database for educational courses on ecosystem goods and services

Database for educational courses on ecosystem goods and services

Joachim Schmerbeck

NETworking FOrest Plantations in a crowded world: optimising ecosystem services through improved planning and management

supporting innov ative india - e uropean union civil society partnerships

E u ro p ean Uni on - In d ia E co n o m ic C ro s s Cu ltu r a l P r og ram m e

Copyright 2006

Alterra, Wageningen UR, The Netherlands Forest Research Institute, Dehradun India Waldbau Silviculture Institute, Freiburg Germany

Alterra, Wageningen UR P.O Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands Tel: +31317477856 Fax: +31317419000 Website: www.alterra.wur.nl

Forest Research Institute New Forest P.O. Dehradun 248006 Uttranchal India

Institute of Silviculture Tennenbacherstr. 4 79106 Freiburg Germany

Website: http://www.silviculture.uni-freiburg.de/

This is report number NETFOP06 of the NETFOP project: NETworking FOrest Plantations in a crowded world:optimising ecosystem services through improved planning and management. The project was funded by the European Union under the EU-India Economic Cross Cultural Program. Funding was also obtained from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality (KB Theme I-P3)

Database for educational courses on ecosystem goods and services

Joachim Schmerbeck

NETFOP REPORT 06 NETworking FOrest Plantations in a crowded world:optimising ecosystem services

through improved planning and management

Database for Educational Courses on Ecosystem Goods and Services

NETworking FOrest Plantations i

Table of Contents

Table of Contents .........................................................................................................i

Chapter 1 Introduction.......................................................................................... 1

Chapter 2 Literature database............................................................................... 3

2.1 General information about EGS ......................................................................................... 3 2.2 Methodologies to assess EGS............................................................................................... 6 2.3 Valuation and marketing of EGS ...................................................................................... 9 2.4 EGS and forest management ............................................................................................. 16

Chapter 3 Useful links..........................................................................................31


NETworking FOrest Plantations ii


NETworking FOrest Plantations 1

Chapter 1 Introduction

The concept of Ecosystem Goods and Servics (EGS) has become increasingly important in recent years. The natural resources that are available to support basic human needs and our quality of life on the earth are being degraded at an increasing rate. How these resources can be used more sustainably has become a focal issue over the most recent decades. In the 1990s the term EGS emerged to describe the benefits human society receives from ecosystems and the natural processes behind them.

Since then a great deal of research has been carried out with the aim to establish universal terminology and to develop workable concepts to assess, valuate and market these services.

With the EU funded NETFOP project (Networking forest plantations in a crowded world), carried out in the years 2005 and 2006, the Institute for Silviculture of the University of Freiburg has amassed literature on this topic to be used in courses in EGS received from forests.

I tried to select the most important and representative documents on the subject of EGS on a broad range of topics. Most of these are journal articles, but there are also useful books, reports and web pages.

All documents in this list will be described briefly below. Wherever possible the original abstracts or summary will be given. Otherwise a brief summary will be provided.

The documents are not attached to this list because the Institute of Silviculture does not hold the copyright for them. Persons and Institutes who are interested in reading the full text of the documents are responsible for procuring them independently.



Chapter 2 Literature database

The articles listed here covering different aspects of EGS is a collection of 60 documents. It is far from being complete; however, it gives an overview on the possibilities for assessing and quantifying EGS today.

2.1 General information about EGS

The literature listed here will introduce the concept of EGS. I tried to list important and often cited literature covering the different ways EGS are seen and discussed and the wide range of ecosystems and their associated service provision. A few examples for the use of the EGS concept are also on the list, but most of them can be found in the general documents section on EGS.

1. R.S. de Groot (1992): Functions of Nature, Evaluation of nature in environmental planning, management and decision making, Wolters-Noordhoof, Absterdam, 315 pp. ISBN 90-01-35594-3 (Book)

This book explains in detail the available concepts, methods and arguments for using the EGS approach. It explains the natural functions making the supply of EGS possible, methodologies for their assessment and valuation and introduces to some case studies. Finally, the book stresses the evaluation of functions as a tool in environmental planning, management and decision-making

2. De Groot R.S., Wilson M.A. and Boumans R.M.J. (2002): A Typology for the Classification, Description and Valuation of Ecosystem Functions, Goods and Services. Ecological Ecological 41: 393-408. (Journal article)

This article summarises some aspects of his book: Functions of Nature, Evaluation of nature in environmental planning, management and decision making

Abstract: An increasing amount of information is being collected on the ecological and socio-economic value of goods and services provided by natural and semi-natural ecosystems. However, much of this information appears scattered throughout a disciplinary academic literature, unpublished government agency reports, and across the World Wide Web. In addition, data on ecosystem goods and services often appears at incompatible scales of analysis and is classified differently by different authors. In order to make comparative ecological economic analysis possible, a standardized framework for the comprehensive assessment of ecosystem functions, goods and services is needed. In response to this challenge, this paper presents a conceptual framework and typology for describing, classifying and valuing ecosystem functions, goods and services in a clear and consistent manner. In the following analysis, a classification is given for the fullest possible range of 23 ecosystem functions which provide a much larger number of goods and services. In the second part of the paper, a checklist and matrix is provided, linking these ecosystem functions to the main ecological, socio-cultural and economic valuation methods.

3. Daily C. D. (1997): Natures services societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Washington: Island Press. (Book)

This book contains one of the first broader descriptions of the concept of EGS. After a clearly written introduction, it focuses on several fields of the topic including: the history of EGS, valuation, EGS provided by different ecosystems and presents a number of case studies. Considering the fact that the book is not up to date, it is still useful as a teaching material due to its comprehensive approach.

4. Daily et al. (1997): Ecosystem Services: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems. Issues in Ecology No. 2, Ecological Society of America, Washington DC. (Report)



This article gives a good introduction to the concept of EGS and its link to human society along with general global figures summarising the contents of the book.. It describes in detail some fields of ecology where EGS are particularly relevant, like climate change and daily life , ecosystem services provided by soils, pollination etc. In addition, the threats ecosystems are facing and the valuation of services are briefly discussed. This book is a good starting tool with which to introduce the concept of EGS.

5. Campos J.J. et al. (2005): An Integrated Approach to Ecosystem Services. In: Mery G., Alfaro R., Kanninen M. and Lobovikov M. (eds.) Forests in the Global Balance Changing Paradigms, IUFRO World Series Volume, 318 p., IUFRO Helsinki (Book chapter)

Abstract: Forest ecosystem services (FES) are fundamental for the Earths life support systems. This chapter discusses the different services provided by forest ecosystems and the effects that land use and forest management practices have on their provision. It also discusses the role of markets in providing an enabling environment for a sustainable and equitable provision of FES, and describes a standardized approach for designing effective PES (Payment for Environmental Services) that takes into consideration the biophysical, demand (beneficiaries) and supply (providers) components, as well as institutional requirements of a PES scheme. The chapter assesses some potential limitations and challenges in the use of market mechanisms in general, and PES schemes in particular, for sustaining the provision of forest ecosystem services, such as difficulties to demonstrate that services are actually being provided, lack of an effective demand for the services or restrictions from the supply side, as well as other limitations related to institutional capacity and scale. The main challenge is probably in establishing long term, sustainable financing mechanisms that effectively internalize environmental services in the appropriate institutional frameworks. To overcome these challenges, research and management need to take into consideration larger temporal and spatial scales, as well as integrate the different components in the landscape and in the policy and decision-making processes.

6. Cork S.J. (2001): Ecosystem services: The many ways in which biodiversity sustains and fulfils human life. In: Food for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Sustainable Ecosystems, Internet Conference. (Conference proceedings)

Abstract: Ecosystems are declining worldwide, largely due to ignorance of their value to humans and inadequate social and economic mechanisms to encourage individuals to invest in maintaining them. The concept of Ecosystem Services is becoming popular as a way to encourage discussion about the dependence of humans on nature and what that means socially and economically. Ecosystem services are transformations of natural assets (soil, water, air, and living organisms) into products that are important to humans. Examples include: provision of clean air and water; maintenance of soil fertility; maintenance of liveable climates; pollination of crops and other vegetation; control of potential pests; provision of genetic resources; production of food and fibre; and provision of cultural, spiritual and intellectual experiences. The value of ecosystem services to humans comes from their role in supporting our lives, their cheapness, and our limited ability to replace them with human-engineered alternatives. The problems we have in maintaining them come about because our economic systems dont cope well with goods and services that are publicly owned. This paper discusses the importance of ecosystem services for supporting food production and sustaining and fulfilling human populations. It briefly discusses an initiative being taken in Australia to apply the concept of ecosystem services to addressing the big drivers of ecosystem decline.

7. Cork S.J. (2002): Ecosystems services and institution rules. In: "FutureScape: Exploring the Interaction between the Environment, Economy and Society, 29-30 April, 2002, 14, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Sydney. (Conference proceedings)

Abstracts: Environmental problems often arise from deficient, uncertain or confusing information about what ecosystem goods and services are available, how they are important to humans, who benefits and over what scales, combined with incomplete, inconsistent or unenforceable rules, rights



and responsibilities. Establishing rules, rights and responsibilities at the range of spatial and temporal scales at which ecosystems function is a major challenge. Furthermore, the costs of implementing regimes of property rights and responsibilities can be beyond many land owners and managers. The concept of ecosystem services is being adapted and tested in Australia as a way to address some of the limitations of information and institutional rules. It attempts to express the benefits of ecosystems in language and concepts that the majority of land managers and users can understand and identify with, and it lays the foundations for developing formal and informal markets in which a fuller range of the beneficiaries of ecosystems contribute to the costs of their maintenance.

8. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005a): Living Beyond Our Means - Natural assets and human well-being. 25, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Report)

The reports of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment created global awareness of the limitation of our global natural resources. This is not new information but the reports demonstrated links to the concept of EGS and in this way demonstrates the growing importance of this concept.

Preface from the The Board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) was called for by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000 in a report to the General Assembly entitled We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century. Initiated in 2001, the objective of the MA was to assess the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and the scientific basis for actions needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of those systems and their contribution to human well-being.

The MA has involved the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide. Their findings on the condition and trends of ecosystems, scenarios for the future, possible responses, and assessments at a sub-global level are set out in technical chapters grouped around these four main themes. In addition, a general Synthesis draws on these detailed studies to answer a series of core questions posed at the start of the MA. The practical needs of specific groups of users, including the business community, are addressed in other synthesis reports. Each part of the assessment has been scrutinized by governments, independent scientists, and other experts to ensure the robustness of its findings.

This statement is from the Board governing the MA process, whose membership includes representatives from U.N. organizations, governments through a number of international conventions, nongovernmental organizations, academia, business, and indigenous peoples. (For a full list of Board members, see the inside front cover.)

It is not intended as a comprehensive summary of the findings of the MA, but rather as an interpretation of the key messages to emerge from it. Written for a non-specialist readership, it is nevertheless consistent with the more detailed documents of the assessment and can be read in conjunction with them.

We believe that the wide range of global interests combining to issue this statement, together with the rigorous study on which it is based, should add power and urgency to the conclusions it sets out.

9. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005b): Ecosystems And Human Well-Being Synthesis, Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. World Resources Institute, Island Press, Washington, DC. (Report)

This document provides the in dept results of the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. It describes how the ecosystem of the world have been changed though human influence in the past 50 year, the most critical factors causing these changes and how this effected the provision of ecosystem services. A wide sections of the report deal with the consequences of this development for the future and the options we have to manage ecosystems sustainable.

Four Main Findings

Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history, largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh



water, timber, fiber, and fuel. This has resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth.

The changes that have been made to ecosystems have contributed to substantial net gains in human well-being and economic development, but these gains have been achieved at growing costs in the form of the degradation of many ecosystem services, increased risks of nonlinear changes, and the exacerbation of poverty for some groups of people. These problems, unless addressed, will substantially diminish the benefits that future generations obtain from ecosystems.

The degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the first half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The challenge of reversing the degradation of ecosystems while meeting increasing demands for their services can be partially met under some scenarios that the MA has considered, but these involve significant changes in policies, institutions, and practices that are not currently under way. Many options exist to conserve or enhance specific ecosystem services in ways that reduce negative trade-offs or that provide positive synergies with other ecosystem services.

10. Fearnside P.M. (1999): Biodiversity as an environmental service in Brazils Amazonian forests: risks, value and conservation. Environmental Conservation 26: 305321. (Journal article)

Gives a good introduction to the importance of forest biodiversity

Abstract: The environmental service provided by the great biodiversity of Amazonian forests is one of several factors leading to the conclusion that much greater efforts are warranted to reduce the destruction of these forests. Risks to biodiversity in Amazonian forests include deforestation, logging, fires, fragmentation, depletion of fauna, invasion by exotic species, and climate change. Financial values assigned to biodiversity depend strongly on the purposes of valuation. Utilitarian benefits include the values of presently-marketed and presently-unexploited forest products, and the monetary value of environmental benefits. Non-monetary values of Amazonian forests are also essential components of decision-making on conservation. Measures of willingness to pay and willingness to accept can be useful as indicators of potential financial flows, but should not be confused with the true values of the forests to society. Valuation for the purpose of setting penalties for destruction of biodiversity is an important legal question in Brazil and must take into consideration additional factors. Conservation of biodiversity in Brazil includes creation of various types of protected areas. The status of these areas varies greatly, with practice frequently deviating from official requirements. Creating reserves that include human occupants has a variety of pros and cons. Although the effect of humans is not always benign, much larger areas can be brought under protection regimes if human occupants are included. Additional considerations apply to buffer zones around protected areas. The choice and design of reserves depends on the financial costs and biodiversity benefits of different strategies. In Brazil, rapid creation of lightly-protected paper parks has been a means of keeping ahead of the advance of barriers to establishment of new conservation units, but emphasis must eventually shift to better protection of existing reserves. Indigenous peoples have the best record of maintaining forest, but negotiation with these peoples is essential in order to ensure maintenance of the large areas of forest they inhabit. The benefits of environmental services provided by the forest must accrue to those who maintain these forests. Development of mechanisms to capture the value of these services will be a key factor affecting the longterm prospects of Amazonian forests. However, many effective measures to discourage deforestation could be taken immediately through government action, including levying and collecting taxes that discourage land speculation, changing land tenure establishment procedures so as not to reward deforestation, revoking remaining incentives, restricting road building and improvement, strengthening requirements for environmental impact statements (RIMAs) for proposed development projects, and creating employment alternatives.

2.2 Methodologies to assess EGS

Methodologies used to assess EGS are important as a first step prior to monitoring, valuation and marketing. The assessment of EGS includes the group of persons who benefit from certain EGS, the quantification of EGS and their origin. Factors determining



the supply (quantity and quality) play an important role for the monitoring of EGS and should be assessed too..However, approaches concentrating on EGS can only deal with one of these topics and therefore do not provide an overall system to manage all aspects of EGS supply. The documents I selected here are examples for the assessment of provision or demand for a single EGS, their spatial distribution and/or the interaction of EGS supply and alteration of natural conditions.

11. Sheil D., et al. (2002): Exploring Biodiversity, Environment and Local People's Perspectives in Forest Landscapes: Methods for a Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessment. 93, Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Jakarta, Indonesia. (Report)

A set of tools that enable the user to assess EGS from different units of the landscape under the participation of local communities. We used the Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessment (MLA) as a mythological frame for the NETFOP Project.

Introduction: Much of the global concern about tropical rainforests derives from fears of major impending extinctions. Considerable efforts have been focused on identifying the most important sites for sensitive management. Biodiversity surveys have become a major preoccupation of conservation agencies and are increasingly included in impact assessments. However, the information generated usually has little impact as most decisions reflect other priorities. The notion that every species must be maintained at all costs is not a view held by most relevant decision makers. Decisions can only balance biodiversity goals with other demands if the values and preferences of stakeholders, especially local forest dependent communities, are addressed. As a means to address the multiple interests and values of landscape and natural resources, we developed a suite of survey methods to identify what is important to some local communities in the district of Malinau in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. This information provides an initial diagnostic baseline of information to develop deeper dialogue with these communities, to guide future research and make recommendations on options about land use and policy to decision makers. (Taken from the article

12. Grt-Regamey A., Bebi P., Bishop I.D. and Schmid W. (in review): Linking GIS-based models to value ecosystem services in an Alpine region.

Abstract: Planning frequently fails to include the valuation of public goods and services. This can have long-term negative economic consequences for a region. Especially in mountainous regions such as the Alps, which depend on tourism, land-use changes can negatively impact key ecosystem services and hence the economy. In this study, we develop a semi-automatic procedure to value ecosystem goods and services. Several existing process-based models linked to economic valuation methods are integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The model requires the input of a digital elevation model, a land-cover map, and a spatially explicit temperature dataset. These datasets are available for most regions in Europe. We illustrate the approach by valuing four ecosystem services: avalanche protection, timber production, scenic beauty, and habitat, which are supplied by the Landschaft Davos, an administrative district in the Swiss Alps. We compare the impacts of a human development scenario and a climate scenario on the value of these ecosystem services. Urban expansion and tourist infrastructure developments have a negative impact on scenic beauty and habitats. These impacts outweigh the benefits of the developments in the long-term. Forest expansion, predictable under a climate change scenario, favours natural avalanche protection and habitats. In general, such non-marketed benefits provided by the case-study region more than compensate for the costs of forest maintenance. Finally, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the approach. Despite its limitations, we show how this approach could well help decision-makers balance the impacts of different planning options on the economic accounting of a region, and guide them in selecting sustainable and economically feasible development strategies.

13. Proctor W. et al. (2002): Assessing Ecosystem Services in Australia. In: 7th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics, 6-9 March, 2002,



Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia, Sousse, Tunisia. (Conference proceedings)

Abstract: The ecosystem services project focuses on the values and opportunities that come from the relationships between people and their natural environments. The quality of these relationships is thought to be decreasing as ecosystems change worldwide. This national project seeks to convey an understanding of services and benefits that we receive from ecosystems. The project will also seek to address the problem of traditional techniques and approaches used to estimate 'value' as such techniques do not deal well with goods and services that do not pass through markets, that are publicly rather than privately owned, or that are of importance to communities rather than individuals. In this first case study of the project carried out in the Goulburn Broken Catchment of South Eastern Australia, ecological, social and economic techniques are used to give a detailed assessment of the goods and services from ecosystems in an agricultural water catchment. These techniques are designed to give estimates of the interactions and consumption of those services, the economic and other benefits, and the beneficiaries at a range of temporal and spatial scales. These estimates are expected to help policy makers, planners and land managers take account of the interrelationships among a wider range of ecological, economic and social values. The scales of analysis range from local through regional to national and international. Central to this work will be techniques designed to acknowledge priorities and values of a wide range of policy makers, planners, land managers, industry and community groups. We seek in this first case study to develop and promote the project outputs for application elsewhere - in particular as one possible national approach to assist sound resource management in Australia. This paper outlines the specific techniques used including the use of deliberative multi-criteria evaluation as a basis of overall integration and decision-making framework.

14. AG 3 Methodology Report. Here now Methodology in Germany

Schmerbeck J., Machler T. and Schraml U.: Ecosystem Goods and Services of Plantations and Other Forest Types in the Black Forest a Methodological Approach (Project report)

Abstract: The importance and valuation of forest goods and services, other than timber, that are in demand by human society, are receiving increasing attention against a background of shrinking resources and increasing pressures for the maintenance of ecosystem functions. Methodologies for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of these services are required. This paper describes a methodology for quantifying the ecosystem goods and services, from different forest types, for the households of two communities in the Black Forest (south-western Germany). The aim of the study was to determine the importance of even structure conifer stands for the provision of ecosystem goods and services, compared to other forest types.

In the two selected communities (one urban, one rural), persons from 180 households were interviewed to identify and localise (on a forest map) their mode of activities, and to assess the influence of forest structure on these activities. To analyse the extent to which different forest types were preferred by the communities, the interviewed persons were asked to identify, on a map, the forest areas they visited for individual activities. This map was then digitised and combined with available data on the forest structure by the state forest department.

The study clearly showed that recreation was the most important forest service, with 70% of the studied households visiting the forests for relaxation and sport. Surprisingly, fuel wood, which was collected by 30% of the households, was the second most important service mentioned. Although forest structure was a determining factor for the selection of the sites visited, the distance to the forest and the infrastructure were clearly more important. Analysis of the areas identified by the interviewed people supported these results, confirming that hot spots areas most frequented - for recreation and fuelwood collection, were close to the places where the people lived. Even structured conifer stands were not frequented by the interviewed persons, however, this can be attributed to the proximity of these stands to the selected areas and, to some extent, to the preference for forests with a higher degree of structural diversity.



15. Roovers, P., Hermy M. and Hubert G. (2002). "Visitor profile, perceptions and expectations in forests from a gradient of increasing urbanisation in central Belgium." Landscape and Urban Planning 59(3): 129-145. (Journal article)

Abstract: The forest complex of HeverleeMeerdaal, which consists of two forest parts, is located on a gradient from a rural region to an expanding urban area. Its vicinity to the city of Leuven and the adjacent conurbation leads to intense recreational use by the inhabitants. By means of counts an interpretation on congestion and on spreading of visitors in time and space in the area was made. On the basis of these counts questionnaires were carried out in the forest throughout the whole year and among all activity groups. In this context, little is known in depth about the interaction between the structural characteristics of the recreation site and recreation patterns in particular. The questionnaires deal with socio-demographical characteristics of the visitors, preferences and perceptions of the respective activity groups and their interpretation of the forest area concerning structure and infrastructure. According to this study, the geographical distribution of the visitors in the forest is highly determined by the position of the forest along a gradient relative to the conurbation. A total of 69% of the visitors lives within a radius of 10 km and almost 38% originates from Leuven itself. Therefore, it can be considered to be an urban forest. The preferred activity is walking, followed successively by biking and jogging. Most of the people visit the forest on their own. Visit frequency and length are negatively correlated and strongly determined by the distance covered from the residence to the forest. Preferences and perceptions are influenced not only by social characteristics but also by the recreation activities and their specific interests and demands. The overall quality of the visit to the forest complex is evaluated very positive.

16. Kliskey, A.D. 2002: Recreation terrain suitability mapping: a spatially explicit methodology for determining recreation potential for resource use assessment. Landscape and Urban Planning 52: 129- 145. (Journal article)

Abstract: A geographic information system (GIS) based methodology was developed for mapping recreation terrain suitability using recreation terrain suitability indices (RTSI). The methodology comprised four stages: (1) suitability variables for a recreation activity were identified by principal component analysis (PCA) of a recreation attitudinal scale, (2) a recreation suitability model was developed using spatial criteria for each suitability variable, (3) weight factors for each variable were derived from the principal component scores for each component, (4) suitability overlay mapping was implemented using GIS and the spatial criteria. The output of the methodology was a recreation suitability map portraying the spatial extent of recreation suitability of the landscape for a recreation user group. The approach is demonstrated for the example of recreational snowmobiling in the North Columbia Mountains of British Columbia. RTSI mapping provides a spatial approach to resource use mapping of recreation activity that is robust and based on recreationists attitudes

2.3 Valuation and marketing of EGS

There are many ideas surrounding and approaches with which to valuate EGS and to find and mobilise markets for them. The importance, that the scientific community and the public place on this issue can be seen in the number of publications on the topic. Not all authors agree on the importance and the ways in which payments for environmental services can or should be installed. But even there is a controversial discussion; there is certainly an increasing trend towards the marketing of EGS in one or the other form. I attempted to select papers introducing the topic (ITTO 2004) as well as highlighting different aspects in more detail (Special issue of Ecological Economics 2002), representing case studies (Whitten et al. 2003) and some mirroring the ongoing discussions of EGS (Wunder 2005). More information, especially concerning the presentations of case studies, are available in Daily (1997, here #3)



17. Costanza, R. et al. (1997). "The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital." Nature 387: 253-260. (Journal article)

This paper is one of the key publications in the field dealing with the economics of EGS.

Abstract: The services of ecological systems and the natural capital stocks that produce them are critical to the functioning of the Earth's life-support system. They contribute to human welfare, both directly and indirectly, and therefore represent part of the total economic value of the planet. We have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations. For the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion per year, with an average of US$33 trillion per year. Because of the nature of the uncertainities, this must be considered a minimum estimate. Global gross national product total is around US$ 18 trillion per year

18. International Tropical Timber Organisation (2004): For Services Rendered. The Current Status and Future Potential of Markets for the Ecosystem Services Provided by Tropical Forests. Technical Series, 72, International Tropical Timber Organization, Yokohama, Japan. (Report)

This report explains why there is a current interest in the valuation and marketing of EGS from tropical forests and introduces the recent trends in this area. The benefits and risks of marketing EGS as well as strategies for the Tropics are highlighted. The document is nicely done and easy to assess.

Special Issue of Ecological Economics: The Dynamics and Value of Ecosystem Services: Integrating Economic and Ecological Perspectives, Ecological Economics 41, 3 (2002) P. 367-567: Economic and Ecological Perspectives

19. Farber, S. C., R. Costanza, et al. (2002). "Economic and Ecological Concepts for Valuing Ecosystem Services." Ecological Economics 41, 375-392. 8 (Journal article)

Abstract: The purpose of this special issue is to elucidate concepts of value and methods of valuation that will assist in guiding human decisions vis-a`-vis ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem service value can be a useful guide when distinguishing and measuring where trade-offs between society and the rest of nature are possible and where they can be made to enhance human welfare in a sustainable manner. While win-win opportunities for human activities within the environment may exist, they also appear to be increasingly scarce in a full global ecologicaleconomic system. This makes valuation all the more essential for guiding future human activity. This paper provides some history, background, and context for many of the issues addressed by the remaining papers in this special issue. Its purpose is to place both economic and ecological meanings of value, and their respective valuation methods, in a comparative context, highlighting strengths, weakness and addressing questions that arise from their integration.

20. Gustavson, K., Lonergan, S. C. and Ruitenbeek, J. (2002). "Measuring Contributions to Economic ProductionUse of an Index of Captured Ecosystem Value." Ecological Economics 41: 479-490. (Journal article)

Abstract: The production of an economic good derived from a renewable natural resource base involves the extraction of ecosystem function values as represented by the contribution made to production by the originating ecosystem. The artisanal mixed-species fisheries of Jamaica is used as a case study in the development of a biophysically based index to account for captured ecosystem values (or embodied ecosystem values) and an examination of the extent to which those values are proportionately reflected in monetary exchange values. The Index of Captured Ecosystem Value (ICEV) is developed from a basis in information theory relevant to an analysis of network flows in ecosystems. Technical coefficients, describing the production relationship between ICEV values and market values of catches associated with individual fishing efforts in Jamaican fisheries, reveal that captured ecosystem function associated with fisheries using distinct technologies (i.e. China net, trap, hand line, palanca and speargun) are valued differently by the



market. This surplus value is rooted in the observation that certain fisheries target species that are more connected within the coral reef food web than those species typically captured by other fisheries. Consideration of the biophysically based contributions of coral reef ecosystems to fisheries production reveals distortions between market and supply-side values, indicating that the role of ecosystems is not being consistently treated. Comment and direction is offered regarding the development of indices of ecosystem function or value that can be applied to policy questions concerning the extraction of a renewable natural resource.

21. Howarth, R. B. and S. Farber (2002). "Accounting for the Value of Ecosystem Services." Ecological Economics 41, 421-429. (Journal article)

Abstract: A value of ecosystem services (VES) may be calculated by multiplying a set of ecosystem services by a set of corresponding shadow prices. This paper examines the role of the VES concept in measuring trends in human wellbeing. Under conventional arguments from applied welfare economics, standard measures of market consumption may be extended to include the value of direct environmental services, which affect welfare in ways that are not mediated by the consumption of purchased goods. The VES concept does not capture values such as ecological sustainability and distributional fairness that are not reducible to individual welfare. And its operationalization is constrained by the well-known limitations of nonmarket valuation methods. Nonetheless, attempts to calculate the value of environmental services can provide insights into the tradeoffs between market activity and environmental quality that are implicit in the process of economic growth. Such efforts can promote informed debate concerning the achievement of sustainable development.

22. Patterson, M. G. (2002). "Ecological Production Based Pricing of Biosphere Processes." Ecological Economics 41, 457-478. (Journal article)

Abstract: Ecological pricing theory and method is reviewed, and then applied to the valuation of biosphere processes and services. Ecological pricing values biosphere processes, on the basis of biophysical interdependencies between all parts of the ecosystem, not just those that have direct or obvious value to humans. The application of the ecological pricing method to the biosphere for 1994, indicates that the total value of primary ecological inputs (services) to be nearly $US 25 trillion. This compares with $US 33 trillion obtained in the Costanza et al. (1997) study. Our analysis also indicated a good correspondence between the shadow ecological price and the observed market price for all marketable goods, except fossil fuel which was undervalued by the market.

23. Sutton, P. C. and R. Costanza (2002). "Global Estimates of Market and Non-Market Values Derived from Nighttime Satellite Imagery, Land Cover, and Ecosystem Service Valuation." Ecological Economics 41, 509-527. (Journal article)

Abstract: We estimated global marketed and non-marketed economic value from two classified satellite images with global coverage at 1 km2 resolution. GDP (a measure of marketed economic output) is correlated with the amount of light energy (LE) emitted by that nation as measured by nighttime satellite images. LE emitted is more spatially explicit than whole country GDP, may (for some nations or regions) be a more accurate indicator of economic activity than GDP itself, can be directly observed, and can be easily updated on an annual basis. As far as we know, this is the first global map of estimated economic activity produced at this high spatial resolution (1 km2). Ecosystem services product (ESP) is an important type of non-marketed value. ESP at 1 km2 resolution was estimated using the IGBP land-cover dataset and unit ecosystem service values estimated by Costanza et al. [Valuing Ecosystem Services with Efficiency, Fairness and Sustainability as Goals. Nature s Ser_ices, Island Press, Washington DC, pp. 4970]. The sum of these two (GDP+ESP)=SEP is a measure of the subtotal ecologicaleconomic product (marketed plus a significant portion of the non-marketed). The ratio: (ESP/SEP)100=%ESP is a measure of proportion of the SEP from ecosystem services. Both SEP and %ESP were calculated and mapped for each 1 km2 pixel on the earths surface, and aggregated by country. Results show the detailed spatial patterns of GDP, ESP, and SEP (also available at: http://www.du.edu/_psutton/-



esiindexisee/EcolEconESI.htm). Globally, while GDP is concentrated in the northern industrialized countries, ESP is concentrated in tropical regions and in wetlands and other coastal systems. %ESP ranges from 1% for Belgium and Luxembourg to 3% for the Netherlands, 18% for India, 22% for the United States, 49% for Costa Rica, 57% for Chile, 73% for Brazil, and 92% for Russia. While GDP per capita has the usual northern industrialized countries at the top of the list, SEP per capita shows a quite different picture, with a mixture of countries with either high GDP/capita, high ESP/capita, or a combination near the top of the list. Finally, we compare our results with two other indices: (1) The 2001 Enironmental Sustainability Index (ESI) derived as an initiative of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow Environment Task Force, World Economic Forum, and (2) Ecological Footprints of Nations : How much Nature do they use ? How much Nature do they have developed by Mathis Wackernagel and others. While both of these indices purport to measure sustainability, the ESI is actually mainly a measure of economic activity (and is correlated with GDP), while the Eco-Footprint index is a measure of environmental impact. The related eco-deficit (national ecological capacity minus national footprint) correlates well with %ESP.

24. Wilson, M. A. and R. B. Howarth (2002). "Discourse-based Valuation of Ecosystem Services: Establishing Fair Outcomes through Group Deliberation." Ecological Economics 41, 431-443. (Journal article)

Abstract: Discourse-based methods involving small groups of citizens have yet to be thoroughly engaged in the practice of ecosystem valuation. This remains true despite the fact that many ecosystem goods and servicessuch as clean air, biodiversity, and unpolluted lakes and riversare considered to be public goods. The conventional application of ecosystem valuation relies heavily on methodologies such as contingent valuation, in which individuals are asked to express the value they attach to ecosystem goods and services in social isolation. The difference between the public nature of ecosystem services and their valuation through individual expression has thus recently led to calls for more deliberative forms of environmental valuation. Because the allocation of ecosystem services directly affects many people and raises normative questions about social equity, it is argued that carefully designed discursive methods will help ensure the achievement of social equity goals. In this paper, we examine the theoretical and normative assumptions that rest beneath the proposed turn towards discourse-based methods, and identify procedures for testing their application in the field.

25. Murtough, G., Aretino B. and Matysek, A. (2002). Creating Markets for Ecosystem Services. Canberra, Australia, Productivity Commission: 60. (Research paper)

Key findings

o Ecosystem services are the functions performed by ecosystems that lead to desirable environmental outcomes, such as air and water purification, drought and flood mitigation, and climate stabilisation.

o Markets rarely exist for ecosystem services. Typically, those who supply ecosystem services are not rewarded for all the benefits they provide to others, and those who reduce ecosystem services do not bear all the costs they impose on others.

o Without markets, allowing parties to act in their own private interest can result in fewer ecosystem services than is optimal for society as a whole.

o In theory, governments can create a market for an ecosystem service by defining a new property right that is both linked to the ecosystem service and can be exchanged for reward. Two Australian examples are:

the introduction of tradeable emission permits to limit saline discharges into the Hunter River; and

state legislation separating title over the carbon sequestered in forest plantations from ownership of the timber.

o This approach to creating markets is more likely to be successful if the relevant property right has a number of characteristics, including:



ownership can be defined and enforced at reasonable cost; and

trades are not significantly hindered by high uncertainty; a lack of buyers and sellers; or a major imbalance in the information held by buyers and sellers.

o It appears that climate change is the environmental problem that is most suitable for market creation. The greatest difficulties are likely to arise in creating a single market for all aspects of biodiversity.

o A review of market creation schemes in Australia and the United States indicated that creating markets can, under the right conditions and with appropriate market design, be an efficient way to achieve certain environmental goals.

o However, policy makers need to pay particular attention to the issues of scientific uncertainty, market liquidity, and the role of supporting regulation

26. Binning, C. (2002). Making Farm Forestry Pay - Markets for Ecosystem Services. Canberra, Australia, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Publication No 02/005. (Report)

Abstract: The environment supplies important services that benefit human societies. A healthy environment provides rainfall, productive oceans, fertile soil, clean air, clean water, waste processing, buffering against extreme weather, and regeneration of the atmosphere. The environmental services that trees supply include carbon sequestration, groundwater recharge reduction, surface water filtration, protection from wind and water erosion, weed exclusion and habitat for nature conservation. Can environmental services make farm forestry pay? Markets for environmental services are not a panacea. They will only supplement established commercial markets for wood products. Further, they will not provide a total solution to Australias pressing environmental problems. However, markets for environmental services have the potential to add value to farm forestry projects and to complement the suite of policy tools available to address environmental degradation.

27. Whitten, S. et al. (2003). Markets for ecosystem services: Applying the concepts. 47th Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Fremantle. (Report)

Abstract: In recent times, use of market-based instruments to facilitate enhanced protection or production of ecosystem services has achieved a high public profile. However, much work remains to apply these tools in practice. Particular issues include definition and measurement of ecosystem services, development of institutions and mechanisms to facilitate trade and integration of these instruments into the broader natural resource management agenda and toolbox. In this paper these issues are explored with respect to pilot markets for ecosystem services in three case study catchments. Emphasis is placed on pilot selection rationale and identification of key facilitative mechanisms and institutions.

28. Grieg-Gran, M. and J. Bishop. (2005). "How Can Markets for Ecosystem Services Benefit the Poor?" Retrieved 14.04.2005, 2005, from http://www.iied.org/docs/mdg/ MDG2-ch4.pdf. (Journal article)

Introduction: There is growing interest in market-based approaches to conserving ecosystem services. In both developed and developing countries a range of measures have been introduced. The basic concept is to create positive economic incentives for land managers to behave in ways that increase, or at least maintain, certain environmental functions. These include, among others:

o The sequestration of carbon in biomass or soils;

o The provision of habitat for endangered species;

o The protection and maintenance of landscapes that people find attractive (such as cloud forest in Costa Rica, the veld in Southern Africa or the patchwork of hedgerows, cropland and woodland typical of southern England); and



o A catch-all category of 'watershed protection' which involves various hydrological functions related to the quality, quantity or timing of fresh water flows from upstream areas to downstream users.

Some schemes are recent and experimental, such as the Bush Tender pilot scheme covering 3000 hectares in the State of Victoria, Australia, under which private land owners are paid to provide habitat conservation services to state agencies. Other schemes are relatively well-established, such as the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) scheme in Costa Rica, which has been in operation for over eight years. While the primary goal of these market initiatives has been environmental, there is growing interest in their potential to meet development objectives as well. The commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) raises the question as to whether these new markets for ecosystem services can also help reduce poverty. In this respect, the most obvious benefit of market initiatives is the potential to bring new sources of cash income to previously marginalised communities. But just as the formulation of the MDGs reflects a view that poverty is multi-dimensional, so it is important to look beyond cash income and consider how market initiatives affect other dimensions of poverty. For example, the improvement of natural resource management resulting from the use of such mechanisms may bring benefits in the form of improved nutrition for those who depend on wild foods. Similarly, the urban poor may benefit from improved access to safe drinking water and reduced risk of floods, as a result of payments for watershed protection upstream.

At the same time, there are also concerns that markets for ecosystem services may be harmful to the poor, for example by restricting their access to natural resources on which they depend for their livelihoods or by exposing them to the risks of market change. Much depends on how the initiatives are designed and the context in which they are introduced. This paper explores the various ways in which markets for ecosystem services could contribute to the MDGs, as well as the possible pitfalls. Drawing on some recent case studies it considers the experience of specific initiatives.

29. Wunder S. (2005): Payments for environmental services: Some nuts and bolts. CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 42. (Report)

Wunder assesses the payments for EGS from a grassroots perspective and sees them as critical for the livelihoods of the local people, and stresses the strengths and limitations of paying for environmental services (PES).

Abstract: Payments for environmental services (PES) are part of a new and more direct conservation paradigm, explicitly recognizing the need to bridge the interests of landowners and outsiders. Eloquent theoretical assessments have praised the absolute advantages of PES over traditional conservation approaches. Some pilot PES exists in the tropics, but many field practitioners and prospective service buyers and sellers remain sceptical about the concept. This paper aims to help demystify PES for non-economists, starting with a simple and coherent definition of the term. It then provides practical how-to hints for PES design. It considers the likely niche for PES in the portfolio of conservation approaches. This assessment is based on a literature review, combined with field observations from research in Latin America and Asia. It concludes that service users will continue to drive PES, but their willingness to pay will only rise if schemes can demonstrate clear additionally vis--vis carefully established baselines, if trust-building processes with service providers are sustained, and PES recipients livelihood dynamics is better understood. PES best suits intermediate and/or projected threat scenarios, often in marginal lands with moderate conservation opportunity costs. People facing credible but medium-sized environmental degradation are more likely to become PES recipients than those living in relative harmony with Nature. The choice between PES cash and in-kind payments is highly context-dependent. Poor PES recipients are likely to gain from participation, though their access might be constrained and non-participating landless poor could lose out. PES is a highly promising conservation approach that can benefit buyers, sellers and improve the resource base, but it is unlikely to completely outstrip other conservation instruments.

30. Vedelt P. et al. (2004): Counting on the Environment - Forest Incomes and the Rural Poor. Environmental Economics Series, 114, World Bank Environment Department, Washington, D.C. (Report)



This report presents many cases fort the importance of forests for local communities and indicates possibilities for their valuation.

Summary: Environmental income is defined as rent (or value added) captured through consumption, barter, or sale of natural capital within the first link in a market chain, starting from the point at which the natural capital is extracted or appropriated. The present study, which focuses on forest environmental income, had two main objectives. The first was to investigate the extent to which people in rural areas of developing countries depend on income from forest environmental resources, and how this dependence is conditioned by different political, economic, ecological, and sociocultural factors. This is accomplished by a meta-analysis of 54 case studies. The second objective was to review research methodology and make recommendations for best practices in assessment of forest environmental income. Although there are substantial variations in methodology and quality of case studies, results indicate that forest environmental income represents a significant income source with an average contribution to household income of some 22 percent in the populations sampled. The main sources of forest environmental incomes are fuelwood, wild foods, and fodder for animals. Forest environmental income has a strong and significant equalizing effect on local income distribution. Cash income constitutes about half of total forest environmental income. The report recommends the development of research protocols, field methods, and simple analytical models to analyze the role of environmental income in rural livelihoods. More in-depth studies are needed to unravel the roles of local heterogeneity and social differentiation. Extended studies that generate time series data would assist in understanding the role of environmental income in both individual household strategies and in broader development strategies. The omission of forest environmental income in national statistics and in poverty assessments leads to an underestimation of rural incomes, and a lack of appreciation of the value of environment. In areas where environmental income is important, this omission may also lead to flawed policies and interventions.

31. Wunder, S. (2006). "Are Direct Payments for Environmental Services Spelling Doom for Sustainable Forest Management in the Tropics?." Ecology and Society 11(2): 23-35. (Journal article)

Abstract: Over the past several decades, significant donor funding has been directed to sustainable forest management in the tropics, in the hope of combining forest conservation with economic gains through sustainable use. To date, this approach has produced only modest results in terms of changed silvicultural and land-use practices in this area. Direct payments for environmental services (PES) have been suggested as a promising alternative but still remain widely untested in the tropics. This paper first provides a conceptual assessment of PES, comparing the main features of this practice with those of other conservation instruments. Second, the paper discusses a series of critical questions that have been raised about both the environmental and livelihood impacts of PES. It is concluded that some ex ante judgments about the effects of PES may have been overly critical, and that, based on preliminary assessments, there is good reason to continue experimental PES implementation for purposes of consolidating our knowledge.

32. Scherr, S. J., et al. (2006). Developing future ecosystem servicws payments in China lessons learnd from international experiance, Forest Trends. (http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/publications/ChinaPES%20from%20Caro.pdf) (Report)

Prologue: This paper captures the international evolution and current status of major types of Payments for Ecosystem Services, summarizes the lessons that international experience provides regarding how best to design and implement PES schemes, and synthesizes findings especially relevant for China. When adapting international experience to the Chinese context, a number of PES models appear most immediately applicable in China. These include a) PES between drainage-area water users and upper watershed service providers, b) biodiversity offsets to pay for the unavoidable damage of development activities, such as mining, c) improving upon current schemes, such as the Sloping Land Conversion Program and Forestry Ecosystem Compensation Fund through innovative targeting and design methods, d) carbon sequestration, both as part of existing programs and also through the development of carbon trading schemes as a means to engage the private sector. Though these PES markets are still at various stages of development worldwide, international experience already provides many valuable insights for Chinese policymakers. In general, the key issues regarding the effectiveness



and efficiency of PES programs are: the importance of policy, institutional and legal frameworks; improving the poverty reduction impacts of PES by engaging local communities in the process of negotiation, design and implementation; devising methods to improve targeting; and the need to engage the private sector in order to better capture the value of ecosystem services and to improve the financial sustainability of current and future PES programs by relieving the burden on public funds. Around the world, policymakers and PES stakeholders highlight the fact that developing successful PES schemes is a learning process which must include platforms for dialogue. No single set of policy tools and targets will provide a definitive solution to Chinas environmental priorities and challenges, since these will change as its economic, institutional and scientific capacity develop. International experience also suggests that by bringing in local communities and governments more closely into all aspects and stages of PES design and implementation, China will be able to significantly improve equity and efficiency issues in current and future PES schemes. Thus, the process of building and revising PES instruments is valuable in itself, since it stimulates the ongoing dialogue, capacity-building and the institutional and legal reforms needed to better identify and align the social costs and benefits of environmental protection and ecosystem service provision. It is through this process as much as it is through the adoption of any particular set of market-based instruments that China can gain greater flexibility and adaptability in reconciling the dual goals of conservation and sustainable rural development.

2.4 EGS and forest management

The management of forests to enhance the provision of EGS is a broad field which mainly addresses silvicultural measures on stand and landscape level in natural forests as well as forest plantations. As there exist a variety of forest types and a number of situations under which forests appear, there are a number of functions forests fulfil. Therefore, there is no general way to manage forests to provide all EGS at the same time. Stakeholders and decision makers have focused on prioritizing services and manageing the forest accordingly. Here I present a sample of literature describing forest management for the provision of biodiversity, water regulation, carbon sequestration and NWFP. The main good derived from the forest, timber, is not included here as most of the silviculture literature is focused on this product.

33. Evans J. 1999 Planted forests of the wet and dry tropics: their variety, nature, and significance. New Forests 17: 2536. (Journal article,)

This article provides an overview of the varieties of plantations including their significance for the provision of EGS.

Abstract. Planting trees in tropical countries is an increasingly important forestry activity. Although much attention has been paid, and rightly so, to rapid deforestation in the tropics, the contribution and role that planted forests can play are now at the center of policy and planning in most national forestry strategies. The changing emphasis from exploitative management of natural forests to managed natural forests and plantation forests, seen in temperate regions over the last 100 years, has been taking place in tropical countries largely over the last 20 years. In neither temperate nor tropical regions has this evolution finished. Planted forests will increasingly furnish wood resources that meet domestic wood needs and provide many environmental services. In this paper I seek to place in perspective the contribution that planted forests will make in the tropics. I emphasize (1) the wide variety of purposes that planted forests serve; (2) the sustainability of plantation silviculture; and (3) the overriding importance of due regard to peoples participation. I am optimistic about the great value that planted forests, rightly used, can provide for a great many hard-pressed peoples across the tropics and beyond.

34. Koechli D.A. and Brang P. (2005) Simulating effects of forest management on selected public forest goods and services: A case study. Forest Ecology and Management 209: 57-68. (Journal article)



Shows how the change in the provision of selected EGS through different forest management strategies can be simulated through a case study in Switzerland.

Abstract: Silvicultural interventions alter forest characteristics such as stand structure, tree species composition and developmental stage. These forest characteristics in turn influence the quality and quantity of public goods and services a forest provides, such as space for recreation, clean water, and air purification. In this paper, we use a forest growth simulator and a geographical information system (GIS) to assess the effects of three silvicultural strategies on recreational suitability, water purification potential and air purification potential in a peri-urban catchment in Switzerland. For each of the three services, an index was developed to capture the suitability of a stand for providing the service. The growth simulator SILVA 2.2 was used to project forest development over 50 years under the three silvicultural strategies BU business as usual (small patch cuts, Swiss selection system), NI no intervention, and MA mass production (clearcuts and plantations of Picea abies). In all three strategies, road maintenance continued. The outputs of SILVA 2.2 were transferred into the GIS. Indices for the three services were calculated and aggregated over the study area. The development of the indices for all three services mainly reflected the changes in developmental stages and in the spatial patch distribution as a result of silvicultural interventions. No single strategy resulted in maximum values for all three indices. Recreational suitability was highest with the BU strategy and lowest with the MA strategy. The latter was due to the conversion of broad-leaved forests into plantations. Water purification potential was captured as nitrogen (N) storage in tree biomass and N removal by timber harvesting. In these nearly N-saturated forest ecosystems, the water purification potential was generally highest with the BU strategy, and lowest with the NI strategy. The air purification potential was higher with the NI than with the BU strategy. With the MA strategy, it rapidly decreased at the beginning, but increased after 30 years and surpassed the other strategies as soon as most of the plantations had reached the pole stage. The NI and MA strategies presented are clearly extreme strategies, which could not realistically be applied to the whole catchment as so many different owners are involved. However, the results of our study can be used to show to what extent management activities affect goods and services. We propose using such tools more often in forest planning processes to support the development of land-use visions and policies on a regional scale.

35. Horne, P., Boxall P. C. and Adamowicz, W. L (2005). "Multiple-use management of forest recreation sites: a spatially explicit choice experiment." Forest Ecology and Management 207(1-2): 189-199. (Journal article)

Abstract: This study examined visitors' preferences for forest management at five adjacent municipal recreation sites in Finland, using a spatially explicit choice experiment. The study design accounted for changes in scenery and biodiversity indices in the forest environment resulting from forest management practices. Respondents were asked to choose their preferred management option from alternative management regimes for the sites. The options were characterized by different levels of attributes, which included site-specific species richness levels and forest scenery, costs of management, and indicators of species richness levels over the system of recreation sites. Results show that visitors have a strong preference for the preservation of species richness and for scenic beauty. However, when there is a trade-off between these benefits, visitors chose their favourite scenery at their favourite recreation site and prefer management options, which preserve biodiversity at the other sites in the recreation system. The study shows how modelling the sites as independent units of the forest management regime permit policy-relevant conclusions to be drawn regarding the specialisation and zoning of multiple-use objectives. The approach also allows for the development of hypothetical management scenarios and estimation of respective economic welfare changes for visitors from these scenarios.

36. Lindenmayer, D. B. and Franklin J.F. (2002). Conserving Forest Biodiversity, A comprehensive multiscaled approach. Washington - Covelo - London, Island Press. (Book)

This book is a benchmark in the management of biodiversity in forests. It covers all the relevant issues on the stand and landscape level.



37. Lindenmayer, D. B., Margules C. R. and Botkin D. B. (2000). "Indicators of Biodiversity for ecologically sustainable forest management." Conservation Biology 14(4): 941-950. (Journal article)

Abstract: The conservation of biological diversity has become one of the important goals of managing forests in an ecologically sustainable way. Ecologists and forest resource managers need measures to judge the success or failure of management regimes designed to sustain biological diversity. The relationships between potential indicator species and total biodiversity are not well established. Carefully designed studies are required to test relationships between the presence and abundance of potential indicator species and other taxa and the maintenance of critical ecosystem processes in forests. Other indicators of biological diversity in forests, in addition or as alternatives to indicator species, include what we call structure-based indicators. These are stand-level and landscape-level (spatial) features of forests such as stand structural complexity and plant species composition, connectivity, and heterogeneity. Although the adoption of practices to sustain (or recreate) key characteristics of forest ecosystems appear intuitively sensible and broadly consistent with current knowledge, information is lacking to determine whether such stand- and landscape-level features of forests will serve as successful indices of (and help conserve) biodiversity. Given our limited knowledge of both indicator species and structure-based indicators, we advocate the following four approaches to enhance biodiversity conservation in forests: (1) establish biodiversity priority areas (e.g., reserves) managed primarily for the conservation of biological diversity; (2) within production forests, apply structure-based indicators including structural complexity, connectivity, and heterogeneity; (3) using multiple conservation strategies at multiple spatial scales, spread out risk in wood production forests; and (4) adopt an adaptive management approach to test the validity of structure-based indices of biological diversity by treating management practices as experiments. These approaches would aim to provide new knowledge to managers and improve the effectiveness of current management strategies.

38. Carnus, J. M. et al. (2006). "Planted Forests and Biodiversity." Journal of Forestry. 104(2): 65-78. (Journal article)

Abstract: Expansion of planted forests and intensification of their management has raised concerns among forest managers and the public over the implications of these trends for sustainable production and conservation of forest biological diversity. We review the current state of knowledge on the impacts of plantation forestry on genetic and species diversity at different spatial scales and discuss the economic and ecological implications of biodiversity management within plantation stands and landscapes. Managing plantations to produce goods such as timber while also enhancing ecological services such as biodiversity involves tradeoffs, which can be made only with a clear understanding of the ecological context of plantations in the broader landscape and agreement among stakeholders on the desired balance of goods and ecological services from plantations

39. Bawa, K. S. and Seidler R. (1998). "Natural Forest Management and Conservation of Biodiversity in Tropical Forests." Conservation Biology 12(1): 46-55. (Journal article)

Abstract: As a reaction to the continued dwindling of tropical forest resources, many research and development organizations have turned to the idea of natural forest management in the hope of making tropical forest lands more profitable while maintaining biodiversity. Assertions of sustainability in logging practices have been inadequately supported, however. We begin with a review of the present knowledge of the effects of logging operations on various organisms. Post-harvest surveys of a spectrum of tropical forests indicate a range of logging effects from local extirpation to substantial increases in local densities of some species. The state of our knowledge does not permit quantitative predictions, but logging at any level appears to have simplifying and homogenizing effects on tropical forest diversity when examined at community or regional scales. Furthermore, the social and economic problems presented by natural forest management systems have not yet been adequately addressed. We present alternatives to the strong emphasis on "sustainable natural forest management" as a means of retaining the diversity of tropical forest communities. These alternatives include increased support for management of secondary forest, restoration of degraded lands, plantation forestry, nontimber uses for some forests, changes in accounting procedures to reflect the true value of natural forests, and support for forestry agencies charged with protecting forest reserves



40. Hartley, M. J. (2002). "Rationale and methods for conserving biodiversity in plantation forests." Forest Ecology and Management 155(1-3): 81-95. (Journal article)

Abstract: Industrial forest managers and conservation biologists agree on at least two things: (1) plantation forests can play a role in conserving biodiversity, and (2) plantations will occupy an increasing proportion of future landscapes. I review literature from around the world on the relationship between biodiversity and plantation management, structure, and yield. The dynamics of plantation ecology and management necessarily differ by landscape, geographic area, ecosystem type, etc. This review provides a broad array of management recommendations, most of which apply to most regions, and many patterns are evident. I suggest a new plantation forest paradigm based on the hypothesis that minor improvements in design and management can better conserve biodiversity, often with little or no reduction in fiber production. There is ample evidence that these methods do benefit biodiversity, and can also entail various economic benefits. Adherence to these recommendations should vary by plantation type, and depending on the proportion of the surrounding landscape or region that is or will be planted. Stand-level variables to consider include socio-economic factors, native community type and structure, crop species composition, and pest dynamics. During establishment, managers should consider innovations in snag and reserve tree management (e.g. leave strips), where mature native trees and/or understory vegetation are left unharvested or allowed to regenerate. Polycultures should be favored over monocultures by planting multiple crop species and/or leaving some native trees unharvested. Native species should generally be favored over exotics. Site-preparation should favor methods that reflect natural disturbances and conserve coarse woody debris. Plantations that have already been established by traditional design can also conserve biodiversity via small modifications to operations. Earlier thinning schedules or longer rotations can strongly affect biodiversity, as can reserve trees left after plantation harvest to remain through a second rotation

41. Brown, S., Palola E. and Lorenzo M. (2006). The Possibility of Plantations: Integrating Ecological Forestry into Plantation Systems, National Wildlife Federation: 46. (Report)

Summary: Forests provide critical and irreplaceable habitat for wildlife, as well as opportunities for recreation and spiritual enrichment. Forest products are also a critical economic engine in the global economy via the opportunity for harvesting, processing, and manufacturing jobs and the provision of a wide array of consumer products. Landowners choosing to manage their forests for timber production must decide generally whether to use natural forest or a plantation management system. Plantations generally yield more product in less time than natural forests, yet they often result in a simplified ecosystem. Wildlife species have varying habitat requirements for food, water, shelter, and breeding areas that cover a range of forest succession types, from very young to very mature forests. Habitat diversity at the landscape level generally offers better opportunities to meet wildlife needs rather than striving to protect all diversity components within each stand or management unit. During the decade spanning 1993-2003, the global forest plantation area increased by an estimated 32 million hectares, while the area of natural forests declined by 126 million hectares. This trend is expected to continue. As plantation systems represent an increasing proportion of our forested landscape, the need to incorporate biodiversity has become more urgent. Can forest and plantation managers do a better job of integrating biodiversity and non-timber values into plantation systems? Yes! The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has found there are many examples from around the world where plantation managers are actively experimenting with, if not directly implementing, key biodiversity measures in their plantation systems. However, these greener plantation systems have not been broadly recognized nor have their techniques been sufficiently mainstreamed into plantation management at the level and pace of new plantation establishment.

As plantations systems are more widely adopted, NWF believes that techniques which transcend the historically narrow and intensive focus on productivity need to be more vigorously explored and encouraged. These complex plantation models would help to protect and retain the ecological resilience and economic productivity of our plantation landscapes. Scientific research and management experience have revealed a variety of strategies for incorporating biodiversity considerations into plantation management systems. NWFs report profiles the use of several techniques, including those which emphasize the following: Maintenance of landscape connectivity. Habitat fragmentation creates



barriers and gaps which inhibit the ability of fish and wildlife to meet their habitat needs. An area with high connectivity allows species to move through the landscape and readily fulfill their habitat needs. Supporting strategies include the establishment of corridors and stepping stones, the retention of biological legacies, and careful consideration of road networkplacement. Maintenance of landscape diversity. Wildlife species have varying habitat requirements, and diversity at the landscape scale is generally the best way to meet these needs. Strategies include varying the size and shape of plantation stands, planting a variety of species including native species as possible, establishing mixed stands, retaining areas of native forest, and using prescribed or controlled fire as appropriate. Maintenance of structural complexity at the stand level. Managing for complexity and diversity within forest stands meets different species habitat needs and contributes to diversity at the landscape scale. Strategies include varying the spacing between trees, or widening the spacing, when planting occurs, retaining patches of native ground cover, thinning, incorporating biological legacies leave trees, coarse woodydebris, tall stumps - and extending harvest rotations.

Maintenance of integrity and protection of aquatic ecosystems and riparian zones. Lakes, streams, wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems support much of the biodiversity in forested landscapes. The establishment of streamside or riparian management zones, protected wetlands and water bodies, and the rehabilitation of degraded waterways will support water quality, water flow, and decrease the likelihood of soil erosion.Variability in management actions. Applying different strategies across an ownership allows landowners to pursue the best fit for a specific situation in terms of productivity and biodiversity. Implementing a variety of strategies also diversifies a landowners risk if negative or sub-optimal responses result from a strategy. Variability is explicitly recognized in variable retention harvesting, variable density thinning and forestland zoning programs, but can also be the aggregate sum of many different strategies (such as those listed above). As in any forest management operation, the specific context and objectives of a plantation system must be considered in order to identify appropriate biodiversity strategies. Not all strategies are appropriate on all units. Ecologically progressive plantation management operations already incorporate strategies to support biodiversity conservation. While the primary objective of owning and managing industrial forest plantations is the production of timber and pulp, this does not preclude management which supports both productivity and biodiversity. Case studies have highlighted several examples from around the world where plantation managers are actively experimenting with and implementing many of these strategies. The results are companies that are financially profitable while valuing the conservation of wildlife and ecosystem services. Of course these companies must continuously monitor the effectiveness of different strategies and adapt their management to incorporate lessons learned. Carbon Sequestration The Role of Plantations Natural carbon sequestration is the absorption and storage of carbon from the atmosphere in plants, soils, and other organic matter. It naturally occurs when trees are growing and forests are maturing. Total carbon stocks vary considerably among forest and vegetation types. Industrial plantation owners and forest managers can structure their management activities to generate net positive carbon sequestration through their operations. However, growing trees for income and carbon uptake alone is insufficient for maintaining biodiversity in many areas of the world. Linking Plantations with Offsite Biodiversity Mitigation The possibility that plantations can relieve pressure on natural forests and enhance biodiversity through biodiversity exchanges or offsets has been widely suggested. Theoretically, increasing the output of wood fiber per unit of land can release forestland for other conservation purposes. Such exchanges, properly constructed, could create a win-win solution between wildlife and biodiversity, and the benefits of continued forest product output and local employment. These issues are examined, and a rough taxonomy for how such landscape level bargains between plantation management and conservation zones might go forward is explored. Meeting the Needs of People and Wildlife On the whole, plantation systems can do better in terms of managing for core wildlife and biodiversity values. However, there are already many individual examples from around the world that demonstrate the possibility for plantations to be designed and managed in a more ecological manner. Such practices can be implemented while maintaining economic returns. As a supporter of incentivebased systems for improving forest management, NWF hopes that the case studies and discussion in this report will help nudge the process of plantation innovation and experimentation towards systems that provide higher returns to biodiversity and wildlife. Our interest is to see both the wildlife and the people who dependon forests thrive together.



42. Lhde, E., Laiho O. and Norokorpi Y. (1998). "Diversity-oriented silviculture in the Boreal Zone of Europe." Forest Ecology and Management 118: 223-243. (Journal article)

Abstract: This article presents the concepts and models of diversity-oriented silviculture in the Boreal Zone of Europe based on literature, Finnish national forest inventories and field experiment data. The basic idea following the natural processes of forest ecosystems in silvicultural practices has been known since the last century but appropriate comparison materials for modelling have been scanty previously. Stand structure classication used in this study is based on the range and shape of stem distribution. The two main groups are even-sized and uneven-sized. A subclass of the latter, regularly all-sized, with dbh distribution resembling a reversed J, forms the primary basis for treatment models. This kind of structure, following the development and dynamics of natural mixed stands, fulfils the requirements for biodiversity according to international resolutions. Single tree selection and group selection are primarily the main treatments and seed tree and shelterwood cuttings are secondary treatments in diversity-oriented silviculture. In addition, regimes aiming to diversify even-sized stands in di

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