Projects and partners
Economic and monetary information on ecosystem services is important in many ways: it can help to demonstrate the welfare effect of investing in nature conservation and landscape restoration, it is essential in attempts to internalize externalities in cost-benefit analysis of land use change and business models, and is increasingly used in natural capital accounting and national conservation strategies.
Below you will find several of our recent projects to get ideas for how the ESVD can be used in your organisation. Also, here you read more of the organisations using the ESVD.
LNV supported the spring 2021 update of the ESVD, adding over 600 value estimates to an estimated total of 5400 value estimates. In addition, the online interface with all the handy functionalities as are currently on esvd.net were developed for this project.
Our focus of adding new data was specifically was on ecosystem services valuation in a Dutch(-related) context, including the Dutch Caribbean, and Indonesia.
Find the final report here.
FAO SOFO update
The FAO supported the summer 2021 ESVD update for their flagship report: State of the World's Forests 2022 (SOFO). For this update, we increased the number of value estimates in the ESVD with over 1000 value estimates. In addition, we have over 700 value estimates externally reviewed. Furthermore, we added the SEEA ecosystem service classification to the ESVD.
Our findings can be read in the one of the FAO flagship reports when it comes out: FAO's State of the World's Forests 2022.
For the FAO we partnered up on the brand new ABC-tool.
The Adaptation, Biodiversity and Carbon mapping tool (ABC-tool in short) is a new geospatial app, based on continuously updated satellite data to assess the environmental impact of land-use changes as a result of national policy plans or financial investments in the AFOLU sector.
We collaborated with the ABC-tool by including the ESVD monetary values for the biodiversity module.
In addition, with worked together with another division of the FAO on the
DEFRA supported the 2019 ESVD update. This update highlighted UK ecosystem services with a special focus on habitats relevant for flood risk management, in addition to values for all biomes and ecosystem services. In total, over 2500 value estimates were added to the ESVD, including a newly developed review process.
This was the first update after the 2012 update which set in motion many other projects!
You can read the report here
Currently, we are working together with Satelligence and Robeco Bank on an ESVD user-case. THe goal of this user-case is an exploration on the alignment of the database with satellite data to monetize the impacts of investment decisions on ecosystems.
With satellite data from Satelligence we are estimating the value of deforestated tropical forests.
The final report will be available soon.
Standards & Poor's Global Ratings update
We worked on a review for the Sustainable Finance group of S&P Global Ratings (SPGR), as part of the research for the Natural Capital Valuation: An Incentive to Protect Nature paper produced by SPGR. The project consisted of calculating a hypothetical cost of nature-loss for Amazonian-sourced beef. In total around 300 value estimates were added, creating a total of 6700+ value estimates in the ESVD.
You can read the report here.
Some ESVD users
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN)
Using the ESVD for the ABC-tool, their flagship report State of the World's Forests (SOFO) report and the B-intact tool.
ESVD user groups
International governmental organisations
With the impact of climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss becoming increasingly visible, organisations like FAO, IPCC, UNEP (IPBES, TEEB), and UN-Conventions (e.g. CBD), and others are looking for data on the real societal costs of these environmental problems as well as the economic benefits of investing in prevention, mitigation and adaptation. The ESVD can provide this data and when needed integrate into other tools.
See featured projects for more information
At all levels of public decision making, similar questions as those mentioned under International governmental organisations are relevant but in addition, national, regional and local issues are in need of better data on consequences of programs and projects that affect specific landscapes and ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem services is increasingly used to come to a more balanced decision based on integrated cost-benefit analysis (i-CBA).
To support the transition to a ‘greener economy’ the financial sector is crucial and we are discussing with several Dutch banks (e.g. ASN, DNB, Rabobank, Robeco) how they can use the ESVD in their decision-making and risk management assessments for investments.
Currently, we are developing user cases to gain more practical insights in the role of the ESVD for financial instiutions.
Increasingly, the business community is willing to change their business model into a more sustainable direction and internalise the (negative and positive) externalities. During ESP conferences we have had presentations by many different companies sharing their views on how they already are, or would like to use the ES-concept in their business model (e.g EcoAcsa, Heidelberg Cement, HIPP, Lafarge-Holcim, SIBELCO, and others). Consultants, like Arcadis, KPMG, and others are developing separate tools to determine the ‘true costs’ of business activities to make an integrated, or social CBA. This will be a major application area of the updated and upgraded ESVD as this will give the most comprehensive and trust-worthy data available.
An important task of NGO’s is to critically follow the actions of governments and their effects on the environment and human wellbeing and take the role as ‘ frontrunner’ to implement new ideas into practice and show that it can work. A prime example is Commonland, which is investing in large-scale, long-term landscape restoration in many parts of the world. The Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) is supporting this effort with the development of guidelines to analyse the ‘ true’ societal costs and benefits of these investments.
The ESP aims to enhance communication, coordination and cooperation, and to build a strong network of individuals and organizations within the field of ecosystem services. Read more about the ESP here.
The general public
Information and awareness has to be available for as many people as possible. Through our partnership with NatureToday, the Ecosystem PartnerShip provides and develops an overview of practical user cases and short insights in the possibilities and experiences regarding the importance of natural capital to our wellbeing. These stories are available for everybody who has some kind of “green” interest. From nature interested citizens to schoolteachers and government employees. We also work closely together with the Capitals Coalition, a global collaboration of over 300 organisations transforming the way decisions are made by including the value provided by nature to people and society.