelm, group president of sustainable development at Caterpillar, and Dr. Susan Tierney, an expert in energy policy and economics and a consultant at the Analysis Group, Inc.

The Honorable Kathleen A. McGinty is an operating partner at Element LLC, a private equity firm investing in early and mid-stage clean technology companies, and director of NRG Energy, Energy East, and Weston Solutions.

Previously, Ms. McGinty was Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Chair of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. During her tenure, she helped attract market-leading clean tech and renewable energy companies to Pennsylvania, bringing more than $1 billion in new investment and creating some 3,000 new jobs. Ms. McGinty was also President Clinton’s Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Legislative Assistant and Environmental Advisor to then-Senator Al Gore.

Douglas R. Oberhelman is a group president of Caterpillar, the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. He is responsible for the company’s human services and sustainable development functions as well as Caterpillar’s growing remanufacturing business. He also oversees worldwide manufacturing, marketing and support of industrial and large power systems, industrial gas turbines and Progress Rail Services. Caterpillar was recently named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the ninth consecutive year.

Mr. Oberhelman joined Caterpillar in 1975 and has held a variety of positions including managing director and vice general manager for strategic planning at Caterpillar Japan Ltd. He was elected group president and member of Caterpillar’s executive office in 2002.

Dr. Susan Tierney is managing principal at the Analysis Group, Inc., a consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and business strategy consulting to law firms, corporations, and government agencies. An expert on energy policy and economics, specializing in the electric and gas industries, she has consulted on energy markets, economic and environmental regulation and strategy, energy and renewables policy, and energy facility projects.

She is a former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy. In Massachusetts, Dr. Tierney was previously Secretary of Environmental Affairs, Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Water Resources Agency, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and executive director of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Council.

“I have long admired the unique role that WRI has played on environmental issues, said Dr. Tierney. “I am honored to be part of an organization dedicated to high quality and relevant research and pragmatic solutions.”

These three members join a board that includes: Chairman James A. Harmon, Vice Chair Harriet (Hattie) Babbitt, Chairman Emeritus William D. Ruckelshaus, Vice-Chair Emeritus Alice (Tish) F. Emerson, Roberto Artavia, Gay Barclay, Frances Beinecke, Afsaneh Beschloss, Antony Burgmans, Fernando Henrique Carsdoso, Jessica Catto, Robin Chase, Jining Chen, Leslie Dach, Daniel L. Doctoroff, Jamshyd N. Godrej, Al Gore, Jonathan Lash, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, James W. Owens, Michael Polsky, C.K. Prahalad, Theodore Roosevelt IV, Stephen M. Ross, Alison Sander, James Gustave Speth, Lee M. Thomas, Todd S. Thomson, Diana H. Wall, and Daniel Weiss.

Indicators Needed to Illustrate Benefits from Ecosystems

Jessica Forres — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:58:37 -0400

Existing data and indicators inadequately measure the important benefits people derive from the services nature provides, according to a working paper released today by the World Resources Institute (WRI).

“Indictors, such as unemployment and poverty rates, are used in nearly every sector of the economy to simplify data, identify problem areas, and inform corrective action,” said Christian Layke, an associate at WRI and author of Measuring Nature’s Benefits: A Preliminary Roadmap for Improving Ecosystem Service Indicators. “At present, ecosystem service indicators are based on those originally developed for narrower environmental and economic fields - such as climatology or forestry - leading to conspicuous knowledge and data gaps.”

The world’s ecosystems provide an array of services to people, ranging from basic needs like food and water to less tangible benefits such as pollination and erosion control. According to the working paper, most ecosystem services, especially regulating and cultural services, are being degraded at an alarming rate.

For instance, the Chesapeake Bay’s water quality and ecosystem habitats have been drastically reduced in recent years, resulting in historically low levels of the bay’s oyster and blue crab populations. This degradation has not only threatened the livelihoods of regional fisherman, but has also jeopardized the recreational services that the Bay provides to millions of Americans.

WRI’s paper highlights the knowledge gaps that exist on the contributions ecosystems make to human economic and social well-being. Without this information, policy makers are limited in their ability to integrate ecosystem services into mainstream economic planning and development policy.

The paper also finds that indictors for regulatory and cultural services, such as crop pollination or recreation, lag far behind those for “provisioning services” like crops, livestock, and freshwater. The latter are more tangible and easily perceived by the general public; some are already tracked in many countries’ national economic accounts.

The research builds on the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), which found that an estimated 60% of the planet’s ecosystem services have been degraded. The MA highlighted the need for a robust set of ecosystem service indicators to inform decisions made in the public and private sectors. The WRI working paper represents an important step toward meeting that need.

“The next step is to develop consistent, effective indicators to help policy makers better understand the implications of their decisions on ecosystem services,” said Craig Hanson, Director of WRI’s People and Ecosystems Program. “In turn, this will inform and support policy changes to ensure that ecosystems continue to provide numerous benefits to people.”

Recommendations from WRI’s research suggest the need for a collaborative approach to developing and strengthening ecosystem service indicators, gathering data, and supporting their use by policy makers at the national level.

WRI, the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature are co-hosting an international experts meeting in Cambridge, UK September 22-23, 2009 to reflect upon current indicators and develop a collaborative framework from which to test and apply ecosystem service indicators on a global scale. The meeting will build on WRI’s research and momentum generated from other follow-up work to MA.

Online Resource Puts Ecosystem Services Experts at Fingertips

Jessica Forres — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:55:48 -0400

The World Resources Institute (WRI) and other leading international environmental organizations today launched the Ecosystem Services Experts Directory, a public online directory that allows journalists, business leaders, and governments to locate and contact specialists in ecosystem services.

“Businesses realize that they face material risks and opportunities related to ecosystem degradation,” said Craig Hanson, director of the People and Ecosystems Program at the World Resources Institute.

“Now, for the first time, policy makers and companies have a single place where they can quickly find people who can help them make informed decisions about the environment,” added Nigel Winser of the Earthwatch Institute.

The free, easy-to-use directory enables users to search for country-specific experts in a wide range of ecosystem disciplines. It includes hundreds of expert profiles from environmental organizations around the world, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Ecological Society of America, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s Sub-Global Working Groups.

“With this resource, a policy maker in Mexico, for example, can contact local natural resource economists to assess the value of a nature reserve,” said James Griffiths, managing director of Ecosystems, Water and Sustainable Forest Products Industry at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “Likewise, an agriculture company in India can find water, biodiversity, and agriculture experts to learn about the immediate ecological challenges facing its products.”

“The directory provides an opportunity for experts to share their work and improves scientific communication to decision makers,” said Enrique Lahmann of IUCN.

The Ecosystem Services Experts Directory is a joint venture between WRI, IUCN, WBCSD, and the Earthwatch Institute.

Progress on Amazonian Deforestation and Land Reform

Kaleigh Robinson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:02:07 -0400

President Lula’s targeted vetoes to controversial but landmark legislation mark significant progress towards protecting the Amazon forest.

The bill considered by many to be Brazil’s most important environmental effort in years got a significant boost when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the measure while vetoing several of its most controversial measures.

Provisory Measure 458 will privatize 67.4 million hectares of public land—an area about the size of France—currently occupied illegally in the Brazilian Amazon. Under the new bill, those unlawfully occupying lands of up to 1,500 hectares could receive legal title to such property if they meet certain conditions, including having peacefully obtained the land and keeping it in productive use.

The original intent of the legislation was to sort out a murky, convoluted system of tenure, in which a mere 14% of land claims are estimated to be backed by legitimate title, with the rest supported by counterfeit documentation or simply right of settlement.

“Land regularisation is of fundamental importance for halting deforestation,” says Carlos Minc, Brazil’s current environment minister. As Brazil presently lacks the resources to prevent illegal logging on much of the publicly-owned land covered by the measure, supporters of the legislation argue that the bill will decrease deforestation because legally owned, titled land will be better managed than commonly owned areas, and because all private landholders must comply with another Brazilian law requiring them to maintain 80% of their land forested.

On the other hand, critics of the measure, some even dubbing it “the land grab bill,” contend that the government will be granting legal tenure to grilheiros, those who stole and now occupy land through unlawful and often violent means. With many parts of the region lying beyond the reach of legitimate law enforcement, it may very well be impossible to prove whether land was acquired peacefully or violently.

Lula’s veto

Environmentalists have praised President Lula for vetoing two especially controversial parts of the bill. The vetoes effectively prevent the transfer of public lands in the area to businesses and other legal entities, and prohibit the granting of titles to absentee landholders. Lula’s vetoes will help distinguish small family farms, which account for the majority of land occupation and economic activity in the region, from the big businesses and non-resident land grabbers. The latter two groups are frequently responsible for increased deforestation and resulting greenhouse gas emissions that become part of the estimated 72% of Brazil’s total emissions profile attributed to agricultural and forestry. Lula commented that he had exercised his veto to preserve the original objectives of the measure in the interest of the Brazilian public. “We want to be an example to the world in taking care of our own things,” he said.

Provisory Measure 458 still contains other highly controversial provisions—in particular, a clause that favors the sale of large land plots over small ones (which could lead to speculation), and another that could favor current land occupants over those previously granted titles. While many remain upset that Lula did not veto these and other controversial elements, the President’s action nonetheless demonstrates a federal government that is giving higher priority to environmental concerns than it was previously.