Price of Nature

Question 1

Different services provided by nature…

Answer 1

Supporting - Soil formation, food
Cultural - Stewardship, Aesthetic
Provisioning - Clean water, Fish
Regulating - Cool temperatures, flooding control

Question 2

The issue with ecosystem services?

Answer 2

As we don’t have to pay for them may not be as valued

Question 3

How to value services?

Answer 3

If they give a product, easier to give a monetary value
Without this have to imagine the cost of the humans producing a system to provide the same service
Harder with aesthetic, have to ask people how much they would pay to conserve it

Question 4

Explain National capital initiative

Answer 4

The elements of nature that produce value (directly and indirectly) to people, such as the stock of forests, rivers, land, minerals and oceans. Includes the living aspects of nature such as fish stocks as well as the non - living aspects
UK attempt to review all systems

Question 5

How to measure National capital

Answer 5

Ensured that it was underpinned by good quality science, considered all factors interlinked and not in isolation.
Also measured future need ie. where to put future pies

Question 6

New forest Case Study

Answer 6

If you just placed the forest on market value, this would not be beneficial for all species and there would be a net loss, however, if placed so beneficial for all ecosystem services, would be more economically efficient, and more available to people.

Question 7

Issues with this new forest case study

Answer 7

It values ecosystems against human benefit

Question 8

Biodiversity offsetting procedure

Answer 8

Regulated by the EU, if new infrastructure is going to be produced then any damage to biodiversity needs to be mitigated, this limits the effects of biodiversity and ensure that net capital is maintained.
Minimises effect, could be by moving it to another location

Question 9

Factors of biodiversity offsetting

Answer 9

Minimise the effect
Reduce the size of the affected area
Containment and reduced fragmentation 
Can include onsite restoration 
Needs to be ecologically equivalent  
Gain in biodiversity
Reduces the negative effects of other pressures

Question 10

Steps of biodiversity offsetting

Answer 10

Identification of impacts (critical
Sum of losses
Calculation of gains 
Sizing of offset actions 
Optimisation
want to maintain species richness

Question 11

Offsetting case study

Answer 11

85 development projects, 253 species affected, 161 protected internationally, 93 protected nationally, found that the projects:
19 had no offset
36 had partial offset
30 had species equality