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INTEGRATING ECOSYSTEM AND BIODIVERSITY VALUES INTO POLICY ASSESSMENT
Key Messages of chapter 4
The main cause of the biodiversity crisis is unsustainable growth in consumption and production,
exacerbated by a tendency to undervalue biodiversity and the ecosystem services it supports.
Current decision-making is biased towards short-term economic benefits because the long-term value
of ecosystem services is poorly understood. Recognising the value of ecosystem services can lead to
better more cost-efficient decisions and avoid inappropriate trade-offs. It is also an important step towards
refocusing economic and financial incentives to achieve sustainability goals. Tools and techniques already
exist for this purpose and are being constantly improved.
Understanding the value of ecosystem services
Decision-makers need to understand what ecosystem services are generated by natural capital in their zone of
influence, what ecosystem services are (at risk of) being lost, the economic costs of losing them, who faces these
costs, where and when. valuation can help develop the necessary evidence base and should address spatial
relationships between sources and beneficiaries of impacts and services. countries should therefore cooperate to
develop and integrate robust valuation procedures within their broader decision support systems.
valuation procedures should, as a minimum, be based on a qualitative understanding of environmental and social
impacts of changes to natural capital and associated ecosystem services. Building capacity to quantify and monetise
such impacts is an essential step to make trade-offs explicit and increase transparency.
Expanding monetary valuation of ecosystem services
Quantitative and monetary valuation needs to strengthen the focus on long-term impacts (positive and negative) of
resource use decisions and compare them using an discount rate appropriate for ecosystem services.
Existing expertise should be maximised by building on past practice, undertaking more primary analysis and
promoting benefits transfer of existing studies in accordance with available guidance.
Integrating economic thinking into policy assessment
valuation is a tool to guide decisions, not a precondition for acting to protect biodiversity. Decision-makers across all
levels and sectors need to commit to systematic and timely analysis of proposed projects, programmes and policies
through impact assessments, strategic environmental assessments and environmental impact assessments. The aim
should be to have a fuller evidence base available at the right time to take the whole picture into account.
The precautionary principle should be applied in decision-making affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services where
impacts cannot be predicted with confidence and/or where there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of mitigation
measures.
Each country needs to develop and institutionalise a culture of analysis, consistent with recognised best practices.
This can be done by developing capacity and having an accepted, functional and supported policy assessment
system in place.
TEEB for NATIoNAL AND INTErNATIoNAL PoLIcy MAKErs - chAPTEr 4: PAGE 2