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Environmental Conservation and Ecosystem Services in River Basins
The document discusses ecosystem services and their importance in river basin management. It defines ecosystem services as the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems, including provisioning services like food and freshwater, regulating services like climate regulation and flood regulation, and cultural services like aesthetic, spiritual, and recreational benefits. The document advocates for mainstreaming ecosystem services, which means integrating conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into various production sectors. This requires understanding how a healthy environment supports economic sectors and implementing coordination mechanisms. The ecosystem approach aims to balance conservation, sustainable use, and equitable benefit-sharing, according to principles like decentralized management and long-term planning. Tools are presented for assessing drivers of biodiversity loss and recording the status of ecosystem services.
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Environmental Conservation and Ecosystem Services in River Basins
- 1. 1 Guy Broucke International Unionfor Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pretoria Office, RSA Environmental Conservation and Ecosystem Services in River Basins Transboundary Water Management Workshop: Orange-Senqu and Zambezi Basins
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- 3. Environment – asector? 3
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- 6. 6 Ecosystem Services =Benefits people obtain from ecosystems Provisioning services Food Freshwater Wood fuel Timber Fibre Genetic Resources
- 7. 7 Ecosystem Services =Benefits people obtain from ecosystems Regulating Services Climate Regulation Flood Regulation Disease Regulation Water Purification Waste assimilation
- 8. 8 Ecosystem Services =Benefits people obtain from ecosystems Cultural Services Aesthetic Spiritual Educational Recreational Social Relations
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- 11. 11 What is Mainstreaming EcosystemServices? Integrating or incorporating actions related to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into strategies relating to production sectors, such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism and mining Including biodiversity considerations in poverty reduction plans and national sustainable development plans
- 12. 12 Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services Requiresan understanding and acceptance of the importance of a healthy environment to well- functioning production sectors Requires mechanisms (e.g. inter-agency taskforces; coordinating committees etc;), the will and ability to identify win-win situations Requires an extensive strategy of communication, education and public awareness
- 13. 13 Ecosystem Approach = IntegratedManagement Strategy The ecosystem approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. Thus, the application of the ecosystem approach helps to reach a balance of the three objectives of the CBD: conservation; sustainable use; and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources
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- 15. 15 Principles of EcosystemApproach (CBD) Principle 1: The objectives of management of land, water and living resources are a matter of societal choice Principle 2: Management should be decentralized to the lowest appropriate level (subsidiarity) Principle 3: Ecosystem managers should consider the external effects (actual or potential) of their activities on adjacent and other ecosystems.
- 16. 16 Principles of EcosystemApproach Principle 4: Recognizing potential gains from management, there is usually a need to understand and manage the ecosystem in an economic context. Any such ecosystem-management programme should: a) Reduce those market distortions that adversely affect biological diversity; b) Align incentives to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; c) Internalize costs and benefits in the given ecosystem to the extent feasible.
- 17. 17 Principles of EcosystemApproach Principle 5: Conservation of ecosystem structure and functioning, in order to maintain ecosystem services, should be a priority target of the ecosystem approach Principle 6: Ecosystems must be managed within the limits of their functioning Principle 7: The ecosystem approach should be undertaken at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales
- 18. 18 Principles of EcosystemApproach Principle 8: Recognizing the varying temporal scales and lag- effects that characterize ecosystem processes, objectives for ecosystem management should be set for the long term Principle 9: Management must recognize that change is inevitable Principle 10: The ecosystem approach should seek the appropriate balance between, and integration of, conservation and use of biological diversity
- 19. 19 Principles of EcosystemApproach Principle 11: The ecosystem approach should consider all forms of relevant information, including scientific and indigenous and local knowledge, innovations and practices Principle 12: The ecosystem approach should involve all relevant sectors of society and scientific disciplines
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- 21. 21 Drivers of BiodiversityLoss Biodiversity Loss Habitat Change Climate Change Invasive Species Over- exploitation Nutrients & pollution Economic Demo- graphic Socio- political Cultural & religious Science & Technology Indirect drivers Direct drivers
- 22. Example of recordingsheet for status of drivers of biodiversity loss 22 Habitat Change Climate Change Invasive Species Over- exploitation Nutrients & pollution
- 23. 23 Provisioning Services Food crops livestock capturefisheries aquaculture wild foods Fiber timber +/– cotton, silk +/– wood fuel Genetic resources Biochemicals, medicines Fresh water Regulating Services Air quality regulation Climate regulation – global Climate– regional and local Water regulation +/– Erosion regulation Water / waste treatment Disease regulation +/– Pest regulation Pollination Natural hazard regulation Cultural Services Spiritual / religious values Aesthetic values Recreation and ecotourism +/– 15 of 24 ecosystem services are in decline
- 24. 24 Operational Objectives for EcosystemApproach Management (1) Develop broad Stakeholder-Based Governance system (2) Conserve essential Parts of the ecosystem (3) Conserve essential ecosystem Processes Question, if (2) is done well, is (3) necessary?
- 25. 25 Basic Steps TowardsDeveloping Mechanisms for Conserving Ecosystem Services The process can be done in an iterative way
- 26. 26 Operational Guidance for MainstreamingEcosystems Services 1. Focus on the functional relationships and processes within ecosystems 2. Enhance benefit-sharing 3. Use adaptive management practices 4. Carry out management actions at the scale appropriate for the issue being addressed, with decentralization to lowest level, as appropriate 5. Ensure inter-sectoral cooperation
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- 28. Environmental Management Examplesfor Water Basin Management Maintaining environmental flows Pollution control Ecohydrology and phytoremediation Habitat rehabilitation. Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater Watershed management Water demand management Payment for ecosystem services © IISD 2011
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