The national ecosystem approach toolkit7jan

The National Ecosystem

Approach Toolkit

How to build the ecosystem approach into your decision making.

Nature’s vulnerability

• “In many cases nature is ignored or trumped by other economic or social priorities, or seen as a barrier to growth to be overcome.

• The Ecosystem Approach and natural capital help re-frame nature as an asset to society that delivers many benefits”.

Scott 2014

Plan

• Defining Boundaries

• How to be NEATer

• Making a tool of (my)

yourself

• NEATer Case Studies

• Summary and

Questions

What are (y)our boundaries

of concern?

Built Environment Natural Environment

12 NEAT Principles

1:Policy and decision making are matters of societal

CHOICE

2: DEVOLVE decisions to the lowest appropriate level

3: Consider any ADJACENT effects

4: Manage systems economically for MULTIPLE

BENEFITS

5: Maintain structure and function of ECOSYSTEM

SERVICES

6: Manage systems within their LIMITS

Contd.

7: Manage at appropriate spatial and temporal SCALES

8: Recognize different TEMPORAL scales and lag-effects

9: Recognize that CHANGE is inevitable.

10: Seek BALANCE between conservation & use

11: Consider all relevant INFORMATION SOURCES

12: INVOLVE all relevant sectors of society

How to be NEATer : Using

the decision making cycle

• IDEAS

• DELIVER

• From stages to

guidance and

prompts

• Suitable tools

• Relevant case studies

How to be NEATer:

Environment Hooks • Value Ecosystem Services

(NPPF) 4 5 6 10 – Green/Blue Infrastructure

– Ecological networks

– Biodiversity Offsetting

• Regulation (NEWP/NPPF)1 6 7 8

• Incentives (NEWP /NPPF) 1 4 9 10

• Duty to Cooperate (NPPF) 2 3 7 11 12

• Viability (NPPF) 4

• Localism (NPPF/LA) 2 7 8 12

Value Ecosystem Services

109 The planning system

should contribute to and

enhance the natural and

local environment by:

• recognising the wider

benefits of ecosystem

services;

Baseline Mapping

National Character Areas

Opportunity mapping

Nature Improvement Area

• Bigger Better More

Joined up

• Landscape scale

• Enhanced

involvement,

education and cultural

services

• Optional planning

policy protection

BUT How Not to Value

Nature

• Selective cherry

picking of ecosystem

services

• Using financial values

alone

Biodiversity Offsetting

Doncaster

Biodiversity Offsetting

Warwickshire 19 : £2m

Regulatory Tools

• Strategic Environmental

Assessment

• Environmental Impact

Assessment

• Community

Infrastructure levy

• SuDs (Govt U Turn

December 2014)

Incentives:

• Payments for

Ecosystem Services

• Tax Incremental financing

Duty to Cooperate “To engage constructively,

actively and on an ongoing

basis to maximise the effectiveness

of Local Plan preparation

in the context of strategic

cross boundary matters”.

Beyond Housing Fetish

• IDENTIFY Objectively

assessed housing

need

• 5 year housing supply

• REVISE via

constraints or

neighbours

Partnerships

Catchment Management Source: Jim Davies

Env Agency

Viability

• Economic – Developer driven based on

hidden models of delivery costs lacking

equity (social and environmental justice)

• Social – e.g Affordable housing and

community infrastructure/services

• Environmental – e.g limits and thresholds

Localism

Case Studies using

ecosystem services

GBSLEP Spatial Plan

N Devon &Torridge Plan

• Policy ST11: Enhancing Environmental Assets:

The quality of northern Devon’s natural environment will be protected and enhanced by: …

(g) conserving and enhancing the robustness of northern Devon’s ecosystems and the range of ecosystem services they provide;” (North Devon and Torridge Local Plan, 2013: 54

Key messages

• Need to work across built vs natural

Environment divide

• Complex ecosystem vocabulary

BUT

1. Hooks as starting point for

decisions and tool

development/use

2. Effective partnerships as key

delivery vehicles

3. Shared language(s) of multiple

benefits unites stakeholders.

4. Importance of using EA principles

collectively to inform plan and

decisions

5. Learn by doing

Lets All be NEATer

• [email protected]

• @bcualisterscott