Millennium Ecosystem Assessment - Overview EEA-NRC meeting - September 2008 Ivone Pereira Martins.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment - Overview

EEA-NRC meeting - September 2008

Ivone Pereira Martins

EIONET NRC Nature Biodiversity 20082

Call for Action

CBD COP8 Decision VIII/9 / 2006Revised implications of MA findings and called for follow up actions by parties using MA methodologies and conceptual framework

SBSTTA 12 Rec XII/3 / 2007Called for the preparation of a coherent international multiagency strategy for the MA follow up

CBD COP 9 / 2008Acknowledge the global strategy for MA follow up and asked parties to contribute to its implementation by

• Promoting and supporting SGA based on the MA conceptual framework• Consider MA approaches when developing national biodiversity and

development and cooperation approaches


Human demand for ecosystem services is quickly growing around the world

Water

One-third of the world’s population is now subject to water scarcity.

Population facing water scarcity will double over the next 30 years

Food

Food production must increase to meet the needs of an additional 3 billion people over the next 30 years

Timber

Wood fuel is the only source of fuel for one third of the world’s population.

Wood demand will double in next 50 years.


The capacity of many ecosystems to provide certain services has been declining

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Bad

Not Assessed

Agro-ec

osyste

m

Coastal

System

s

Forest S

ystem

s

Freshwate

r

Grassla

nds

Food-Fiber Production

Water Quality

Water Quantity

Biodiversity

Carbon StorageIncreasing

Decreasing

Mixed

Condition of Ecosystem

ChangingCapacity

KeyEcosystem Type

Services


Despite knowledge of the increasing demand and diminishing or endangered supply, science and policy

has not tackled effectively these challenges…

Existing mechanisms for linking science and policy are highly sectoral whereas the major problems today are increasingly multisectoral.

• Such mechanisms include: Forest Resource Assessment, World Water Assessment, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, etc.

Significant issues identified by scientists are not on policy agendas.

• E.g., Change in nitrogen and phosphorous cycles receives little attention outside of scientific literature

New data sources, methodologies and models are underutilized in many countries.

• E.g., Remote sensing tools and data; Scenarios development


The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is:

An international scientific assessment completed in 2005• Designed to meet assessment needs of

1. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),

2. Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD),

3. Ramsar Wetlands Convention,

4. other partners including the private sector and civil society

• Focused on the consequences of changes in ecosystems for human well-being

• Undertaken at multiple scales (local to global)

• Designed to both provide information and build capacity to provide information

• Expected to be repeated at 5-10 year intervals if it successfully meets needs


The MA focuses on:

• Ecosystem services

• The consequences of changes in ecosystems for human well being

• The consequences of changes in ecosystems for other life on earth


Ecosystem Services are the benefits people obtain

from ecosystems

RegulatingBenefits obtained from regulation of

ecosystem processes

• climate regulation• disease regulation

• flood regulation

• detoxification

ProvisioningGoods produced or

provided by ecosystems

• food • fresh water• fuel wood

• fiber• biochemicals

• genetic resources

CulturalNon-material benefits

obtained from ecosystems

• spiritual • recreational

• aesthetic• inspirational• educational • communal• symbolic

SupportingServices necessary for production of other ecosystem services

• Soil formation• Nutrient cycling

• Primary production


The MA is an Integrated Assessment Integrates the effects of multiple drivers on all ecosystems

IPCC looks at impacts of one driver (climate) on different systems;

Driver

Response

HumanImpact

Ecosystems

Health Economics Social

ClimateChange

Land CoverChange

BiodiversityLoss

NutrientLoading Etc.

Millennium AssessmentIPCC

Climate Change

Energy Sector Biodiversity Food

Supply Water

Health Economics Social


The MA design reflects a full spectrum of stakeholder groups

Private sectorPrivate sector

• MA developed a close relationship with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development

• Individual companies were represented by Board members

• MA findings were considered relevant to intermediaries such as credit agencies, institutional investors, and trade organizations

Media and PublicMedia and Public

National and sub-national governments

National and sub-national governments

• ~180 governments have endorsed the MA through their participation in international conventions

• Administrative authorities are also engaged as users at other levels

International organizationsInternational organizations

• The MA was featured as a key action in the UN Secretary-General’s “Millennium Report”, April 2000

• The MA was launched by Kofi Annan, June 2001

• 13 international institutions were directly represented on the MA Board

Local communities and civil society

Local communities and civil society

• Traditional knowledge of indigenous groups was incorporated in the MA

• MA has been designed to meet some assessment needs of indigenous and local communities

• MA will provide information to various news outlets, journals, etc.

• Findings may become part of a public information campaign on ecosystems



The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

First MA Product,

publishedSeptember

2003

Other reports atwww.maweb.org


Conceptual Framework Report: “Ecosystems and Human Well-Being”

Purpose:

To provide a unified approach, rationale, and terminology for the assessmentTo inform MA users as well as the scientific community of the nature of the product and its foundationTo provide information to those interested in applying elements of the MA in other assessment activities


Conceptual Framework


Using the Conceptual Framework as a guide, MA answered core questions

Given plausible changes in primary drivers, what will be the consequences for ecosystems, their services, and human well-being?

What can we do about it?

All of the above… at global and sub-global scales

What is the current condition and historical trends of ecosystems and their services?What have been the consequences of changes in ecosystems for human well-being?


MA as a Multiple Scales Assessment

Regional

UsersRegional Development Banks, etc.

NationalGovernment

Local Community

Global Assessment

National

Local

• Permit social and ecological processes to be assessed at their characteristic scale

• Allow greater spatial, temporal, causal detail to be considered as scale becomes finer

• Allow independent validation of larger-scale conclusions

• Permit reporting and response options matched to the scale where decision-making takes place


Capacity Building

A Central Objective of the MA, capacity building was expected to occur through multiple outlets:

• Access to Data/Information • Sub-Global Assessments• Training Materials• Scenarios and Modeling• Partnerships


Reflections on the MA

Limited impact on policy formulation and decision makingNeed to fill knowledge gaps at all levels and economic valuations on ecosystems servicesNeed to develop working models to analyse ecosystems services and their trade offsNeed to further raise awarenessLimited funds for many of the SGA


Global MA Follow up Strategy

Knowledge baseKnowledge gaps, data collection, use and exchange, tools and methodologies, web based learning platform, SGAs

Policy implementationDecision support tools and methodologies, build capacity, financial incentives, good practice guidance

Outreach and Dissemination Design outreach strategy, awareness raising within the UN family, disseminate communication material, training of journalists

Future assessmentsWG on collaborative mechanisms, WG to develop proposals for scope and process for a second global assessment


IPBES

CBD COP 9 noted the need to strengthen SBSTTA and other subsidiary bodies and welcomed an ”ad/hoc open/ended, intergovernmental and multi stakeholder meeting to consider establishing an international science/policy interface on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing”Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services to improve the science policy interface, a platform to support biodiversity and ecosystems MEAs

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment - Overview EEA-NRC meeting - September 2008 Ivone Pereira Martins.

Documents

eionet nrc nature biodiversity

ecosystem services

world water assessment

national biodiversity

ma approaches

ma methodologies

assessment needs

water scarcity