The "Future of Revaluing Ecosystems" meeting brought together 28 experts to explore ways to better measure and manage the world's natural capital and its contributions to human well-being. Key discussions focused on future trends that will influence ecosystem valuation like rising consumption, climate change, and data availability. Scenarios of different trends in 2025 were explored, such as greater ecosystem shocks triggering demand for more sustainable supply chains. Participants also discussed solutions like financial instruments for ecosystem restoration and new ratings agencies to direct capital to ecosystem management. The overall goal was to change perspectives on nature from something sacrificed for development to something that underpins development.
The environmental damage our factories, cars, farms and lifestyles create is well known. But what happens when the environmental damage takes on a planetary scale, threatening human health and civilization?
The private sector is a logical player to help coordinate
and calibrate resilience-building actions. In the course of their commercial activities, companies may interact with a wide range of city departments—from law-enforcement agencies to public utilities—and therefore have the potential to act as broker, involving a broad range of government players in urban resilience discussions.
The Global Resilience Partnership, spearheaded by The Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), aims to help millions of people in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and South and Southeast Asia build stronger and more resilient futures.
Just as cities are hubs for innovations and investments that expand opportunities, they are also living laboratories forced to confront challenges of increasing complexity. What, and who, makes a city resilient—and not just livable in the short-term—has become an increasingly critical question, one we set out to answer in late 2012 with our partners at Arup through the creation of a City Resilience Index.
Shared Journey: The Rockefeller Foundation, Human Capital and Development in ...The Rockefeller Foundation
In every society, development depends on investment in institutions and individuals. Wickliffe Rose, an early leader in The Rockefeller Foundation, called this “backing brains.” But developing human capital is a risky proposition. This intriguing history explores the challenges and triumphs in the Rockefeller Foundation’s efforts to invest in the people of Africa over the course of a century.
In an increasingly fast-changing and interconnected world, fostering resilience to withstand unexpected shocks is becoming more important. Bringing together leading figures from governments, businesses, and resilience experts, The Urban Resilience Summit served as a platform for dialogue on how to build robust and resilient cities.
The extractives industry is a major sector in the economies
of the region as it makes a significant contribution to GDP
and constitutes a large portion of exports. However, the
sector's impact on the livelihoods of citizens has not been as
positive. To the contrary, some argue that the industry has
worsened the state of things in many nations, weakening
effective governance by engendering corruption.
This issue explores trends in sustainable development and
the extractives industry. The first article surveys emerging
trends, the second article examines trends in local content,
and the third article is a case study of the community-level
impact of the mining sector in Sierra Leone.
Cities are fonts of ideas, opportunity, art and political movements. But urban enclaves can also generate inequality, epidemics and pollution. The rapid pace of urbanization in the coming decades brings these and other unprecedented opportunities and challenges to the fore. Will cities lose their vibrant potential if the challenges they face spiral out of control?
The environmental damage our factories, cars, farms and lifestyles create is well known. But what happens when the environmental damage takes on a planetary scale, threatening human health and civilization?
The private sector is a logical player to help coordinate
and calibrate resilience-building actions. In the course of their commercial activities, companies may interact with a wide range of city departments—from law-enforcement agencies to public utilities—and therefore have the potential to act as broker, involving a broad range of government players in urban resilience discussions.
The Global Resilience Partnership, spearheaded by The Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), aims to help millions of people in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and South and Southeast Asia build stronger and more resilient futures.
Just as cities are hubs for innovations and investments that expand opportunities, they are also living laboratories forced to confront challenges of increasing complexity. What, and who, makes a city resilient—and not just livable in the short-term—has become an increasingly critical question, one we set out to answer in late 2012 with our partners at Arup through the creation of a City Resilience Index.
Shared Journey: The Rockefeller Foundation, Human Capital and Development in ...The Rockefeller Foundation
In every society, development depends on investment in institutions and individuals. Wickliffe Rose, an early leader in The Rockefeller Foundation, called this “backing brains.” But developing human capital is a risky proposition. This intriguing history explores the challenges and triumphs in the Rockefeller Foundation’s efforts to invest in the people of Africa over the course of a century.
In an increasingly fast-changing and interconnected world, fostering resilience to withstand unexpected shocks is becoming more important. Bringing together leading figures from governments, businesses, and resilience experts, The Urban Resilience Summit served as a platform for dialogue on how to build robust and resilient cities.
The extractives industry is a major sector in the economies
of the region as it makes a significant contribution to GDP
and constitutes a large portion of exports. However, the
sector's impact on the livelihoods of citizens has not been as
positive. To the contrary, some argue that the industry has
worsened the state of things in many nations, weakening
effective governance by engendering corruption.
This issue explores trends in sustainable development and
the extractives industry. The first article surveys emerging
trends, the second article examines trends in local content,
and the third article is a case study of the community-level
impact of the mining sector in Sierra Leone.
Cities are fonts of ideas, opportunity, art and political movements. But urban enclaves can also generate inequality, epidemics and pollution. The rapid pace of urbanization in the coming decades brings these and other unprecedented opportunities and challenges to the fore. Will cities lose their vibrant potential if the challenges they face spiral out of control?
Threats and stresses to our 21st century world come in all shapes and sizes, just as they have since the beginning of human existence. But what distinguishes today’s threats from those of the past is the escalating rate at which they are occurring, without mind for geography or man-made borders. Issues once identified and analyzed individually – our environment, the economy, and social challenges – are now inextricably interlinked.
Despite all we know about resilience and the large body of research and literature that has been written on the subject – too few societies, organizations, and systems get resilience right.
In our new publication, titled Rebound: Building a More Resilient World, we asked leaders from various disciplines to share their lessons of what resilience means and what it requires of us. Through the lens of their own experiences, we can begin to explore some of the ways we can help prepare for, withstand and emerge stronger from the acute shocks and chronic stresses of the 21st century.
Cities around the world are facing challenges brought about by rapid increases in population and geographic spread, which places greater pressure on infrastructure and services. Climate change impacts, including rising sea level, more frequent and severe storms, coastal erosion and declining freshwater sources will likely exacerbate these urban issues, in particular in poor and vulnerable communities that lack adequate infrastructure and services.
Globally, the impacts of climate change on urban areas have received less attention than on rural areas where poverty levels are higher and populations depend directly on climate-sensitive livelihoods. However, more than 50% of the world’s population currently lives in cities. By 2050, this figure is expected to increase to 70%, or 6.4 billion people, and Asian cities are likely to account for more than 60% of this increase. Urban areas are the economic powerhouses that support both the aspirations of the poor and most national economies. Furthermore, urban residents and the economic activity they generate depend on systems that are fragile and often subject to failure under the combination of climate and development pressures. If urban systems fail, the potential direct and indirect impacts of climate change on urban residents in general, on poor and vulnerable populations, and on the wider economy is massive. As a result, work on urban climate resilience is of critical importance in overall global initiatives to address the impacts of climate change.
The Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) works at the intersection of climate change, urban systems and social vulnerability to consider both direct and indirect impacts of climate change in urban areas.
Urban populations are facing increasing challenges from numerous natural and manmade pressures such as rapid urbanisation, climate change, terrorism and increased risks from natural hazards. Cities must learn to adapt and thrive in the face of these diverse challenges - they must learn how to build resilience in an uncertain world. Armed with this knowledge and understanding, governments, donors, investors, policy makers, and the private sector will be able to develop effective strategies to foster more resilient cities.
Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the City Resilience Index (CRI) is being developed by Arup. It builds on extensive research undertaken by Arup to establish an accessible, evidence-based definition of urban resilience, which culminated in the publication of the City Resilience Framework (CRF) in April 2014 (www.arup.com/cri). This provides a holistic articulation of city resilience, structured around four dimensions and 12 goals that are critical for the resilience of our cities. This structure also forms the foundations of the CRI.
Who is the CRI for?
The CRI will measure relative performance over time rather than comparison between cities. It will not deliver an overall single score for comparing performance between cities, neither will it provide a world ranking of the most resilient cities. However, it will provide a common basis of measurement and assessment to better facilitate dialogue and knowledge-sharing between cities.
It is envisaged that the CRI will primarily be used by city governments who are in the best position to gather administrative data, but it can also be used by other interested organisations and individuals (for example, universities, non-governmental organisations, community groups). It is intended that the CRI process will also provide the means for cities to capture the views of the poor and vulnerable groups as they normally suffer more severely the impacts of disruptions and failures.
The emerging challenges within the area of Secure Livelihoods were covered in a recent collaboration between the Foundation and Accenture Development Partnerships and included in the recently-released Accenture report, “A Critical Scan of Four Key Topics for the Philanthropic Sector.”
Situating the Next Generation of Impact Measurement and Evaluation for Impact...The Rockefeller Foundation
Situating the Next Generation of Impact Measurement and Evaluation for Impact Investing contends that measurement practices need to evolve by borrowing from the strengths of both private business and social sector evaluation. Suggesting that an impact thesis is a crucial anchor for impact measurement strategies, the paper offers several measurement approaches in use today. The ‘next generation’ of impact measurement and evaluation must stem from a commitment of impact investors to strengthen evidence for their social returns alongside the evidence for financial returns.
"Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCS, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations." Could disruptive change of such a magnitude also threaten top brands among international civil society organisations (ICSOs) such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Oxfam or Save the Children?
This question was at the centre of the deliberations of a group of about 20 experts and leaders from ICSOs and some of their key stakeholders who worked together from January to August 2013, trying to identify strategies to detect, prepare for and navigate disruptive change as it arises. The Disruptive Change Working Group communicated via an online platform and email, and held several telephone conferences and one face-to-face meeting in Bellagio, Italy as a basis for their collaboration. Published by the International Civil Society Centre, this text reflects the inputs and discussions of the whole group.
Urban Climate Change Resilience in Action: Lessons from Projects in 10 ACCCRN...The Rockefeller Foundation
This paper presents key insights emerging from an analysis of the 36 intervention projects,totaling approximately $15.5 million, which have been funded and are beingimplemented under the Rockefeller Foundation Asian Cities Climate Change ResilienceNetwork (ACCCRN) in ten initial cities1. As a pioneering effort to advance on-the-groundactions aimed at building urban climate change resilience (UCCR), this portfolio ofprojects2 provides a ‘first generation’ view of how a set of cities have interpreted UCCRchallenges and translated their understanding into targeted priorities and actions. Oneof the intentions of the ACCCRN initiative was to advance the still young field of UCCRwith practical actions that substantiate the growing number of theoretical frameworks.
The City Resilience Framework is a unique framework developed by Arup with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, based on extensive research in cities. It provides a lens to understand the complexity of cities and the drivers that contribute to their resilience. Looking at these drivers can help cities to assess the extent of their resilience, to identify critical areas of weakness, and to identify actions and programs to improve the city’s resilience.
The unprecedented damage Hurricane Sandy caused along the East Coast of the US, especially
to the densely populated New York and New Jersey coastlines, was a wake-up call to the threat
that weather events pose to our communities. The world has always been plagued by severe and
seemingly intractable problems, including storms, but today, we live with an unprecedented level of
disruption. Things go wrong with more frequency and severity, greater complexity, and with more
inter-related effects. No longer can we afford to simply rebuild what existed before. We must begin
to rethink our recovery efforts, making sure the damaged region is resilient enough to rebound from
future storms.
Craig Applegath of Cohos Evamy presents on the need for resilient cities in the face of increasingly volatile social and environmental changes.
Presented at the 5th annual Green Building Festival in Toronto, Canada, 2009.
The City Resilience Index, developed by Arup with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, provides a comprehensive, technically robust, globally applicable basis for measuring city resilience. It is comprised of 52 indicators, which are assessed based on responses to 156 questions; through a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. The responses are aggregated and presented in relation to the 12 goals (or indices) in the Framework.
The Index has been piloted in 5 cities: Shimla, India, Concepcion, Chile, Arusha, Tanzania, Hong Kong, China and Liverpool, UK. We are encouraging policy makers and other city stakeholders to use the interactive on-line assessment tool at www.cityresilienceindex.org and begin this vital analysis.
How can the Global Goals for Sustainable Development be effectively delivered...vmalondres
Supporting PowerPoint Presentation of an international development seminar delivered at the Open University on 16 September 2015
http://www.open.ac.uk/about/international-development/news/delivering-global-goals
Aspects of Urban resilience.
Presented as part of the Nature Addicts workshop, in the context of Eleusis Cultural Capital of Europe 2021 in Eleusis May 23, 2017
The City Resilience Framework provides a lens through which the complexity of cities and the drivers that contribute to a city’s resilience can be understood. The 12 capacities in the 100RC City Resilience Framework collectively determine its ability a city’s resilience to a wide range of shocks and stresses.
Presentation on Resilient Cities made at the ICLEI conference on Resilient Cities 2015 held in Bonn, Germany, by Tadashi Matsumoto, Regional Development Policy Division, OECD.
www.oecd.org/gov/regional-policy/
This special edition of the Economist -- in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and OECD -- explores long-term living standards, crises and their impact; technology and jobs; pensions, and migration and climate change.
This paper describes how communities can contribute to the sustainability cause
1. Communities, communication and sustainability: what’s the purpose of this paper?
2. Online communities, why are they relevant?
3. How to communicate to achieve political goals?
4. What can politics learn from commercial communication?
5. What’s the proposed solution?
IN THIS SUMMARY
The earth today suffers from many problems ranging from climate change, insufficient food, dwindling energy resources, biodiversity, and poverty. Although the vast majority of human action is based on competition, many of the challenges faced by society could be solved through cooperation. In Co-opportunity, John Grant describes different cooperative solutions to sustainability problems. He focuses on five “bottlenecks” to sustainability, including representative democracy, how people define the “good life,” the relationship between buyers and sellers, the current free market model, and using return on investment as a measure of productivity. Through case studies of different people and organizations, Grant illustrates how social innovators can implement cooperative solutions.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/co-opportunity
Threats and stresses to our 21st century world come in all shapes and sizes, just as they have since the beginning of human existence. But what distinguishes today’s threats from those of the past is the escalating rate at which they are occurring, without mind for geography or man-made borders. Issues once identified and analyzed individually – our environment, the economy, and social challenges – are now inextricably interlinked.
Despite all we know about resilience and the large body of research and literature that has been written on the subject – too few societies, organizations, and systems get resilience right.
In our new publication, titled Rebound: Building a More Resilient World, we asked leaders from various disciplines to share their lessons of what resilience means and what it requires of us. Through the lens of their own experiences, we can begin to explore some of the ways we can help prepare for, withstand and emerge stronger from the acute shocks and chronic stresses of the 21st century.
Cities around the world are facing challenges brought about by rapid increases in population and geographic spread, which places greater pressure on infrastructure and services. Climate change impacts, including rising sea level, more frequent and severe storms, coastal erosion and declining freshwater sources will likely exacerbate these urban issues, in particular in poor and vulnerable communities that lack adequate infrastructure and services.
Globally, the impacts of climate change on urban areas have received less attention than on rural areas where poverty levels are higher and populations depend directly on climate-sensitive livelihoods. However, more than 50% of the world’s population currently lives in cities. By 2050, this figure is expected to increase to 70%, or 6.4 billion people, and Asian cities are likely to account for more than 60% of this increase. Urban areas are the economic powerhouses that support both the aspirations of the poor and most national economies. Furthermore, urban residents and the economic activity they generate depend on systems that are fragile and often subject to failure under the combination of climate and development pressures. If urban systems fail, the potential direct and indirect impacts of climate change on urban residents in general, on poor and vulnerable populations, and on the wider economy is massive. As a result, work on urban climate resilience is of critical importance in overall global initiatives to address the impacts of climate change.
The Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) works at the intersection of climate change, urban systems and social vulnerability to consider both direct and indirect impacts of climate change in urban areas.
Urban populations are facing increasing challenges from numerous natural and manmade pressures such as rapid urbanisation, climate change, terrorism and increased risks from natural hazards. Cities must learn to adapt and thrive in the face of these diverse challenges - they must learn how to build resilience in an uncertain world. Armed with this knowledge and understanding, governments, donors, investors, policy makers, and the private sector will be able to develop effective strategies to foster more resilient cities.
Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the City Resilience Index (CRI) is being developed by Arup. It builds on extensive research undertaken by Arup to establish an accessible, evidence-based definition of urban resilience, which culminated in the publication of the City Resilience Framework (CRF) in April 2014 (www.arup.com/cri). This provides a holistic articulation of city resilience, structured around four dimensions and 12 goals that are critical for the resilience of our cities. This structure also forms the foundations of the CRI.
Who is the CRI for?
The CRI will measure relative performance over time rather than comparison between cities. It will not deliver an overall single score for comparing performance between cities, neither will it provide a world ranking of the most resilient cities. However, it will provide a common basis of measurement and assessment to better facilitate dialogue and knowledge-sharing between cities.
It is envisaged that the CRI will primarily be used by city governments who are in the best position to gather administrative data, but it can also be used by other interested organisations and individuals (for example, universities, non-governmental organisations, community groups). It is intended that the CRI process will also provide the means for cities to capture the views of the poor and vulnerable groups as they normally suffer more severely the impacts of disruptions and failures.
The emerging challenges within the area of Secure Livelihoods were covered in a recent collaboration between the Foundation and Accenture Development Partnerships and included in the recently-released Accenture report, “A Critical Scan of Four Key Topics for the Philanthropic Sector.”
Situating the Next Generation of Impact Measurement and Evaluation for Impact...The Rockefeller Foundation
Situating the Next Generation of Impact Measurement and Evaluation for Impact Investing contends that measurement practices need to evolve by borrowing from the strengths of both private business and social sector evaluation. Suggesting that an impact thesis is a crucial anchor for impact measurement strategies, the paper offers several measurement approaches in use today. The ‘next generation’ of impact measurement and evaluation must stem from a commitment of impact investors to strengthen evidence for their social returns alongside the evidence for financial returns.
"Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCS, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations." Could disruptive change of such a magnitude also threaten top brands among international civil society organisations (ICSOs) such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Oxfam or Save the Children?
This question was at the centre of the deliberations of a group of about 20 experts and leaders from ICSOs and some of their key stakeholders who worked together from January to August 2013, trying to identify strategies to detect, prepare for and navigate disruptive change as it arises. The Disruptive Change Working Group communicated via an online platform and email, and held several telephone conferences and one face-to-face meeting in Bellagio, Italy as a basis for their collaboration. Published by the International Civil Society Centre, this text reflects the inputs and discussions of the whole group.
Urban Climate Change Resilience in Action: Lessons from Projects in 10 ACCCRN...The Rockefeller Foundation
This paper presents key insights emerging from an analysis of the 36 intervention projects,totaling approximately $15.5 million, which have been funded and are beingimplemented under the Rockefeller Foundation Asian Cities Climate Change ResilienceNetwork (ACCCRN) in ten initial cities1. As a pioneering effort to advance on-the-groundactions aimed at building urban climate change resilience (UCCR), this portfolio ofprojects2 provides a ‘first generation’ view of how a set of cities have interpreted UCCRchallenges and translated their understanding into targeted priorities and actions. Oneof the intentions of the ACCCRN initiative was to advance the still young field of UCCRwith practical actions that substantiate the growing number of theoretical frameworks.
The City Resilience Framework is a unique framework developed by Arup with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, based on extensive research in cities. It provides a lens to understand the complexity of cities and the drivers that contribute to their resilience. Looking at these drivers can help cities to assess the extent of their resilience, to identify critical areas of weakness, and to identify actions and programs to improve the city’s resilience.
The unprecedented damage Hurricane Sandy caused along the East Coast of the US, especially
to the densely populated New York and New Jersey coastlines, was a wake-up call to the threat
that weather events pose to our communities. The world has always been plagued by severe and
seemingly intractable problems, including storms, but today, we live with an unprecedented level of
disruption. Things go wrong with more frequency and severity, greater complexity, and with more
inter-related effects. No longer can we afford to simply rebuild what existed before. We must begin
to rethink our recovery efforts, making sure the damaged region is resilient enough to rebound from
future storms.
Craig Applegath of Cohos Evamy presents on the need for resilient cities in the face of increasingly volatile social and environmental changes.
Presented at the 5th annual Green Building Festival in Toronto, Canada, 2009.
The City Resilience Index, developed by Arup with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, provides a comprehensive, technically robust, globally applicable basis for measuring city resilience. It is comprised of 52 indicators, which are assessed based on responses to 156 questions; through a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. The responses are aggregated and presented in relation to the 12 goals (or indices) in the Framework.
The Index has been piloted in 5 cities: Shimla, India, Concepcion, Chile, Arusha, Tanzania, Hong Kong, China and Liverpool, UK. We are encouraging policy makers and other city stakeholders to use the interactive on-line assessment tool at www.cityresilienceindex.org and begin this vital analysis.
How can the Global Goals for Sustainable Development be effectively delivered...vmalondres
Supporting PowerPoint Presentation of an international development seminar delivered at the Open University on 16 September 2015
http://www.open.ac.uk/about/international-development/news/delivering-global-goals
Aspects of Urban resilience.
Presented as part of the Nature Addicts workshop, in the context of Eleusis Cultural Capital of Europe 2021 in Eleusis May 23, 2017
The City Resilience Framework provides a lens through which the complexity of cities and the drivers that contribute to a city’s resilience can be understood. The 12 capacities in the 100RC City Resilience Framework collectively determine its ability a city’s resilience to a wide range of shocks and stresses.
Presentation on Resilient Cities made at the ICLEI conference on Resilient Cities 2015 held in Bonn, Germany, by Tadashi Matsumoto, Regional Development Policy Division, OECD.
www.oecd.org/gov/regional-policy/
This special edition of the Economist -- in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and OECD -- explores long-term living standards, crises and their impact; technology and jobs; pensions, and migration and climate change.
This paper describes how communities can contribute to the sustainability cause
1. Communities, communication and sustainability: what’s the purpose of this paper?
2. Online communities, why are they relevant?
3. How to communicate to achieve political goals?
4. What can politics learn from commercial communication?
5. What’s the proposed solution?
IN THIS SUMMARY
The earth today suffers from many problems ranging from climate change, insufficient food, dwindling energy resources, biodiversity, and poverty. Although the vast majority of human action is based on competition, many of the challenges faced by society could be solved through cooperation. In Co-opportunity, John Grant describes different cooperative solutions to sustainability problems. He focuses on five “bottlenecks” to sustainability, including representative democracy, how people define the “good life,” the relationship between buyers and sellers, the current free market model, and using return on investment as a measure of productivity. Through case studies of different people and organizations, Grant illustrates how social innovators can implement cooperative solutions.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/co-opportunity
Presentation defines Sustainability, Sustainability Management, and presents some basic tools the Sustainability Professional can use to design and implement a Sustainability strategy.
Colloqui di Martina Franca 2014 "Quale Economia per quale Benessere" - Pre-conditions and constraints on the way towards a green industrial revolution.
the delicate topic of Sustainable Development through a
book which I have co-authored and give to the audience also a perspective on
how Education can sensitively provide support for this framework.
I will participate in my role of affiliate professor of management and behavior
for Grenoble Graduate School of Business, France ( www.ggsb.com)
by mark esposito (m.esposito@ht.umass.edu)
This collection of insights from www.futureagenda.org were used as stimulus for an RNLI Futures Workshop. The workshop would generate future oriented scenarios that could yield value creation and lifesaving opportunities for the RNLI in the future.
The World Water Week from 26th - 31st 2018 event concluded yesterday. As like every year, it was organized by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). It highlighted water as a critical resource. It emphasized nature based solutions as way forward towards resolving water issues. This year the theme was – “Water, Ecosystems and Human Development”. Be it with regard to water shortage, water quality, water issues in extreme weather events - floods, water has been the most pressing issue and challenging resource that needs to be addressed. Healthy ecosystems allow plant and animal life to thrive and strive and offer multitude of benefits for human development and all these work together as microcosm in itself and for developing synergy, work in co-operation during trans-boundary conflicts with regard to water, water governance strengthening, and equitable access to clean water.
Reversing the enclosure of the commons: Revolutionizing Regenerative Global O...TravisDriessen1
This paper critiques global neo-liberal development approaches towards governing our ocean and space common resources while providing policy recommendations & revolutionary pathways forward for revaluing our common ecological, economic & social resources and channeling them into regenerative cooperative systems.
Similar to Revaluing Ecosystems: Visions of a better future (20)
The Transforming Health Systems (THS) initiative was one of The Rockefeller Foundation’s largest global health initiatives. Aligned with the Foundation’s mission to promote the well-being of humanity, THS aimed to improve the health status and financial resilience of poor and otherwise vulnerable populations through activities promoting improved health systems performance and the expansion of universal health coverage (UHC).
This report synthesizes findings from a five-year, multicomponent evaluation of the THS initiative. The objectives of the evaluation were to assess i) the effectiveness of the three core strategies – global advocacy, regional networks, and country-level investments – employed under THS to advance progress toward UHC in low- and middle-income countries in four focus countries, ii) the overall effectiveness and influence of the initiative, and iii) the Foundation’s legacy in the UHC arena. A key component of the evaluation was to document lessons learned from achievements and challenges to inform the development of future initiatives at the Foundation.
Overall, the evaluation found the THS initiative to be successful in its efforts to activate a global movement to accelerate progress toward UHC. The Foundation catalyzed and shaped the global UHC movement and, ultimately, influenced the inclusion of UHC in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the post-2015 agenda. It also created enduring cross-learning platforms and tools to support country progress toward the SDGs’ UHC targets. Although THS gained less traction in advancing UHC through its focus country investments, its success in making UHC a global development target and creating networks and coalitions to support UHC reform efforts in LMICs will likely have country-level impacts for years to come.
This guide is designed for program officers to use in their work related to networks, coalitions, and other relationship-based structures as part of their initiatives, program strategies, and outcomes. It offers a set of core components that make up the basics of strategizing, implementing, and sustaining inter-organizational relationships and structures. You can work through the guide from beginning to end or jump to specific issues with which you might be struggling. Every component suggests concrete “actions” or questions that a program officer can apply.
Putting “Impact” at the Center of Impact Investing: A Case Study of How Green...The Rockefeller Foundation
More than ever before, investors are looking to put their money where their values are. As a result, impact investing has burgeoned into an over $100 billion industry in just over ten years. But how do impact investors know whether their money is truly having a positive impact on people and
the planet? How can these investors better manage their results, and use material data – both positive and negative – about social and environmental performance to maximize their impact?
This case study documents the journey of one organization, Green Canopy Homes – and its financing arm, Green Canopy Capital – toward more systematically thinking about, measuring, and managing its impact. While developing the impact thesis for its resource-efficient homes, Green Canopy applied a theory of change tool, an approach common within the social sector, to systematically map the causal pathways between its strategies and intended impact. Its rationale for adopting this approach was simple: use it to maximize impact, and understand and minimize possible harm. The tool also effectively positioned Green Canopy to measure and communicate about its social and environmental performance, and to make client-centric adaptations to its business.
The case study provides an illuminating example of how investors can adapt theory of change to serve their impact management needs. By demonstrating the relevance and transferability of this tool for articulating, measuring, and managing impact, the hope is that this case study can contribute to strengthening other investors’ approaches, in turn contributing to building the evidence base for the “impact” of impact investments.
Electricity is one of the most important drivers of socio-economic development, yet up to 250 million Indians are not connected to the national grid, and the majority of rural consumers have grossly unreliable power supply. More than solar lanterns and home systems that power a few lights and fans, among the most efficient ways to provide reliable electricity in remote areas is through local mini-grids. India has several run by energy service companies and usually funded by philanthropic capital.
Most of these enterprises have not been able to scale-up their impact meaningfully because the risk of the national grid entering their markets can render their mini-grid unviable. Rather than seeing “grid versus mini-grid” as a policy choice, Beyond Off-Grid: Integrating Mini-Grids with India’s Evolving Electricity System explores ways we can encourage more of both: to have the grid operate in partnership with a network of distributed mini-grids to accelerate electrification.
What does the roadmap for this ‘interconnection’ of our energy system look like? How can we leverage both government and private investment? What are the different interconnection models and their commercial, technical and regulatory implications? Where do mini-grids go from here? This timely report – commissioned by the Asha Impact Trust in collaboration with Shakti Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation – provides a multi-layered perspective to address these questions based on extensive research, wide-ranging policymaker interactions, and our investment experience evaluating mini-grid operators.
We cannot achieve significant poverty reduction without stimulating electricity consumption, which fuels income-generating activities in the modern economy. In India, about 237 million people have little or no access to reliable electricity -- more than 90% of them live in rural areas. This severely constrains economic opportunities. Addressing this chronic problem requires going beyond simply expanding the government grid.
Mini-grids have emerged as a viable solution to complement and integrate with the national grid, and can support the government in achieving its ‘Power for All’ vision. The Rockefeller Foundation’s Smart Power for Rural Development (SPRD) initiative is the first to pursue the creation of a mini-grid sector that is robust enough to fuel commercial enterprises and drive economic development beyond just one village. Smart Power India (SPI), which leads the SPRD initiative in India, has proven that mini-grids can be swiftly deployed to deliver reliable power, and has likewise demonstrated that mini-grids can spur economic activity needed to help people lift themselves out of poverty.
This issue of Smart Power Connect, published after the hundredth village was connected to Smart Power, explores the efforts, success stories, and challenges faced in SPI’s mini-grid journey to date. With insights from government agencies, policy experts, energy service companies, investors and mini-grid customers themselves, this publication provides a glimpse into the potential of the mini-grids to transform the energy sector – and how rural communities are embracing and utilizing clean, reliable and adequate power to improve their lives.
Today, nearly 240 million Indians lack access to reliable electricity, and 90 percent of them live in rural areas. Despite the government’s ambitious plans to accelerate universal electrification by 2018, challenges remain in providing reliable and sufficient energy to the last mile. Distributed renewable energy (DRE) solutions, and in particular mini-grids, have emerged as a reliable complement to the government’s electrification programs by providing rural areas with access to reliable and high-quality electricity at a much faster pace. The growth of the DRE sector will be an important fillip to the last-mile challenge.
Smart Power India (SPI) is an organization that implements The Rockefeller Foundation’s Smart Power for Rural Development (SPRD) to build viable and commercially oriented mini-grid ecosystems in India. This report explains the Smart Power mini-grid model and explores the drivers of success. Analyzing early data from a cohort of the 106 Smart Power mini-grids operational as of 2017, SPI provides data on commercial performance as well as recommendations to further accelerate the rural mini-grid business.
Encouragingly, the report reveals that the 23 top-cohort plants have an average unit-level profit margin of approximately 30% after the first year of operations. It also highlights that villages receiving electricity from SPRD mini-grids show early signs of social and economic impact (also see Understanding the Impact of Rural Electrification.) SPI has observed that site selection, a strong focus on operations, support for demand generation and marketing optimized for rural customers, are critical to the continued improvement of mini-grid operations. Finally, the report provides recommendations to address external challenges such as the need for increased financing, stronger policy support and further technological innovation.
A successful philanthropic initiative depends not just on the strategy pursued – but also on how that strategy is implemented. Implementation considerations can vary significantly based on the shape of an initiative – starting a new organization can look very different than investing in a portfolio of existing organizations. This report looks at four “models” for implementing initiatives. These don’t represent an exhaustive set of potential models to pursue, or even the most high potential models. Rather, these are four examples of models, each of which has significant potential for impact when chosen wisely and executed well. The report outlines the considerations involved in choosing to pursue each of these models and findings on how to implement them, drawn from real-world experience.
Globally, over 1 billion people still live without electricity. Roughly 237 million of these people are in India. Smart Power for Rural Development (SPRD) is a $75 million initiative aimed at accelerating development in India’s least electrified states. Through the deployment of decentralized renewable energy mini-grids, SPRD works to accelerate the growth of rural economies, while at the same time improving the lives and livelihoods of poor and marginalized families and communities. With access to energy, individuals, households, and communities can generate economic opportunities and enhance their quality of life. Understanding the Impact of Rural Electrification has generated significant insights on how SPRD is having an impact on the lives of villagers, and what more is needed to sustain, grow, and scale these gains. We’ve learned that households and businesses are slowly but surely moving up the energy ladder; enterprises are expanding and new ones are being created as a result of energy access, and women are feeling safer and more mobile after dark. In this report, we also introduce the innovative GDP+ approach which, which quantifies and measures the social, economic and environmental gains of access to electricity in GDP terms. The initial findings here show that SPRD villages experienced an $18.50 per capita increase in GDP+.
The information in this brief is drawn from a case study of the JLN conducted by Mathematica Policy Research in consultation with the THS team and the Evaluation Office of The Rockefeller Foundation. The study, completed in 2016, was undertaken to assess the extent to which the JLN had achieved its goal of becoming a country-driven, sustainable network helping to advance progress toward universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries.
The Joint Learning Network (JLN) is a key innovation and central part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s efforts to promote universal health coverage (UHC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) under its Transforming Health Systems (THS) initiative (2009-2017). Launched in 2010, the JLN is a country-led, global learning network that connects practitioners around the globe, in order to advance knowledge and learning about approaches to accelerate country progress toward UHC. The JLN currently includes 27 member countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America that engage in multilateral workshops, country learning exchanges, and virtual dialogues to share experiences and develop tools to support the design and implementation of UHC-oriented reforms. The core vehicles for shared learning and resource development under the JLN are technical initiatives, which are managed by several technical partners and organized around key levers for reaching UHC objectives.
With 62.5 million tons of food wasted in the United States each year, there is much work to be done to
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National Disaster Resilience Competition's Resilience Academies - Emerging In...The Rockefeller Foundation
In 2015 The Rockefeller Foundation partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to launch the National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC)
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Following its successful partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) post–Hurricane Sandy Rebuild by Design competition, The Rockefeller Foundation launched the Resilience Academies and Capacity-Building Initiative. Designed to support HUD’s National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC), the Academies and the Initiative provide eligible state, county, and municipal governments with subject-matter expertise and lessons from the Foundation’s years of on-the-ground disaster recovery programming and mitigation planning. Further, the Foundation hoped to assist these key players in moving global knowledge and resources to meet homegrown needs.
In December 2016, The Rockefeller Foundation’s African Regional Office hosted the Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Convening in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 150 delegates and 40 speakers participated, sharing insights, examples, and engaging in debate and discussion on why and how ‘resilience’ can enhance Africa’s ongoing development.
Launched in 2008, the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) Initiative aimed to catalyze attention, funding, and action for building the climate change resilience of vulnerable cities and people in Asia. Given that current estimates forecast that about 55 percent of Asia’s population will be living in urban centers by 2030, the ACCCRN Initiative is built on the premise that cities can take actions to build climate resilience – including drainage and flood management, ecosystem strengthening,
increasing awareness, and disease control – which can greatly improve the lives of poor and vulnerable people, not just in times of shock or stress, but every day.
At the time the initiative was launched, the concept of urban resilience and models for implementing it were nascent and emergent. ACCCRN proved to be an important experiment and “learning lab” for the Foundation and its grantees and partners to build capacity in cities to better understand and implement resilience solutions to the often devastating shocks and stresses of climate change. The initiative was effective in the initial 10 ACCCRN cities and, later, in an additional 40 cities.
As part of our Foundation-wide commitment to learning and accountability to our grantees, partners and stakeholders, we undertook an independent evaluation of the work of the initiative in 2014 to assess what worked well and not so well in ACCCRN. Conducted by Verulam Associates and ITAD, who also conducted a mid-term evaluation of the ACCCRN Initiative in 2011, this summative evaluation highlights successes, but also provides an important moment to reflect on the challenges we faced and on what we can do better or differently going forward.
As part of its overall mission of promoting the well-being of humanity throughout the world, The Rockefeller Foundation developed the goal of advancing inclusive economies. The framing of this goal is deliberate: the word inclusive stresses the need to overcome disadvantage while the choice of economies versus growth suggests the need to consider all dimensions of economic life. This executive summary outlines efforts to develop a framework to better understand and measure the characteristics of an inclusive economy. It includes:
• The evolution of the concept of an inclusive economy
• Key lessons learned from an analysis of indicator initiatives
related to measuring an inclusive economy
• A recommended indicator framework composed of 5 broad
characteristics, 15 sub-categories, and 57 indicators
• Implications for future work
For more details, a full report is available at:
inclusiveeconomies.org
The goal of the CEO & Gender Media Audit was to understand the media coverage of CEOs in various situations and determine if there are differences in the way male and female CEOs are covered.
Equity and Inclusive Growth from a Development Perspective is essential reading for development and evaluation practitioners. It provides a concise history and critical examination of the concepts related to growth, poverty, and equity. These three foundational elements of contemporary development theory and practice are at the root of The Rockefeller Foundation’s movement toward advancing inclusive economies and building resilience.
The paper offers many insights about the measurement and evaluation of programs. It illuminates the debate surrounding ways to assess well-being beyond GDP. It covers the many ways to approach the measurement of poverty and the most commonly used indexes. Finally, it examines the important distinction between equity and equality and the policy implications of pursuing equity.
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• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
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LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
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Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
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The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
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- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
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Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
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The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
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Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
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https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
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1. Revaluing ecosystems
Visions of a better future
Summary of a meeting hosted by The Rockefeller Foundation
Firms are realizing that they need to care for natural capital because their business
models rely on the ecosystems in which they are based.
William Trant Beloe, senior operations officer
The International Finance Corporation
With insights from
2. Foreword
In November 2013, The Rockefeller Foundation hosted “The Future of Revaluing
Ecosystems.” This was the second in its series of high-level meetings focused on
advancing inclusive economies that expand opportunities for more broadly shared
prosperity, and building greater resilience by helping people, communities and
institutions prepare for, withstand and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic
stresses. The Foundation works in four domains to achieve these goals, and those
constitute the themes of the meetings: improving cities, ecosystems, health and
livelihoods. By bringing together diverse and sometimes opposing perspectives to
explore future trends, the convenings serve to strengthen the capacities of leading
organizations from around the world to anticipate and adapt to rapidly emerging
opportunities and challenges. For more information on the series, please go to
www.visionariesunbound.com.
The meeting, held from November 4-7 at the Foundation’s Bellagio Conference Center
in Italy, was convened by The Rockefeller Foundation and the World Resources
Institute. The Economist Intelligence Unit wrote this summary report of the meeting
in full, with the exception of the foreword and conclusion, which were written by The
Rockefeller Foundation.
The “Future of Revaluing Ecosystems” meeting was convened by the Rockefeller Foundation
and the World Resources Institute with support from the Rockefeller Foundation.
2
Revaluing Ecosystems
3. Executive Summary
Ecosystems serve us in many ways. Trees store carbon
dioxide and supply timber; their roots anchor topsoil
and filter water. Coral reefs are homes for the fish we
eat and protect our shorelines. But society has yet
“Revaluing Ecosystems”
brought together 28
experts to explore
ways to better measure
and manage our
planet’s natural capital
contribution to human
well-being.
to fairly value the vital contributions of such natural
capital to human well-being. Meanwhile, ecosystems
are deteriorating as a more crowded and affluent world
demands more raw materials. Is another future possible?
How do we change
the prevalent mindset
from one in which
nature is viewed
as something to
be sacrificed for
development, to
one where nature is
perceived to underpin
development?
Janet Ranganathan,
vice president for
Science and Research,
the World Resources
Institute
Revaluing Ecosystems
3
4. Deforestation between 2000 and 2012
DEFORESTED AREAS
Source: University of Maryland, Google Earth
Discussion of future trends, related microscenarios and solutions yielded a number
of interrelated themes. Key takeaways include:
1. ECOSYSTEM SHOCKS
Storms, floods and drought are
impacting communities and
companies in potent and personal
ways. Rising awareness is sparking
action to improve ecosystems.
2. LOCALISM
An upswell of grassroots activity
among farmers, entrepreneurs
and local governments is injecting
energy and resources into longneglected ecosystems. These
local efforts continue despite
the lack of global and national
CO2 reduction agreements that
might benefit ecosystems.
3. INNOVATION
New communication, information
collection and governance tools
are helping to better measure and
manage natural capital in ways
that also benefit communities.
4
Revaluing Ecosystems
4. DATA
An abundance of open, aggregated
and applied data can help us make
wise ecosystem investment and
stewardship choices.
5. SYSTEMS THINKING
Thinking holistically about
ecosystem issues rather than in
individual silos can help spark
powerful solutions that better
address the complex needs
and interactions of individuals,
communities, economies and
nature.
6. MARKET FORCES
Corporations increasingly recognize
that their business depends on a
steady and reliable supply of raw
materials from and services provided
by ecosystems. As a result, the
private sector has begun to work
with nonprofits, governments and
local communities to better value
and protect ecosystems.
7. TRADE-OFFS
To balance human and ecosystem
needs more equitably, the costs
and benefits of various ecosystems
management options need to be
better measured and more clearly
communicated.
8. SCALE
By linking and leveraging insights,
ideas and resources across sectors,
we can replicate transformative
solutions on a grand scale.
9. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Countries with much to lose
and gain from environmental
degradation are making ecosystem
valuation a priority. These countries
may drive change globally.
10. YOUTH AS
CHANGE AGENTS
Young people’s awareness of
the importance of preserving
ecosystems is growing and could
help change behavior worldwide.
Enlightened consumers may spend
more to “go green.”
5. Trends, microscenarios
and future solutions
TRENDS
Participants first explored trends that will most influence the ways we value
ecosystems by 2025, and their causes, ripple effects and many interconnections.
Several cities are
developing new
models for urban
growth that integrate
natural infrastructure
with human
infrastructure. We’re
seeing green and
grey in very novel
approaches.
Judith Rodin, president,
The Rockefeller
Foundation
These trends included Declining Poverty and Rising Urbanization in
developing countries, which are driving demand for fossil fuels, food and water.
Rising consumption is leading to increasingly degraded ecosystems. In parallel,
rising Fossil Fuel Use is accelerating climate change and the likelihood and
frequency of Ecosystem Shocks such as intense storms and drought. As a
result, alternative approaches to Corporate Reporting are emerging to more
honestly assess how companies consume natural assets and the supply chain
and reputational risks they face. The convergence of these trends is also pushing
governments to revalue their natural capital through alternative measurements
of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A new abundance of Data and Digital
Technologies are driving changes in the way ecosystems are valued. Finally,
Localization, or bottom-up approaches to better meet both ecosystems and
human needs, will also open up opportunities for new ideas and practices.
MICROSCENARIOS
Five of the most influential trends and their likely consequences were next explored
in-depth through a microscenario exercise, which produced visions of the world
in 2025. A scenario based on the trend of Declining Poverty suggested that
consumption and urbanization will rise. But, better education will also help raise
awareness and engagement among youth, who will demand more sustainable
practices and products. Exploring the impact of rising Fossil Fuel use showed
that ecosystem shocks and water conflicts will grow as the competition for water,
land, food and energy intensifies. But because scarcity drives value, companies,
governments and communities will develop new ways to value ecosystems.
Ecosystem Shocks will also trigger demand for more sustainable supply chains,
farmer-led ecosystem restoration, resilient storm protection, and data sharing
among countries. But difficulties aggregating data will persist.
In the same vein, increased social pressure to protect ecosystems will spur
more Corporate Engagement to quantify natural capital. This will open up
opportunities in information and communication, innovation, clean energy
and integrated reporting. However a tendency to withhold data may impede
Revaluing Ecosystems
5
6. these efforts. Similar pressures will bring about a dominant global GDP/
Macroeconomic measure that incorporates natural assets by 2025. As a
consequence, demand for environmental monitoring will rise, and changes
in dietary patterns could follow, along with an expansion of the renewable
energy industry. Finally, though all these trends create new opportunities, these
opportunities also face obstacles such as short-term outlooks, poor incentives,
weak governance, limited political will and entrenched interests.
We’re not just
interested in
restoring what we
lost, but in better
managing what
we have.
Bekele Shiferaw,
executive director,
Partnership for
Economic Policy
FUTURE SOLUTIONS
Five small working groups explored emerging barriers and opportunities to
ecosystems management.
Farmers often lack the financial resources to improve degraded ecosystems. But
innovative Financial Instruments may help fund farmer-led shifts in agricultural
practices. These investments could ultimately help improve agricultural yields and
reduce the impact of farming on the environment.
Farmers and rural communities often lack negotiating power with governments
and multinationals. But an inclusive, open Data-focused, people-centered
dialogue could ease negotiations among farmers, governments and companies,
with outcomes that benefit all parties—and ecosystems.
Incentives to restore ecosystems remain weak. But new investment vehicles can
help raise capital for Local Initiatives if stakeholders can access these resources.
“Restoration Bonds”, for example, target long-term investors interested in the
restoration of degraded lands. Similarly, the creation of a new ecosystems ratings
agency could help redirect Capital Flows into ecosystems management. Such an
agency would grade a company on the volume of natural resources consumed and
the manner in which they were extracted.
The public is still largely unaware of the links between human consumption
and ecosystem degradation. But this lack of understanding can be overcome
by appropriate Communication and Education. An “EcoImpact” resiliency
campaign, for example, could focus on ecosystem shocks such as hurricanes
and drought, or on the ways natural structures like sand dunes, reefs and forests
have helped save lives and protect property in storms or floods.
6
Revaluing Ecosystems
8. Revaluing Ecosystems:
Visions of a better future
Introduction from The Rockefeller Foundation
What do we owe
the future? How
do we realign
incentives so that
we go from a
mindset of scarcity
and zero sum to
one of abundance
and opportunity?
Vijay Vaitheeswaran,
China business and
finance editor,
The Economist
For more than 50 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s conference center
in Bellagio, Italy, has sparked innovations that have helped avert major
global crises. The Green Revolution, which developed new ways to boost
agricultural production in poorer nations, was expanded to Asia over several
Bellagio meetings in the 1960s and ’70s. The International AIDS Vaccine
Initiative, which incentivized research to develop a vaccine, was born at a
1994 meeting.
In November 2013, The Rockefeller Foundation hosted “The Future of
Revaluing Ecosystems.” This was the second in its series of high-level
meetings devoted to strengthening the Foundation’s work toward its dual
goals: advancing inclusive economies that expand opportunities for more
broadly shared prosperity, and building greater resilience by helping people,
communities and institutions prepare for, withstand and emerge stronger
from acute shocks and chronic stresses.
The Foundation focuses on four areas to meet its goals, which constitute the
themes of the meetings: transforming cities, revaluing ecosystems, advancing
health and securing livelihoods. By bringing together eclectic and sometimes
clashing perspectives, the organizers hope to expand humanity’s ability to
anticipate and adapt to trends and challenges. For more information on the
series, please go to www.visionariesunbound.com.
Revaluing Ecosystems
Ecosystems serve us in many ways. Trees store carbon dioxide and supply timber;
their roots shore up soil and filter water. Reefs buttress shorelines against storms
and serve as feeding ground for marine life. Rainforests and other ecosystems
supply pollination, soil erosion and oxygen-emitting services.
But society has yet to fairly value the vital contribution of this “natural capital.”
Meanwhile, our ecosystems are deteriorating as a more crowded and affluent
world demands more raw materials. Shifting temperatures and tastes in the coming decades evoke images of increasingly degraded ecosystems. The poor and
vulnerable will suffer most because they often depend directly on their ecosystems for their food and livelihoods. Is another future possible?
8
Revaluing Ecosystems
9. 5.2 THE GLOBAL 20 REGION-SECTORS
5.2 environmental footprints
GLOBAL 20 REGION-SECTORS
Big THEranking of the 20 region-sectors with the greatest total impact across the
Figure 5:
Figure 5: ranking of the in region-sectors
6 EKpis When measured 20 the environment in 20 regions, in
Industries most impacting monetary terms with the greatest total$impact across the
terms
6 EKpis When measured in monetary terms
EASTERN ASIA
EASTERN ASIA
IMPACT RATIO
IMPACT RATIO
10
20
10
20
0
0
(Natural capital cost/sector revenue)
(Natural capital cost/sector revenue)
30
30
COAL POWER GENERATION
40
40
50
50
60
60
COAL POWER GENERATION
SOUTH AMERICA
452.8
452.8
CATTLE RANCHING
SOUTH AMERICA
CATTLE RANCHING
358.8
NORTHERN AMERICA
NORTHERN AMERICA
358.8
COAL POWER GENERATION
COAL POWER GENERATION
SOUTHERN ASIA
RICE FARMING
SOUTHERN ASIA
316.8
WHEAT FARMING
SOUTHERN ASIA
316.8
WHEAT FARMING
SOUTHERN ASIA
RICE FARMING
266.6
266.6
235.6
EASTERN ASIA
235.6
IRON AND STEEL MILLS
EASTERN ASIA
IRON AND STEEL MILLS
SOUTHERN ASIA
SOUTHERN ASIA
225.6
225.6
CATTLE RANCHING
CATTLE RANCHING
163.0
EASTERN ASIA
163.0
CEMENT MANUFACTURING
EASTERN ASIA
CEMENT MANUFACTURING
SOUTHERN ASIA
147.0
147.0
WATER SUPPLY
SOUTHERN ASIA
70
70
WATER SUPPLY
112.0
NORTHERN AFRICA
112.0
WHEAT FARMING
NORTHERN AFRICA
WHEAT FARMING
100.0
EASTERN ASIA
RICE FARMING
100.0
EASTERN ASIA
RICE FARMING
99.3
WESTERN ASIA
WATER SUPPLY
WESTERN ASIA
WATER SUPPLY
86.7
99.3
GLOBAL
FISHING
86.7
GLOBAL
FISHING
86.1
NORTHERN AFRICA
86.1
RICE FARMING
NORTHERN AFRICA
RICE FARMING
84.2
NORTHERN AFRICA
84.2
CORN FARMING
NORTHERN AFRICA
CORN FARMING
80.4
80.4
SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA RICE FARMING
SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA RICE FARMING
NORTHERN AFRICA
WATER SUPPLY
NORTHERN AFRICA
79.7
79.7
WATER SUPPLY
76.4
SOUTHERN ASIA
76.4
SUGARCANE
SOUTHERN ASIA
SUGARCANE
75.6
IMPACT RATIO
75.6
EASTERN EUROPE PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION
IMPACT RATIO
EASTERN EUROPE PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION
72.6
NORTHERN AMERICA
NATURAL 72.6 POWER GENERATION
GAS
NORTHERN AMERICA
NATURAL GAS POWER GENERATION
69.4
69.4
0
0
LAND
USE
LAND
USE
100
100
WATER
WATER
200
200
300
300
NATURAL CAPITAL COST (US$ BN)
NATURAL CAPITAL COST (US$ BN)
GHG
GHG
AIR
POLLUTANTS
AIR
POLLUTANTS
LAND & WATER
POLLUTANTS
LAND & WATER
POLLUTANTS
400
400
500
500
WASTE
WASTE
Source: Natural Capital at Risk, TEEB and TruCost, 2013
Revaluing Ecosystems
9
10. The deterioration of our ecosystems requires urgent attention. The world lost
880,000 square miles of forest between 2000 and 2012, or an area about the
size of the United States east of the Mississippi River, according to a recent study
published in Science. We have also lost over 20% of our mangroves since 19801,
and the Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral in the last 27 years2. As a result,
we have fewer ecosystems to anchor the soil, protect shorelines and serve as
feeding ground for fish.
Many of these fragile ecosystems are in Asia and Africa, where increasing demand
for food, water and goods are putting additional pressure on ecosystems. Africa’s
population alone is slated to more than double, to 2.4 billion by 2050 from 1.1
billion in 20113; the continent’s per capita income will more than triple by 20604.
“The data are clear. The climate is changing at a faster clip than at any other time
in history,” cautioned Judith Rodin, The Rockefeller Foundation’s president, at
the meeting’s opening. “The demographic shifts are equally compelling. This is
putting an unprecedented strain on the ecosystems that we all depend on for our
livelihoods. None of this will change without interventions. We need more arrows
in our quiver. We need a conservation-plus approach.”
The 27 experts from government, industry, development banks, non-governmental
organizations and universities who gathered in Bellagio arrived eager to explore
trends and their trajectories to better measure and manage our natural capital.
Participants included:
• illiam Trant Beloe, a senior operations officer at the International Finance Corporation
W
and an expert on financing sustainability programs in China
• olly T. Dublin, director of strategies at The B Team, a consultancy that works with
H
private companies such as Puma on environmental profit-and-loss statements
• gnes C. de Jesus, senior vice president at the Energy Development Corporation in the
A
Philippines, a renewable energy company that has long viewed local communities as
stewards of the geothermal sources on which the company depends
• r. Bob Scholes, a systems ecologist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial
D
Research in South Africa with rich data aggregation expertise
• uc Gnacadja, former assistant-secretary-general and executive secretary at the United
L
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and a longtime champion of landdegradation neutrality, or the idea that for every hectare of land damaged, another
hectare is restored.
• r. Huaying Zhang, vice president, sustainability in Coca-Cola’s Greater China Korea
D
Business Unit
(See the full list of participants at the end of this report.)
1
2
3
4
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Revaluing Ecosystems
The World’s mangroves 1980-2005, The UN Food Agriculture Organization, 2007
The Great Barrier Reef and Crown-of-thorns, Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2012
World Population Data Sheet, Population Reference Bureau, 2013
Africa in 50 Years Time: The Road Towards Inclusive Growth, African Development Bank, 2011
11. We’ve leapt to a
future in which
corporate risk is
tied to the state of
ecosystems.
Fred Boltz, managing
director, Ecosystems,
The Rockefeller
Foundation
Robert Garris, managing director of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio
Programs, led the event series. Fred Boltz, managing director for ecosystems
at the Rockefeller Foundation, led the Revaluing Ecosystems event framing and
dialogue structure. Lauretta Burke, senior associate in the People and Ecosystems
Program at the World Resources Institute, directed the event with an insightful
and provocative overview of the current state of ecosystems and methods to
value them. The Economist Intelligence Unit contributed a special anthology of
reprinted articles on ecosystems from The Economist, and Vijay Vaitheeswaran,
the publication’s China business editor, led a wrap-up session. Finally, Sally Uren,
James Goodman and Hugh Knowles of the Forum for the Future, an organization
with future-visioning and scenario-development expertise, conducted valuable
pre-meeting research, shaped the agenda and facilitated the sessions.
Participants identified some of the complex, interlinked trends that affect
global ecosystem quality. They also explored how our limited understanding
and appreciation of the goods and services ecosystems supply often leads
to ecosystem degradation. They examined the barriers to and opportunities
for positive change in how humanity interacts with and values ecosystems.
Finally, participants identified six areas of dynamism, where there may be future
opportunities to better measure and manage ecosystems.
Revaluing Ecosystems
11
14. The conversation
The resilience of our ecosystems depends on a complex
mix of environmental, industrial, agricultural, economic,
political and societal factors. What will ecosystems be
like in 2025? What can we do to restore and better
manage them?
We have pushed
our ecosystems to
such a point that
they are coming
close to breaking.
The solution is
clear. But this
cannot be solved
by any one person.
It has to be crossorganizational.
Huaying Zhang,
vice president,
Sustainability, CocaCola Greater China
Korea Business Unit
Common observations that point to overlapping areas of opportunity
to effect change include:
1. ECOSYSTEM SHOCKS. Storms, floods and drought are impacting communities
and companies in potent and personal ways. Rising awareness is sparking action to
improve ecosystems.
2. LOCALISM. An upswell of grassroots activity among smallholder farmers,
entrepreneurs and local governments is injecting energy and resources into longneglected ecosystems. These local efforts continue despite the lack of global
emissions reduction agreements that might benefit ecosystems.
3. INNOVATION. New communication, information collection and governance
tools are helping us better measure and manage natural capital in ways that also
benefit communities. These tools include remote sensing, real-time monitoring,
predictive analytics and the mobile Internet. Green products and flexible, open
and data-centric approaches also challenge convention and may lead to disruptive, positive change.
4. DATA. An abundance of open, aggregated and applied data can help us make
wise ecosystem investment and stewardship choices. Data can also be a powerful lever to broadcast successes or to “name and shame”.
5. SILOED THINKING. Thinking holistically about ecosystem issues rather than in
individual silos can help spark powerful solutions that better address the complex
needs and interactions of individuals, communities, economies and nature.
14
Revaluing Ecosystems
15. 6. MARKET FORCES. Corporations increasingly recognize that their business
depends on a steady and reliable supply of raw materials found in and services
provided by ecosystems. As a result, the private sector is increasingly working
with other sectors and local communities to better value and protect ecosystems.
7. TRADE-OFFS. To better balance human and ecosystem needs, the costs
and benefits of ecosystems management need to be more broadly and clearly
communicated.
8. SCALE. By linking and leveraging insights, ideas and resources across sectors, we can create transformative solutions on a grand scale.
9. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Countries with much to lose and gain from environmental degradation are making ecosystem valuation a priority. These countries
may drive change globally.
10. YOUTH AS CHANGE AGENTS. Young people’s awareness of the importance
of preserving ecosystems is growing and could help change behavior worldwide.
Enlightened consumers may spend more to “go green.”
Revaluing Ecosystems
15
16. Trends, microscenarios
and future solutions
TRENDS
1
1. TRENDS
For a sense of how humans and ecosystems might interact in 2025, participants
first identified the most powerful trends—positive and negative—that are shaping
our relationships with ecosystems. These trends will influence future economic, political, social and technological developments that might help improve how ecosystems are measured and managed.
Organizers started with 100 trends identified in pre-meeting interviews with participants. They then narrowed them down to the 12 most cited in the interviews and
subsequent discussions. Futurescaper, an analytical tool developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, helped measure trends for frequency and correlation with other trends, with a focus on pressure points and drivers.
1. Declining poverty
We’re talking
about trade-offs.
The conversion
of forests to
farmland has
greatly increased
food production.
But we’ve lost
ecosystems and
their services.
Lauretta Burke, the
World Resources
Institute
The demand for goods and services is rising as much of the world becomes more
affluent. This increases pressure on the ecosystems that contain raw materials for
food, beverages and consumer goods. At the same time, improved education and
incomes are helping to spark interest and public and private sector investment in
ecosystem valuation.
2. Urbanization
Soaring population growth in cities is putting additional stress on already strained
ecosystems that supply water, energy, storm protection and other critical services to
urban areas. Because poor populations often live in vulnerable sections of growing
coastal cities, they will suffer most from climate change—induced weather shifts.
3. The food-water-energy nexus
The interdependence of water, food and energy and their shrinking supply is leading
to more conflicts over their use. Water is often the first to fail and is thus the most
likely to receive urgent attention.
4. Food security
Fears about insufficient food supplies are spurring some governments to be more
aggressive in their efforts to own and manage agricultural land. Some governments
are also more involved in agricultural exports. As a result, local farmers often suffer.
16
Revaluing Ecosystems
17.
18. TRENDS
1
5. Siloed thinking
The competition for water, land and other natural resources is leading groups with
vested interests to address problems individually, instead of proposing holistic,
integrated solutions.
6. Fossil fuel use
Rising affluence is triggering more demand for fossil fuels for cars, factories, heating
and air conditioning. This, in turn, is accelerating climate change.
7. Ecosystem shocks
Storms, floods and drought will increase in frequency and intensity as the planet’s
temperatures rise further. These natural disasters will encourage communities,
countries and companies to take a more active interest in ecosystems.
8. Corporate reporting
Companies are developing alternative ways to account for the natural assets they
need and use. They are better assessing the risks that ecosystem degradation and
climate change pose to their supply chains and reputations.
On the big screen:
The Decision Theater for data-rich collaboration
Conflicts over water use, disease
management and other hot button
issues often pit one group against
another,
making
compromise
impossible. With the proper information
and guidance, however, finding
common ground may be easier than
anyone thought possible.
Arizona State University’s Decision
Theater aims to provide groups in
complex, heated negotiations a neutral
space in which to meet and the data
and tools for collaborative decisionmaking—all to help them achieve
win-win outcomes. The “theater” is
an 8,000-ft triangular room with three
floor-to-ceiling screens that project
constantly updated information. Up to
30 participants can meet in this neutral
setting to discuss complex subjects with
18
Revaluing Ecosystems
the help of videos, data, 3D geospatial
visualizations and simulation models.
Prior to and during the discussions,
participants can also call on the
university’s experts in policy informatics,
design, geography, computer science,
business, psychology and math.
As the discussions proceed, parties
with firm points of view are often
surprised to find that their assumptions
or forecasts may be ill-founded or may
shift as they make split-second, on-site
calculations. Occasionally, participants
realize that their interests and those of
the opposing party are not as misaligned
as they thought. The Decision Theater
has helped groups deadlocked over
pandemic flu and water management
to agree on basic issues, thus making
further progress possible.
19. 9. GDP in macroeconomics
Governments are also revaluing their natural capital through alternative
measurements. After years of debate, many governments are revisiting the validity
of GDP as a measure of progress.
10. Data
We measure what
we treasure. That’s
not yet the norm
when it comes to
ecosystems. But it
should be.
Vijay Vaitheeswaran,
The Economist
Abundant data and new ways to share, aggregate and analyze data will help
convert noise into meaningful information, enabling more accurate measurements
of ecosystems.
11. Digital technologies
The availability and ubiquity of communications tools such as smartphones now
make it possible for communities to share, act on and innovate based on accurate,
current and critical information. By exchanging and using such information, groups
can make wise decisions and investments.
12. Localization
New ways of organizing, governing and addressing ecosystem degradation are
emerging at the grassroots level throughout the world.
Revaluing Ecosystems
19
21. MICROSCENARIOS
2
2. MICROSCENARIOS
The five trends most likely to shape human and ecosystem interaction by 2025
were next explored in depth in “microscenarios.” These mini-visions of the
future allowed participants to analyze how current strategies and future projects
will be affected if trends intensify, wane or converge with other emerging trends.
Participants discussed the direct and indirect consequences of these shifts and
their overlapping and interdependent drivers. They also singled out the winners,
losers, barriers and dynamic areas of overlapping opportunity associated with
each Microscenario.
1. Declining poverty
KEY INSIGHT: By 2025, better livelihoods will lead to better policy
decisions, education, communication, technology, corporate innovation
and management of ecosystems.
There is a
proliferation of
effective local
initiatives. There’s
a lot of evidence
for people and
communities taking
responsibility for
their own lives and
the planet.
Charles McNeill,
senior policy advisor,
Environment
Energy Group, United
Nations Development
Programme
An expanding middle class, more consumption and new lifestyle choices in much
of the world will initially overburden ecosystems as demand for mobility, water,
food, energy, goods and services rises. But, over time, improved livelihoods will
have a positive effect on policy decisions, education, communication, technology,
corporate innovation and the management of ecosystems. Collectively, these
changes will increase awareness of the link between ecosystems and the
benefits ecosystems provide. Youth will also be more engaged in environmental
issues. These and other forces will spur demand for more green products, local
ecosystem restoration, business-led ecosystem valuation, and government-led
green initiatives. But short-termism, insufficient information about the benefits
of green investment, political deadlock and poor incentives will make progress
uneven across geographies and sectors.
2. Fossil fuel use
KEY INSIGHT: Rising fossil fuel use will trigger more ecosystem
shocks. But it will also trigger competition for resources, technological
innovation, and global pressure for a climate agreement.
More fossil fuel use and rising CO2 emissions will impact climate change. This
will trigger more ecosystem shocks such as extreme weather, drought and floods.
Disease, pollution, and environmental degradation will follow. The competition for
water necessary to supply both food and energy will also lead to more conflicts
over these three areas, particularly between urban and rural areas. At the same
time, better livelihoods will boost education and awareness of how fossil fuel use
affects the environment. As a result of these powerful forces, government sentiment
will shift in favor of a global climate change agreement and demand will rise for
Revaluing Ecosystems
21
22. MICROSCENARIOS
2
renewable energy. Winners will include companies with expertise in renewable
energy, energy efficient transportation providers and low-carbon supply chains.
Losers will include indigenous communities, populations near energy resources
or in areas that are more threatened by climate change—induced weather shifts,
farmers who are unprepared for climate change, and coastal cities. All these
trends will lead to new political movements, more sustainable supply chains and
geopolitical power shifts to the newly oil-rich nations of Africa and Latin America
that will provide opportunities for change. But weak governance and entrenched
interests may hobble these efforts.
3. Ecosystem shocks
KEY INSIGHT: As ecosystem shocks boost awareness of the link
between human well-being and ecosystem health, ecosystem valuation
and management will improve.
There’s nothing
that focuses the
mind more than a
catastrophe.
Tundi Spring Agardy,
director, Marine
Ecosystem Services,
Forest Trends
Association
Ecosystem shocks will be more frequent and affect more people. These shocks
will lead to more fragile and fragmented ecosystems, extreme weather, disease,
income disparity and volatile food and water supplies. In response, regional
conflicts and supply chain risks will rise. But so will the perceived value of natural
habitats in buffering vulnerable areas against storms. As a result, the private
sector will become more engaged in ecosystems management. Rural and urban
planning, predictive modeling, ecosystem restoration and investment, and local
responses to climate change will also increase. The winners will be communities
located far from flood zones and innovative businesses. The losers will include
businesses dependent on coastal resources, communities in areas most affected
by climate change and those in both coastal areas and the interior that depend on
healthy ecosystems. New opportunities will emerge in sustainable supply chains,
community-led ecosystem restoration, corporate ecosystems valuation, collective
land governance and increased data sharing between and among countries and
businesses. But barriers such as scarce resources, entrenched interests, shortterm time horizons, limited political will and difficulties aggregating data will persist.
4. Corporate engagement
KEY INSIGHT: The scarcity of natural resources and volatility in
supply chains will drive greater corporate innovation in green
accounting practices, renewable energy development and sustainable
supply chains. These trends will ultimately help level the playing field
among environmental leaders and laggards within the private sector,
through new policies.
22
Revaluing Ecosystems
23. MICROSCENARIOS
2
More frequent and extreme ecosystem shocks will spark more social and corporate
pressure to protect ecosystems. As a result, corporations will increasingly
quantify the costs and impact of natural resources extraction and ecosystem
services use; youth consumption patterns will also change. Innovative business
models, materials and technologies will enable this shift. Some other notable
innovations will include new renewable energy technologies, new ways to disclose
environmental impacts and dependencies in the supply chain to better assess
risk, more accurate reporting, and improved decision-making.
But, because such practices will not enter the mainstream, the true impact of these
changes on ecosystems is uncertain. Barriers such as short-term thinking, data
hoarding, vested interests, conflicts over diminishing resources and corruption
will persist.
5. GDP/Macroeconomics
KEY INSIGHT: As new ways emerge to better measure our natural assets,
monitoring of ecosystems and incentives to better manage them will also
improve.
The tragedy of the
commons cannot
be solved alone.
Huaying Zhang,
Coca-Cola
By 2025, steadily rising social and corporate pressure will lead to the adoption of
new GDP measures that incorporate the value of certain environmental resources.
These alternative measures will likely assess the value of forests, water and carbon.
Pollination, soil protection, disease control and other services that ecosystems
provide will not be listed, because they are more difficult to measure. More real-time
data and remote sensing applications will make such accounting changes possible.
As a result, the link between sustainable development and economic development
will become clearer.
Many opportunities will emerge from this shift as governments change their policies
and regulations to reflect the values incorporated into broader GDP measures.
These measures will help end subsidies that work against sustainable ecosystems
management.
Winners will be smallholder farmers, institutions involved in tracking ecosystems,
accounting firms, and the health, education and clean-tech sectors. Losers will be
extractive industries and agribusinesses that continue to farm in ways that degrade
the environment. Economic uncertainty, patchy data and standardization will impede
progress. Entrenched interests may initially question the science and economics of
these efforts, which may also hinder progress. “We have technology innovation. We
need policy innovation,” said J. Carl Ganter, director at Circle of Blue.
Revaluing Ecosystems
23
25. FUTURE SOLUTIONS
3
3. FUTURE SOLUTIONS
The conversation next shifted to sketching out possible future solutions for
revaluing ecosystems. These solutions grew from assumptions that emerged in
microscenario discussions. Five working groups explored ways that intersecting,
dynamic interests could be integrated into opportunities to create a very different
future by 2025. Smallholder farmers were the focus of several of these groups.
1. Data: Open data + inclusive dialogue = better decisions
Traditional approaches to managing ecosystems and reducing poverty often pit
human needs for natural resources against the desire to protect ecosystems. New
Integrated Assessment Models, such as the “Global Change Assessment Model,”
have helped evaluate trade-offs, creating the possibility of “win-win” outcomes that
reflect the benefits communities receive from ecosystems. But successfully applying
such models is challenging and time consuming, particularly at the community level.
A better approach puts people at the center of the process to understand, develop
and act on solutions that create value for all participants. This more inclusive method
addresses incentives and builds on the knowledge of all those in the community, business
and government involved in urban, rural, regional and even national negotiations. (see
‘Decision Theater’ on page 18).
GDP is a poor
measure of
planetary welfare.
Charles McNeill,
United Nations
Development
Programme
A Peace Corps–type group using volunteers who travel the world to help implement
such ecosystem service trade–off analyses in a transparent and standard way
would make this method possible on a larger scale. Philanthropy might fund its
initial growth; public-sector backing may follow if this approach shows that it can
help communities, governments and businesses broker difficult decisions. (See
Decision Theater on page 18).
2. Financial instruments: New vision for agriculture
The scarce financial resources available to farmers means it is difficult for them to make
long-term investments that can help improve degraded rural ecosystems. A holding
company structured as a sustainable farming cooperative that requires smallholder
farmers to farm sustainably might help resolve the problem. More resources, shared
ownership and better returns would encourage farmers to restore ecosystems.
SABMiller’s efforts to help thousands of African farmers sustainably boost cassava
yields speak to the potential of such a structure. “The long-term degradation of
our supply chain is creating unmanageable risk,” recounted David Norman, senior
manager of Sustainable Development Policy at SABMiller.
A large corporation that guarantees prices and purchases could reduce risks for
farmers. An intermediary such as a multilateral agency or social enterprise that
manages this type of smallholder company could cut transaction costs considerably.
The result: higher crop prices, greater investment returns, better governance, the
restoration of ecosystems and the implementation of sustainable farming practices.
Revaluing Ecosystems
25
26. FUTURE SOLUTIONS
3
The world of science
and the world of
business speak very
different languages.
We are not always
talking about the
same thing.
Holly T. Dublin,
director of strategies,
The B Team
Company-led Philippines reforestation program
plants trees—and builds community ownership
When forests are felled, the tree roots
that shore up soil go with them. The
result: erosion, lower soil fertility
and silt runoff into watersheds. This
impacts both rural dwellers that
rely on clean sources of water for
nourishment and sanitation, and local
farmers and fishermen who, likewise,
suffer from fewer nutrients in the
soil and a diminished water supply.
Each hectare of forest converted to
farmland can add up to 40 tons of silt
to local waterways.
That amount of silt also presented a
problem to the Energy Development
Corporation (EDC), a privately owned
renewable energy company in the
Philippines that generates nearly all
of its energy from hydroelectric plants
and geothermal wells. It needed
to protect the company’s ability to
generate electric power. Without
trees, water often fails to seep deep
into geothermal wells.
Given the aligned, mutual interests of
EDC and rural dwellers, the company
turned to local communities who also
stood to gain from planting trees near
watersheds to prevent soil erosion.
By asking local inhabitants to help
restore degraded lands and thus the
watershed, the company reasoned,
they might begin to serve as stewards
of their total ecosystems.
EDC started 20 years ago by
encouraging local residents to plant
fast-growing species of trees; some
individuals also earned income from
selective tree-cutting. Little by little,
EDC’s efforts grew.
In 2009 it began planting indigenous
and rare trees with remarkable
success. It identified 96 of these
species and mounted a massive
information campaign to inspire
schools and institutions to host and
maintain the planted trees.
EDC is producing a website where
sponsors can name trees online and
track the growth and ecosystem
services of the trees they have
“planted.” The program has helped to
build awareness about deforestation
and encouraged a sense of ownership
in local populations. To date, EDC and
its 91 partner organizations have helped
plant more than 10,000 ha of forest.
3. Local initiatives: Restoration Bonds
Efforts to encourage sustainable farming practices have suffered from a lack of
capital, particularly at the local level. New envisioned vehicles to fund ecosystems
restoration may help. “Restoration Bonds,” for example, promise positive long-term
returns for investment in degraded lands by improving their yields and provision
of ecosystem services. These strategies are based on new ways to finance the
short-term costs to reap more long-term benefits. They also draw on new data
that allow bankers to more accurately estimate the future potential of these lands.
Investors might include venture capital firms and long-term investors seeking yield
or a positive impact on ecosystems and rural communities. Suggested sites for
such bonds include the Atlantic Forest in South America and the Sahel in Africa.
26
Revaluing Ecosystems
27. FUTURE SOLUTIONS
3
4. Capital flows and investments:
An environmental-risk ratings agency
Consensus is growing that fossil fuel investments will be at risk if global CO2
emission agreements are strictly enforced. This has caused a variety of investors
to be concerned about the long-term risks and rewards associated with their
investments. This issue preoccupies many activist and socially conscious investors
as well as pension fund and long-term investors in the reinsurance industry. “These
risks are material and aren’t incorporated into annual reports,” said Ricardo Bayon,
partner and co-founder of EKO Asset Management Partners.
A long-term risk ratings agency could grade a company on the sustainability of
the company’s natural resources extraction processes, and the subsequent risks
to the resiliency of its supply chain and ecosystems on which it depends. Better
data collection, analytics, reporting standards and pressure from more credible
sustainability accounting standards boards might drive this shift. Corporate
adherence to such market-based assessments of assets and liabilities could push
companies to more fairly value the source of their inputs and, by extension, to
improve accountability and their ecosystems stewardship. Ratings would be based
on scenario analyses.
In the past, there’ve
been two parties—a
buyer and a farmer,
focusing only on
market prices. Today,
multiple parties on a
team hold all parties
accountable to
protect nature.
A public partnership
with Coke’s requiring
suppliers to
practice sustainable
sourcing increases
accountability and
the value placed on
ecosystems.
Huaying Zhang,
Coca-Cola
Revaluing Ecosystems
27
28. Dow Chemical and The Nature Conservancy study how marshes
prevent or reduce damage from storms and floods in Texas
Floods and storms are wreaking
havoc along coastal areas in the
Gulf of Mexico. Key causes include
rising
temperatures
linked
to
climate change and more seaside
construction. In fact, the US has
lost half of its coastal marshes in
the last century, much of that from
development. The result: erosion,
shifting shorelines, and hurricanes
and floods that occur more often,
with more intensity.
Worldwide, damage from such
colliding forces added up to $380
billion in 2011, with 37% of that from
storms and floods. These were the
largest losses on record, according
to global reinsurer Munich RE.
Companies with coastal facilities are
paying attention. Storms threaten
to disrupt their operations, supply
chains and stored goods. Firms
FUTURE SOLUTIONS
3
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Revaluing Ecosystems
are also exploring ways to shore up
coastal areas, using both engineered
infrastructure and natural habitats,
to prevent or reduce the damage
from natural disasters. And for
solutions they are turning to experts
in environmental organizations that
just decades ago were considered
adversaries.
Dow Chemical is one such company.
After Hurricane Ike, a category 4
storm, devastated the Gulf in 2008,
Dow executives realized they needed
to act to protect their Freeport, Texas
salt dome facility. They forged ties
with The Nature Conservancy in 2011,
to explore the right mix of “green”
infrastructure such as marshes and
“grey” infrastructure such as levees.
Specifically,
both
organizations
seek to measure the value of such
ecosystems in protecting property,
and to compare the costs and
outcomes with those of man-made
infrastructure. Ecosystems such as
marshes, mangroves, dunes and coral
reefs serve as buffers, by reducing
wave heights, flooding and erosion.
They can also adapt over time and
require less maintenance than hard
infrastructure. Green infrastructure
might bring other benefits, like filtering
water, absorbing carbon dioxide,
protecting larger areas against
storm surges or serving as home for
endangered species or nature parks
(two National Wildlife Refuges are
near Dow’s salt-extraction site).
Quantifying these benefits will help
Dow and similar businesses make
long-term infrastructure investment
decisions. The preliminary results,
released in 2013, are encouraging.
5. Communication and education
Communities, companies and individuals rarely understand the impact of their
activities on ecosystems. A “Make Resilience Visible” campaign before and after
ecosystem shocks such as hurricanes, floods or drought could raise awareness and
inspire action through timely and relevant narratives about resilience and rebuilding.
A coordinated program could raise local, national and global awareness about how
natural elements such as sand dunes, reefs or forests help save lives or money.
Simple messages with immediacy that communicate the human, personal impact
would resonate best.
Campaign components might include a network command-and-control strategy
to manage continuous and cumulative updates; a “rapid-response kit” for affected
regions with social media and collaborative tools; a speakers’ bureau; naming climate
change–induced shocks that haven’t previously been named, such as tsunamis,
droughts and floods; maps and open source, real-time information; and twinning
cities with similar vulnerabilities. Winners would be ecosystems, communities,
more stable countries, engaged companies and a broader understanding of
ecosystems’ value. “We want to create community around a catastrophe by
championing positive stories of how nature helped,” said J. Carl Ganter of Circle
of Blue. For more information on this topic please go to http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=IyL272Q1N0s
29. Conclusion
The powerful trends highlighted in this report—growing cities, increasing wealth,
rising consumption and ecosystem shocks—will shape ecosystems over the next
12 years. During this period, we are also likely to see data become more abundant
and new models that use this data to balance human and nature’s needs. Improved
communication among different stakeholders could encourage us to better value
the contributions of our ecosystems and ultimately lead to their restoration.
Thought leaders assembled at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center by
the Foundation, the World Resources Institute, the Economist Intelligence Unit and
Forum for the Future were tasked with envisioning a different way of caring for our
ecosystems.
In this vision, communities, companies and countries will work together to improve
the natural capital that sustains and serves them. They will use data to assess
nature’s true worth and use technology to disseminate this information. They will
collaborate across sectors using models, market forces and trade-offs to create
shared value and build scale. They will make the most of youth and national and
corporate champions to inspire behavioral change that will ensure healthy ecosystems in perpetuity.
Insights from this meeting series can be found on the Visionaries Unbound digital
hub (www.visionariesunbound.com), which also includes insights from the “Transforming Cities” meeting held in August. Information from future meetings on health
and livelihoods will appear in the coming months. The hub aims to provoke thought,
support ideas and engender action among a wider audience. Restoring our ecosystems—from the arid lands of Africa to the lush rainforests of South America—will
require varied and innovative leadership as we chart a course toward a future that
more deeply values our ecosystems.
Revaluing Ecosystems
29
30. The future of revaluing ecosytems
Meeting Participants
Top, left to right: William Trant Beloe, J. Carl Ganter, Laurent Sedogo, Bob Scholes, Robert Winterbottom,
David Norman, Bekele Shiferaw, Samuel Kwong, David Meyers, Charles McNeill, and Tundi Spring Agardy
Middle: James Goodman, Ricardo Bayon, Hugh Knowles, Fred Boltz, Sally Uren, Janet Ranganathan,
Robert Garris, Frineia Rezende, Luis Basterra and Huaying Zhang
Bottom: Pedro Leitão, Janaki Alavalapati, Lauretta Burke, Riva Froymovich, Judith Rodin, Holly T. Dublin,
Luc Gnacadja, Rebekkah Hogan, Agnes C. de Jesus, Carolyn Whelan and Vijay Vaitheeswaran
30
Revaluing Ecosystems
31. 1. Tundi Spring Agardy
Director, Marine Ecosystem Services
Forest Trends Association
9. Holly T. Dublin
Director of Strategies
The B Team
19. Janet Ranganathan
Vice President for Science and Research
World Resources Institute
2. Janaki Alavalapati
Professor and Head
Department of Forest Resources and
Environmental Conservation
College of Natural Resources and
Environment
Virginia Tech
10. J. Carl Ganter
Director
Circle of Blue
20. Frineia Rezende
Votorantim Industrial
3. Luis Basterra
Chair of the House Committee
on Agriculture
National Congress
Province of Formosa, Argentina
12. Luc Gnacadja
U.N. Assistant-Secretary-General and
Executive Secretary
United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification
4. Ricardo Bayon
Partner and Co-Founder
EKO Asset Management Partners
13. Rebekkah Hogan
Strategic Research
The Rockefeller Foundation
5. William Trant Beloe
Senior Operations Officer
China’s Sustainable Energy Finance
International Finance Corporation
14. Samuel Kwong
Group Environment, Health and
Safety Manager
John Swire Sons Ltd
6. Fred Boltz
Managing Director, Ecosystems
The Rockefeller Foundation
15. Pedro Leitão
Chief Executive Officer
Instituto Arapyaú
7. Lauretta Burke
Senior Associate
People and Ecosystems Program
World Resources Institute
16. Charles McNeill
Senior Policy Adviser
Environment Energy Group
United Nations Development Programme
8. Agnes C. de Jesus
Senior Vice President
Environment and External Relations and
Compliance Officer
Energy Development Corporation
17. David Meyers
Principal
Green Ant Advisors
11. Robert Garris
Managing Director
The Rockefeller Foundation
18. David Norman
Senior Manager
Sustainable Development Policy
SABMiller
21. Judith Rodin
President
The Rockefeller Foundation
22. Bob Scholes
Systems Ecologist
Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research
23. Laurent Sedogo
Minister of Agriculture
Water Resources and Fisheries
Burkina Faso
24. Bekele Shiferaw
Executive Director
Partnership for Economic Policy
25. Sally Uren
Chief Executive Officer
Forum for the Future
26. Vijay Vaitheeswaran
China Business and Finance Editor
The Economist
27. Robert Winterbottom
Director
Ecosystems Services Initiative
World Resources Institute
28. Dr. Huaying Zhang
Vice President, Sustainability
Coca-Cola Greater China Korea
Business Unit
“Revaluing Ecosystems” was convened by The Rockefeller Foundation and
the World Resources Institute with support from The Rockefeller Foundation.
Revaluing Ecosystems
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