Policy Brief: Nordic ecosystem services:
Policy Brief: Nordic ecosystem services:

Author: Kristin Magnussen

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2019-01-10

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13: 9289359447

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Nature provides us with a multitude of goods like food and fiber, drinking water, protection against floods and storms, carbon storage and recreational services like swimming and bird watching. Our welfare and well-being depend on these goods and services – often called ecosystem services, defined as “the benefit people directly and indirectly obtain from nature”. We often distinguish between four categories of ecosystem services; supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services. This report aims to sum up and show some examples of the results of the ecosystem services projects carried out for NCM. It illustrates which ecosystem services we receive from Nordic nature and the importance of these. It also shows examples of how the ecosystem services approach has been and can be used in management of nature in the Nordic countries, and to point out some knowledge gaps.

Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem Services

Author: Gundersen, Hege

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published:

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 9289347473

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People are dependent on the ocean and coasts and their resources for their survival and well-being. Coastal ecosystems of the Nordic countries, such as kelp forests, blue mussel beds, eelgrass meadows and shallow bays and inlets, provide a number of supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services to both the local communities as well as the wider population who benefit from them. The study has focused on examining these coastal values through selected examples, and recommend possible applications and relevance for the management of the Nordic coastal areas and their resources. The project has also identified key gaps in the knowledge and suggests where further work should be emphasized.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems
Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems

Author: A. Belgrano

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2018-06-18

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 9289356650

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This report describes the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Nordic region, the drivers and pressures affecting them, interactions and effects on people and society, and options for governance. The main report consists of two volumes. Volume 1 The general overview (this report) and Volume 2 The geographical case studies. This study has been inspired by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES). It departs from case studies (Volume 2, the geographical case studies) from ten geographical areas in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and the autonomous areas of Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The aim was to describe status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Nordic region, including the drivers and pressures affecting these ecosystems, the effects on people and society and options for governance. The Nordic study is structured as closely as possible to the framework for the regional assessments currently being finalized within IPBES. The report highlights environmental differences and similarities in the Nordic coastal areas, like the inhabitants´ relation to nature and the environment as well as similarities in social and policy instruments between the Nordic countries. This study provides background material for decision-making and it is shown that Nordic cooperation is of great importance for sustainable coastal management and should be strengthened in future work.

Valuation of Ecosystem Services from Nordic Watersheds
Valuation of Ecosystem Services from Nordic Watersheds

Author: David N. Barton

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2012-02-29

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 9289323191

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The emergence of the ecosystem services concept suggests that economic valuation studies are already fulfilling a role in raising awareness by demonstrating the loss of nature's goods and services using monetary indicators. In order to have future relevance in capturing value and giving support to policy-makers, valuation methods must specifically address resource accounting, priority setting, and instrument design. This report provides an overview of economic valuation methods of ecosystem services from watersheds in the Nordic countries. The study was commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers and conducted by The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, The Norwegian Institute of Water Research and Sweco Norge during the period May - November 2011. The study indicates that economic valuation methods can be applied to watershed management in multiple ways. However, policy makers should be wary of "one size fits all" valuation estimates that appear ready to use across different watershed types and stakeholder interests.

Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem Services

Author: Kristin Magnussen

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2014-12-08

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 9289338539

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Human wellbeing is dependent upon and benefit from ecosystem services which are delivered by well-functioning ecosystems. Ecosystem services can be mapped and assessed consistently within an ecosystem service framework. This project aims to explore the use and usefulness of the ecosystem service framework in freshwater management, particularly water management according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD). There are several examples of how ecosystem services have been used in WFD related studies in all the Nordic countries. Most of them involve listing, describing and categorizing freshwater ecosystem services, while there are few comprehensive Cost Benefit Analyses and analyses of disproportionate costs that apply this framework. More knowledge about ecosystem services and the value of ecosystem services for freshwater systems is needed.

Landscape experiences as a cultural ecosystem service in a Nordic context
Landscape experiences as a cultural ecosystem service in a Nordic context

Author: Lindhjem, Henrik

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2015-08-19

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 9289342404

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Cultural ecosystem services in the form of experiences derived from landscapes are potentially important, but often overlooked. Given the large and unprecedented landscape changes many of the Nordic countries are undergoing, there is a need to find ways of including people’s preferences and the value of landscape impacts in policy assessments and decision-making processes. The project aim has been to synthesize knowledge about the magnitude and value of landscape experiences, and investigate current practices and examples of how landscape impacts are incorporated (or not) in policy assessments and decision-making contexts in the Nordics. The literature demonstrates potentially high unaccounted welfare loss from landscape change. We find clear weaknesses in current practices, that a second phase will try to address. The project was carried out by Vista Analysis in Oslo and Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University from 2014–15.

Landscape Experiences as a Cultural Ecosystem Service in a Nordic Context: Concepts, Values and Decision-making
Landscape Experiences as a Cultural Ecosystem Service in a Nordic Context: Concepts, Values and Decision-making

Author: Rasmus Reinvang

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 9289342390

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Cultural ecosystem services in the form of experiences derived from landscapes are potentially important, but often overlooked. Given the large and unprecedented landscape changes many of the Nordic countries are undergoing, there is a need to find ways of including people's preferences and the value of landscape impacts in policy assessments and decision-making processes. The project aim has been to synthesize knowledge about the magnitude and value of landscape experiences, and investigate current practices and examples of how landscape impacts are incorporated (or not) in policy assessments and decision-making contexts in the Nordics. The literature demonstrates potentially high unaccounted welfare loss from landscape change. We find clear weaknesses in current practices, that a second phase will try to address. The project was carried out by Vista Analysis in Oslo and Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University from 2014-15.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems
Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems

Author: J. Berglund

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2018-06-18

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 9289355999

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This report contributes to a Nordic IPBES-like assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal areas. It is based on ten geographical cases in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The purpose is to reflect upon local biodiversity and ecosystem services, e.g. status and trends, drivers of change and policies for governance, and what future we are to expect. The cases describe the situation in the Näätämö area, Kalix archipelago, Quark, Lake Puruvesi, Bay of Lumparn, Öresund, Helgeland archipelago, Faroe Islands, the northern coastline of Iceland, and Disko Bay. It stretches from fresh water areas to ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean and from urbanised areas with heavy pressures on the environment, e.g. Öresund, to sparsely populated areas, like Greenland with a population of around 0.03 habitants/km2.

Ecosystem Services in the Baltic Sea
Ecosystem Services in the Baltic Sea

Author: Heini Ahtiainen

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2014-12-08

Total Pages: 77

ISBN-13: 9289338636

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This report presents an overview of the ecosystem services and associated benefits provided by the Baltic Sea, including information on the approaches of assessing and valuing ecosystem services being applied in the Baltic Sea region. It also identifies the main challenges in ecosystem service assessments in the Baltic Sea, and outlines the way forward in applying assessment tools in regional and national policies. Valuation of the benefits provided by ecosystem services can aid in designing more efficient policies for the protection of the Baltic Sea. The existing studies on the value of improved marine environment are useful in assessing the importance and value of some marine ecosystem services, but further work is still needed on describing ecosystem services and their interactions, and evaluating how policy changes affect these services and human well-being.