Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...

factorsEcosystembasedapproachesEcosystemservicesapproaches‘critical factors for decisionmaking.’These constitute thefundamental decision-makingfactors that should beunderlying the focus of theSEA. These critical factorsidentify the aspects regardingdesign and implementation ofthe PP that must beconsidered in the decisionprocess.The resulting critical factorsfor decision-making willprovide the structure to theanalysis and assessment ofopportunities and risks acrossthe SEA, defining thetechnical studies that need tobe performed under the SEAin order to gather theinformation required for adecision. The critical factorsshould be derived throughwider public participation andconsultation with keystakeholders.Managing, restoring andprotecting biodiversity andecosystem services providemultiple benefits to humansociety. These ecosystembasedapproaches contributeto protecting and restoringnatural ecosystems byconserving or enhancingcarbon stocks, reducingemissions caused byecosystem degradation andloss, and providing costeffectiveprotection againstsome of the threats thatresult from climate change.Ecosystems provide a numberof basic functions that areessential for using the Earth’sresources sustainably. TheEconomics of EcosystemServices and Biodiversity(TEEB) study definesecosystem services as ‘thebenefits people receive fromecosystems’.Ecosystem services offerpotentially a new tool to usein SEA, using the conceptsdeveloped by the MillenniumEcosystem Assessment.critical factors are generated outof an integrated analysis of thefollowing elements:• Strategic referenceframework — whichconstitutes an assessmentbenchmark and gathers therelevant policy objectivesestablished at international,European, national and locallevels and also other relevantPPs.• Strategic issues — thestrategic objectives and coreprinciples of the strategybeing assessed.• Environmental/sustainability/health/equality/etc. factors —defines the relevant scope ofthe SEA which must beadjusted to each specific caseaccording to the strategicfocus, the assessment scaleand, as a result, theirrelevance.They can be used as cost-effectivealternatives to infrastructuresolutions. For example, coastalecosystems such as saltmarsh andbarrier beaches provide naturalshoreline protection from stormsand flooding and urban greenspaces cool cities (reducing theurban-heat island effect), minimiseflooding and improve air quality.In practice ecosystem servicescould be could be used in anumber of ways in SEA:Baseline — ecosystem servicescould help make baseline datamuch more relevant to theassessment process by combiningdatasets in a useful way forplanners and decision-making.Scoping and engagement withstakeholders — using networkanalysis for example to understandthe range of ecosystem servicesprovided by an area and as ameans to identify key issues/areas.Guide. Methodological<strong>Guidance</strong>.PortugueseEnvironment Agencyhttp://www.seainfo.net//files/events/SEA_guide_Portugal.pdfRelevant information from theDG Environment website,including the following reports:Towards a Strategy on ClimateChange, Ecosystem Services andBiodiversityhttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/pdf/discussion_paper_climate_change.pdfAssessment of the potential ofecosystem-based approaches toclimate change adaptation andmitigation in Europehttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/climatechange/pdf/EbA_EBM_CC_FinalReport.pdfRelevant information from theCBD website:http://www.cbd.int/climate/Millennium EcosystemAssessment (MEA) (2005)Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis. Island Press,Washington.http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspxOECD (2008) StrategicEnvironmental Assessment andEcosystemServiceshttp://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/54/41882953.pdfWorld Resources Institute (2008)Ecosystem Services: A Guide forDecisionMakers<strong>Guidance</strong> on integrating climate change and biodiversity into SEA 63