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Rewarding the provision of services
In order to stimulate ecosystem service provision, it is
critical to reward those involved in managing and securing
these services. Over the years, a number of options
have been developed to provide financial and technical
support to communities and individuals committed to
sound stewardship of natural resources. Policy options
range from supporting community-based management
over well equipped agricultural extension services to tax
breaks and easements.
If suitably designed and implemented, payments for
ecosystem service (PES) are ready to deliver benefits
and can address distributional aspects (see section 10.4
and Chapter 5). Evaluation of their performance to date
has identified ways to make them even more effective
and cost-efficient. PES are adaptable and can be flexibly
linked to e.g. protected area networks or environmental
challenges like water management. There already exists
a wide range of experience that can be relatively easily
replicated and adapted for use in other countries.
REDD presents the opportunity to establish the very
first global system of payments for ecosystem services.
The adoption of a REDD-Plus agreement in the ongoing
climate change negotiations and its implementation is a
unique win-win solution that could offer cost-effective
climate change mitigation with significant environmental
co-benefits.
Supporting natural capital investments
Well-targeted investment in natural capital can provide
high rates of return and deliver co-benefits (see section
10.3 and Chapters 8 and 9). All countries – to a varying
degree – will have to respond to climate change impacts
by strengthening their adaptive capacities. Investing to
strengthen the resilience of ecosystems is an obvious
path to take. Protected areas and ecological infrastructure
already provide us with the basic building
blocks for this purpose. Combining protective management
policies with restoration of degraded areas
can help us safeguard the ingredients for economic
prosperity and sustained livelihoods.
RESPONDING TO THE VALUE OF NATURE
10.5.3 THE ROAD AHEAD
As discussed in section 10.4, transition will be a difficult
task and a gradual approach will be helpful – firstly, to
provide the time necessary for this ‘learning by doing
process’ and secondly, because policy action will lead
to costs for those who benefit from the current situation
and who can be expected to argue against change.
Here, it can help to communicate the links between natural
capital and economic activity, social well-being and
prosperity in ways adapted to target audiences.
Changing operational mentalities, recognising the value
of biodiversity and moving away from short-term
decision-making are all part of the road ahead. Many
options will depend on collaborating across levels and
on creating partnerships.
Creating policy change at all levels
While many of the opportunities identified above allow
policy makers to act at the national level, others will
require countries to collaborate much more closely on
implementation. Over the past decades, several international
conventions and institutions have been set up
with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) the
most prominent one in this area.
Our experience with the IPCC shows us, encouragingly,
that cooperative international efforts can leverage
real change in political priorities and social attitudes.
Action on climate change has opened the way for a
broader portfolio of actions to protect our natural
capital stock. The new Intergovernmental Science-
Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) aims to provide a launching pad for this purpose.
Global initiatives with importance for ecosystem services
and biodiversity also come from other policy arenas.
As discussed in section 10.3 and Chapter 5,
a possible REDD-Plus agreement and any corresponding
instrument at the climate negotiations in
Copenhagen will constitute an important step forward.
These will obviously require corresponding infrastructure,
governance and political commitment to implementation
at both national and international levels.
TEEB FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY MAKERS - CHAPTER 10: PAGE 29