Identifying cost-effective hotspots for restoring natural capital and enhancing landscape multifunctionality

Much effort is expended toward planning for conservation, natural resource management and sustainable land use in agricultural landscapes. Although often not explicitly stated, the aims of these efforts are often to restore natural capital for the provision of ecosystem services and stimulate multifunctionality in landscapes. However, the scarcity of resources for, and the potential economic impact of, ameliorative actions that restore natural capital necessitates the identification of cost-effective geographic priorities, or hotspots, which provide multiple ecosystem goods and services. This requires the integrated spatial modelling of multiple environmental and economic processes accompanied by clear goals and performance indicators. Identification of hotspots provides guidance for highly targeted land use change that cost-effectively adds to the stocks of natural capital in a landscape. Additionally, the multifunctionality of the landscape can be increased through the provision of multiple ecosystem goods and services. This paper begins by examining data requirements for identifying geographic hotspots for land use change. This study integrates traditionally disparate landscape-scale biophysical and economic data and models. The elements of natural capital considered here are species and ecosystems, soil and water resources, and the atmosphere. It is demonstrated that locating ameliorative actions towards hotspots will be more cost-effective at restoring natural capital and stimulating landscape multifunctionality than a random targeting approach. We calculate these efficiencies using a small set of indicators for assessing aspects of multifunctionality. The focus of this study is the agricultural landscapes of the Lower Murray region of south-eastern Australia.     

Ecosystem services and dis-services to agriculture

Agricultural ecosystems are actively managed by humans to optimize the provision of food, fiber, and fuel. These ecosystem services from agriculture, classified as provisioning services by the recent Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, depend in turn upon a web of supporting and regulating services as inputs to production (e.g., soil fertility and pollination). Agriculture also receives ecosystem dis-services that reduce productivity or increase production costs (e.g., herbivory and competition for water and nutrients by undesired species). The flows of these services and dis-services directly depend on how agricultural ecosystems are managed and upon the diversity, composition, and functioning of remaining natural ecosystems in the landscape. Managing agricultural landscapes to provide sufficient supporting and regulating ecosystem services and fewer dis-services will require research that is policy-relevant, multidisciplinary and collaborative. This paper focuses on how ecosystem services contribute to agricultural productivity and how ecosystem dis-services detract from it. We first describe the major services and dis-services as well as their key mediators. We then explore the importance of scale and economic externalities for the management of ecosystem service provision to agriculture. Finally, we discuss outstanding issues in regard to improving the management of ecosystem services and dis-services to agriculture.     

Comparing land-use alternatives: Using the ecosystem services concept to define a multi-criteria decision analysis

In landscape planning, land-use types need to be compared including the ecosystem services they provide. With multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), ecological economics offers a useful tool for environmental questions but mostly case-specific criteria are applied. This, however, makes it difficult to compare findings. Therefore, we present a systematic framework that includes the ecosystem services as criteria into MCDA. The ecological quantification of the provided ecosystem services is combined with the assigned importance of the single ecosystem services. In a case study from the central Alps, we compared three land-use alternatives resulting from land-use change caused by socio-economic pressures: traditional larch (Larix decidua) meadow, spruce forest (abandonment) and intensive meadow (intensification).Criteria for the MCDA model were selected by experts, criteria importance was ranked by stakeholders and criteria values were assessed with qualitative and quantitative indicators. Eventually spruce forest was ranked as the best land-use alternative followed by traditional larch meadow and intensive meadow. The combined approach of MCDA using ecosystem services as criteria showed how criteria weightings and criteria indicator values influence land-use alternatives' performance. The MCDA-model visualizes the consequences of land-use change for ecosystem service provision, facilitating landscape planning by structuring environmental problems and providing data for decisions.     

杭州市生态系统服务价值分析

生态系统服务价值是人类社会赖以生存的条件与效用。参考Costanza等人对全球陆地生态系统服务价值研究结果,从自然资本、经济资本和社会资本三方面构建了生态系统服务功能价值评估体系,并对杭州生态系统服务价值的构成及空间分布进行分析,为杭州区域规划与管理提供依据。     

Emergy evaluation of the artificial forest ecosystems in the watershed of Miyun Reservoir：a case study for ecosystems valuation and environmental management

To build the artificial forest ecosystem is the major eco-economic development model in the watershed of Miyun Reservoir. It is very important to evaluate the benefits of those ecosystems. Emergy theories are very helpful for us to establish a science-based assessment framework. Emergy evaluation of the artificial forest ecosystems in the watershed of Miyun Reservoir is used to asses the relative values of several ecological functions （sometimes called ecosystem services） and main ecosystem storages （sometimes called natural capital）. The main driving energies, internal processes and storages are evaluated. The main functions, including transpiration, GPP and infiltration, are evaluated, which are 609em$/ha/yr, 6,245em$/ha/yr and 340em$/ha/yr respectively. The total values of major environmental services are 4,683em$/ha/yr in the artificial forest ecosystem. The main storages of natural capital including live biomass, soil moisture, organic matter, underground water and landform are estimated, which are 112,028em$/ha, 9em$/ha, 40,718em$/ha, 34em$/ha and 6,400,514em$/ha respectively. The largest value is landform, which accounts for 97.7% of these calculated total emdollar values. The concept of replacement value is explored using the emergy values of both ecosystem services and natural capital. The total calculated replacement values are 302,160em$/ha.     

国家重点生态功能区自然资源资产评估框架与方法研究

针对不同类型自然资源资产,构建自然资源资产核算指标体系和评价方法,是国家重点生态功能区自然资源资产评价与管理的迫切需求。论文从土地覆盖和利用、林业、草原、土壤、水、矿物等自然资源和生物多样性等方面入手,在全面评估县、市、省和国家级自然资源资产核算相关数据的可用性和质量基础上,基于国际和中国已有的做法,包括SEEA-2012账户、国家统计局提出的土地—森林—水账户等,制定可纳入国家重点生态功能区自然资源资产评估框架的账户清单;从存量和流量核算、自然资源资产和生态系统资产的经济与生态功能、实物量等角度开发了一套评估方法工具。选择秦巴生物多样性生态功能区作为试点地区进行了案例应用研究,检验评估方法的合理性与适用性。该研究方法可为相关重点生态功能区进行自然资源资产评估核算与管理提供重要技术方法支撑。     

Soil biota, ecosystem services and land productivity

The soil environment is likely the most complex biological community. Soil organisms are extremely diverse and contribute to a wide range of ecosystem services that are essential to the sustainable function of natural and managed ecosystems. The soil organism community can have direct and indirect impacts on land productivity. Direct impacts are those where specific organisms affect crop yield immediately. Indirect effects include those provided by soil organisms participating in carbon and nutrient cycles, soil structure modification and food web interactions that generate ecosystem services that ultimately affect productivity. Recognizing the great biological and functional diversity in the soil and the complexity of ecological interactions it becomes necessary to focus in this paper on soil biota that have a strong linkage to functions which underpin ‘soil based’ ecosystem services. Selected organisms from different functional groups (i.e. microsymbionts, decomposers, elemental transformers, soil ecosystem engineers, soil-borne pest and diseases, and microregulators) are used to illustrate the linkages of soil biota and ecosystem services essential to life on earth as well as with those associated with the provision of goods and the regulation of ecosystem processes. These services are not only essential to ecosystem function but also a critical resource for the sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems. Research opportunities and gaps related to methodological, experimental and conceptual approaches that may be helpful to address the challenge of linking soil biodiversity and function to the provision of ecosystem services and land productivity are discussed. These include: 1) integration of spatial variability research in soil ecology and a focus on ‘hot spots’ of biological activity, 2) using a selective functional group approach to study soil biota and function, 3) combining new and existing methodological approaches that link selected soil organisms, the temporal and spatial dynamics of their function, and their contribution to the provision of selected ‘soil based' ecosystem services, 4) using understanding about hierarchical relationships to manage soil biota and function in cropping systems, 5) using local knowledge about plants as indicators of soil quality, remote sensing and GIS technologies, and plant-soil biota interactions to help understand the impacts of soil biota at landscape scale, and 6) developing land quality monitoring systems that inform land users about their land's ecosystem service performance, improve capacities to predict and adapt to environmental changes, and support policy and decision-making.     

Ecosystem services and regional development: An application to Sweden

This study carries out interregional comparisons of development and sustainable use of natural capital with and without inclusion of non-marketed ecosystem services. A simple dynamic model of an open economy shows that appropriate adjustment of conventional income accounts includes flow and stock components, but excludes explicit entrance of pollution. Calculations are made for Swedish regions and for two types of ecosystem services — pollution sequestration and recreational services — provided by three types of ecosystems: forests, agricultural landscape and wetlands. When comparing the adjusted and non-adjusted regional income accounts it is shown that the two measurements generate significantly different pictures of regional income and growth; regions that are traditionally considered as relatively less growth promoting are shown to hold important sources of wealth from natural capital, while counties that are rich in conventional accounts fall behind when adjusting for values of changes in natural capital.     

Ecosystem services value of wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake

Based on a comprehensive analysis on various classifications of natural resource values,this paper summarizes an ecological services system of constructed wetland（CW） ecosystems for the accounting of ecological economic value.With the research,the wetland ecosystem services can be classified into six categories,that is waste treatment,food and material production,water supply,gas regulations,disturbance and water regulations,habitat and refuge provision.For decision making in terms of environmental economics for wetland construction,ecosystem services value for the wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake National Tourist and Holiday Resort is accounted for 7,088,769 USD/yr through Environmental Economics Analysis.Ecosystem services value of waste treatment is 825,000 USD/yr,that of food and material production is 1,430 USD/yr,that of water supply is 4,752,000 USD/yr,that of gas regulation is 2,251USD/yr,that of disturbance and water regulations is 1,3721 USD/yr,and that of habitat and refuge provision value is 1,494,367 USD/yr.The ecosystem services values of a pilot constructed wetland in Suzhou are compared with those of other wetlands as a mean and of a typical human-interfered wetland in Wenzhou of China.Results show that in both finite and infinite time horizons considered,the wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake National Tourist and Holiday Resort has the largest services value.This paper analyzes all the probability that may weaken the value of the Suzhou Taihu Wetland in order to provide some advices for the wetland protection.     

The conservation against development paradigm in protected areas: Valuation of ecosystem services in the Doñana social-ecological system (southwestern Spain)

The ecosystems of the Doñana social-ecological system (southwestern Spain) provide numerous ecosystem services to society. We valued the most important ecosystem services through a market-based approach, revealed-preference and stated-preference methods to assess the conservation effectiveness of the Doñana Protected Area, with consideration of existing human activities in surrounding lands. We also analysed the spatial distribution of the ecosystem services beneficiaries and the scale of their related markets. We found a clear trade-off between the local and global market values of ecosystem services because landscape management outside of the Doñana Protected Area promotes the provision of ecosystem services associated with international markets. Our results suggest that a conservation against development model occurs in the Doñana social-ecological system, in which land use intensification takes place outside of the Protected Area borders as a result of promoting marketed ecosystem services, while biodiversity conservation is the main activity inside the Protected Area. We conclude that protected areas should be part of a larger-scale, adaptive landscape management strategy in which conservation planning should be the focal element in coordinating sectoral policies in the context of social-ecological systems.     

自然资本引领绿色基础设施可持续管理

自然资本是将人类赖以生存的自然环境资本化，以 资本的视角看待自然。绿色基础设施的物质客体作为自然资本 存量的组成部分，为人类社会提供了蕴含巨大价值的生态系统 服务。将自然资本与绿色基础设施紧密结合，有利于精准制定 政策以协调经济发展和自然管理的关系，实现国土空间内自然 资本增值。通过梳理30多年来自然资本理论的演变特征，认 为自然资本经历了“理论探索阶段”的道德合理化、“应用推 广阶段”的应用普及和规范化，以及“制度建设阶段”的制度 化变迁。在其影响下，绿色基础设施提升了生态内涵，创新了 评估方法，最终二者在制度上走向了融合，成为实现可持续发 展的重要途径。自然资本提供了甄别绿色基础设施生态价值的 路径，并将绿色基础设施作为一种锚定在国土空间上的生态资 产进行永续利用，这为中国生态资产价值的实现和提升提供了 空间规划途径和政策制定思路。     

Nature,roads or hospitals? An empirical evaluation of ‘sustainable development preferences’

While a key proposition is that a sustainable path is one where wealth does not decline, whether losses in natural capital can be compensated in wellbeing terms by more produced, social or natural capital remains an area of controversy. In this paper, we seek to better understand preferences for different combinations of assets that comprise (part of) the asset portfolio of a nation. In a study of coastal and marine natural assets, we test for the existence of weak or strong sustainability preferences using different compensation options (respectively produced capital and natural capital) offered to a sample of the public in Spain in the case of possible future oil spills. As a further element of this test, we provide an empirical reflection on Aldred (2002, 2006) and Turner (2007) who speculate that individuals may not view money as compensating for certain environmental losses whereas investments in social assets may offer a more acceptable compensation option. Our results do appear to circumscribe in some way the acceptability of investing in produced capital and reveal a tendency towards a preference for social capital compensation. Nevertheless, the size of the oil spill and the environmental beliefs of respondents also influence choices over the natural capital compensation option.     

《企业国有资产法》与国有资产运营管理—以河北省为例

<企业国有资产法>的出台填补了我国国有资产运营与管理的立法空白,并对其今后的实施产生深远影响.该法的颁布对防止国有资产流失,规范出资人法律地位、国有企业经营与管理、国有资产转让、国有资本经营预算等方面都具有积极作用.但该法在立法范围、国资委监管职能、高管薪酬等方面还有待补充完善.     

Classifying and valuing ecosystem services for urban planning

While technological progress has fostered the conception of an urban society that is increasingly decoupled from ecosystems, demands on natural capital and ecosystem services keep increasing steadily in our urbanized planet. Decoupling of cities from ecological systems can only occur locally and partially, thanks to the appropriation of vast areas of ecosystem services provision beyond the city boundaries. Conserving and restoring ecosystem services in urban areas can reduce the ecological footprints and the ecological debts of cities while enhancing resilience, health, and quality of life for their inhabitants. In this paper we synthesize knowledge and methods to classify and value ecosystem services for urban planning. First, we categorize important ecosystem services and disservices in urban areas. Second, we describe valuation languages (economic costs, socio‐cultural values, resilience) that capture distinct value dimensions of urban ecosystem services. Third, we identify analytical challenges for valuation to inform urban planning in the face of high heterogeneity and fragmentation characterizing urban ecosystems. The paper discusses various ways through which urban ecosystems services can enhance resilience and quality of life in cities and identifies a range of economic costs and socio‐cultural impacts that can derive from their loss. We conclude by identifying knowledge gaps and challenges for the research agenda on ecosystem services provided in urban areas.     

Towards a consistent approach for ecosystem accounting

In spite of an increasing interest in environmental economic accounting, there is still very limited experience with the integration of ecosystem services and ecosystem capital in national accounts. This paper identifies four key methodological challenges in developing ecosystem accounts: the definition of ecosystem services in the context of accounting, their allocation to institutional sectors; the treatment of degradation and rehabilitation, and valuing ecosystem services consistent with SNA principles. We analyze the different perspectives taken on these challenges and present a number of proposals to deal with the challenges in developing ecosystem accounts. These proposals comprise several novel aspects, including (i) presenting an accounting approach that recognizes that most ecosystems are strongly influenced by people and that ecosystem services depend on natural processes as well as human ecosystem management; and, (ii) recording ecosystem services as either contributions of a private land owner or as generated by a sector ’Ecosystems’ depending on the type of ecosystem service. We also present a consistent approach for recording degradation, and for applying monetary valuation approaches in the context of accounting.     

公共部门资产：政府失灵与价值管理改革

公共部门资产是基于市场失灵由公共部门占有使用的公共资源。公共部门资产的传统管理是以实物管理为主的低效率模式,最后表现为政府失灵,市场经济下必须改革和加强其价值管理方式。成本管理、资产预算、有偿使用和资本化改革是价值管理的主要手段与方法,也是激活公共部门资产的一种有效的途径。非经营性资产的资本化方式很多,将公共资源实行公司化营运,即“南宁模式”是一种较为激进的改革,尚需慎重。     

Quantification of interdependencies between economic systems and ecosystem services: An input-output model applied to the Seine estuary

The aim of this paper is to assess the possible contribution of an input-output model towards two of the basic principles of the sustainability strategy of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) and Post-Normal Science. According to these principles, decision-support tools should offer a holistic perspective and handle high uncertainty. The difficulties in reaching sustainability are due partly to the prevailing use of “narrow-system-boundary” tools that are non-holistic. Consequently, they fail to capture important ecosystem services and ignore interdependencies between them. To comply with the basic principles, our method allows environmental assets to be evaluated in multiple units and integrates results from recent researches in natural sciences. Both enable coverage of interdependencies between ecosystem services. Thereby, we enlarge input-output modelling from the two conventional ecosystem services of sink and provisioning to the most vital ones: the supporting services. An application to the Seine estuary addresses the impacts of maritime transportation infrastructures on nursery habitats for commercial fish. The ecosystem services covered are life support and resource provisioning. Our results show that the restoration of a total of 73.7 km² of nursery areas over the period 2004-2015 would result in a stock of sole in 2015 that exceeds the “business as usual” scenario by 44.2% (uncertainty range: 35.9%-69.9%). In spite of high restoration costs, the negative macro-economic impact is very low. However, on the sector level, a trade-off results between nurseries and three economic sectors. The quantification of such trade-offs in our model is particularly useful to public participation in decision-making.     

加强社区股份合作公司监管的思考

深圳市城市化转地后,以土地资源等集体资产折股量化型的社区股份合作公司应运而生,并由此伴生了一系列问题。结合光明新区实际,从社区股份公司发展面临的问题进行分析,并从完善内部管理和加强外部监督两方面找出了如何加强和完善股份合作公司集体资产管理的对策。     

中国资产短缺状况研究

本文通过“C I指数”法对中国的资产短缺状况进行估算。研究表明,早在2000年,中国就已进入到资产短缺阶段。该期间部分时期内,中国的资产短缺状况虽有所逆转,但这更多的是源于项目追加贷款、各微观经济主体大幅增持短期存款、国内国民储蓄增幅有限甚至下降、资本跨国流入逆转所致。进一步研究发现,刺破资产泡沫所面临的风险以及对微观主体过度冒险行为干预能力的不足,要求政府短期内应实施“泡沫分类管理”措施来积极应对因资产短缺引起的资产泡沫。     

The Role of Natural Resources in Economic Development

Economists now recognize that, along with physical and human capital, environmental resources should be viewed as important economic assets, which can be called natural capital. Three recent debates have emerged over the role of natural capital in economic development. First, as many ecological services are unique, does the environment have an “essential” role in sustaining human welfare, and if so, are special “compensation rules” required to ensure that future welfare is not worsened by natural capital depletion today? Second, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis has fostered empirical estimations of an “inverted U” shaped relationship between a variety of indicators of environmental pollution or resource depletion and the level of per capita income. Does the existence of such EKC relationships suggest that environmental degradation will eventually decline with growth? Finally, recent economic theories and empirical evidence have questioned whether lower income economies that are endowed with abundant natural resources develop more rapidly than economies that are relatively resource poor. Is it possible that resource abundant economies are not reinvesting the rents generated from natural resource exploitation into productive assets, or that resource booms actually divert economic resources from more productive and innovative sectors?