Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...
Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...
Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...
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Ecosystemservicesvaluati<strong>on</strong>GHG emissi<strong>on</strong>calculatorsEcosystem services can beused as additi<strong>on</strong>al oralternative assessmentcriteria within SEA, even at ageneric/strategic level e.g.what will be the effects <strong>on</strong> i)supporting services; ii)provisi<strong>on</strong>ing services; iii)regulating services; <strong>and</strong> iv)cultural services. See alsoecosystem services valuati<strong>on</strong>below.The ec<strong>on</strong>omic valuati<strong>on</strong> ofecosystem services hasdeveloped significantly as apotential tool within impactassessment. Recent analysiswithin the TEEB <strong>and</strong> variousMember States indicate thisapproach has some potentialfor making clear theec<strong>on</strong>omic value ofbiodiversity. This in theorywould allow a more informedunderst<strong>and</strong>ing of the societalimpact of a project.Valuati<strong>on</strong> is a useful tool butthe most efficient use of thec<strong>on</strong>cept of ecosystemservices within impactassessment may be indem<strong>on</strong>strating that theenvir<strong>on</strong>ment is important tous rather than in quantifyingthe cost equivalence of thisimportance.Emissi<strong>on</strong> calculators seek toquantify the total GHG (oroften carb<strong>on</strong> al<strong>on</strong>e) emissi<strong>on</strong>sfrom an activity or project asa whole. Emissi<strong>on</strong>s can becalculated for operati<strong>on</strong> orthe c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong> of a project.A range of calculators exist<strong>and</strong> are generally based <strong>on</strong>GHG equivalents for certainindicators such as energyc<strong>on</strong>sumpti<strong>on</strong>.Assessment <strong>and</strong> c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong> ofalternatives — ecosystem servicescan provide important informati<strong>on</strong><strong>on</strong> the potential for multifuncti<strong>on</strong>alityof an area whenc<strong>on</strong>sidering alternatives. They canbe supplementary or an alternativeto the typical assessmentobjectives or criteria — e.g. anobjective ‘To protect <strong>and</strong> enhancebiodiversity’ might be re-cast inecosystem service terms ‘What willbe the effect <strong>on</strong> biodiversityprovisi<strong>on</strong>ing services?’ However,‘ecosystem services thinking’ couldalso provide an importantperspective in the same way thatlife cycle thinking provides widerbenefits to sustainable product<strong>and</strong> service provisi<strong>on</strong> bey<strong>on</strong>dheavily data dependent life cycleanalysis/assessment.The time <strong>and</strong> resourcerequirements for ecosystemvaluati<strong>on</strong> are significant <strong>and</strong> mayundermine its potential to supportimpact assessment practice whereresources are often limited. This isparticularly true at the strategicscale. It is possible to relateexisting valuati<strong>on</strong> studies to adifferent area this can be useful atthe strategic scale but itseffectiveness is limited at morelocal levels due to the c<strong>on</strong>textualnature of value.However certain ecosystemservices (i.e. provisi<strong>on</strong>ing services)can be relatively simply valued <strong>and</strong>may add value to someassessments.Within SEA the focus should be <strong>on</strong>the value of services <strong>and</strong> areasbroadly rather than specifically,this can be based <strong>on</strong> linking l<strong>and</strong> orhabitat types to services usingexisting studies or stakeholder <strong>and</strong>expert engagement.Depending <strong>on</strong> the level of detailc<strong>on</strong>tained within your PP, it maybe possible to quantify possibleGHG emissi<strong>on</strong>s. This can beundertaken by c<strong>on</strong>sultants or via<strong>on</strong>line tools where available.A number of c<strong>on</strong>sultancies operateGHG emissi<strong>on</strong>s calculators that canbe undertaken for individualprojects. Calculators can be found<strong>on</strong>line though the accuracy <strong>and</strong>assumpti<strong>on</strong>s (such as the type offuel used to generate power, etc.)will vary <strong>and</strong> may not be relevanthttp://www.wri.org/publicati<strong>on</strong>/ecosystem-services-a-guide-fordecisi<strong>on</strong>-makersSheate W, Eales R, Daly E,Murdoch A, <strong>and</strong> Hill C (2008),Case study to develop tools <strong>and</strong>methodologies to deliver anecosystem-based approach:Thames Gateway Green Grids,Project report NR0109, L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>,Defra, 2008, available athttp://r<strong>and</strong>d.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=NR0109_7429_FRP.pdfChapter 6 of TEEB for Local <strong>and</strong>Regi<strong>on</strong>al Policy makers c<strong>on</strong>sidersec<strong>on</strong>omic valuati<strong>on</strong> as part ofEIA <strong>and</strong> SEA practice:http://www.teebweb.org/local<strong>and</strong>-regi<strong>on</strong>al-policy-makersreport/Guide to valuing ecosystemservices:http://www.defra.gov.uk/envir<strong>on</strong>ment/natural/ecosystemsservices/valuing-ecosystemservices/Resources <strong>and</strong> Energy AnalysisProgramme (REAP) (see below)is a potentially useful strategiclevel emissi<strong>on</strong> calculator.The World Resource Institute<strong>and</strong> World Business Council forSustainable Development havedeveloped <strong>and</strong> maintain thehttp://www.ghgprotocol.org/which includes a wide range ofsectoral GHG calculators <strong>and</strong>related tools <strong>and</strong> case studies.The Scottish Government isdeveloping a Quantitative64 <str<strong>on</strong>g>Guidance</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> integrating climate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversity <strong>into</strong> SEA