Natural Capital and Earth Observation – acgeospatial. I spent a large chunk of 2019 working on a project looking at measuring Natural Capital using Earth Observation.
I thought I would share some thoughts on this interesting topic. First off, a definition: Natural capital can be defined as the world’s stocks of natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things Natural Capital Forum. @unisouthampton @sotonbiosci @SotonPsych @SotonEnvSci @UoS_SocSci @SotonPhilosophy @UoSDocCollege @PhDsofSoton @sotonbsps @EPRG_Surrey Cultural ecosystem services include non-material values & activities e.g. spiritual values; symbols & icons; nam. The value of biodiversity is not the same as its price. How much do species and ecosystems contribute to the size and growth of economies?
How will the unprecedented rate of biodiversity loss affect economies in the future? Ecologists and economists have been struggling with these questions for decades, including in the pages of this journal. *****John Parker: "Are trees better than people? Watch my #TEDx talk from @TEDx_Canton to find out about urban #trees and the #treeofficers who care for them. @LTOA33 @ArbAssociation @TheICF @TiCLme @TreesforCities @LondonNPC @WeAreCardiff @EFUrba. Treeconomics sur Twitter : "We’re looking forward to the @ArbAssociation #arbshow2019 tomorrow @westonbirtarb. Anyone else going? Will be a great opportunity to have a chat with us. Come and find out more about treeconomics and what we do!… *****Ecosystem services: Emerging government policy seems to be focusing on how tree value can be used to make more balanced planning decisions. CAVAT is one of the best ways of doing that We had a great training day in Col.
Jonny Sadler sur Twitter : "£860m of benefits every year from Greater Manchester’s natural environment! £11BILLION savings to our health system over 60 years!! @GrowGreenCities @InfoTrinomics @CitiesWNature @IucnUrban @GMLowcarbonhub @harrietbulkeley @nat. *****Ecosystem services: Each year London’s trees remove 2.4 million tonnes of air pollution □ #GenerationTree… *****Ecosystem services: Largest i-Tree Eco survey in UK highlights the £33million annual value of Greater Manchester’s trees to the economy & that 1million trees are at risk @AasmaDay @MENnewsdesk @BBCRadioManc @patrick_barkha.
Tony Juniper sur Twitter : "Exactly that. Those who want radical economic reform must use the better appreciation of the value of Nature to drive a different discussion. If you want to keep things as they are, then campaign for Nature to be invisible in e. The UK government wants to put a price on nature – but that will destroy it. Never mind that the new environmental watchdog will have no teeth.
Never mind that the government plans to remove protection from local wildlife sites. Never mind that its 25-year environment plan is all talk and no action. *****Ecosystem services: Ocean Acidification Could Cost the World its Coral... and a Trillion Dollars. Ocean acidification and coral reef damage is likely going to cost the world economy over a trillion dollars by 2100, according to a new report by United Nations (UN) experts.
The report was released on Wednesday by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which has been assessing the economic impacts climate change and degrading biodiversity could have on the world. *****Ecosystem services: Put a price on urban trees – and halt this chainsaw massacre. *****Ecosystem services: Putting a price on the Great Barrier Reef. Deloitte Access Economics has valued the Great Barrier Reef at A$56 billion, with an economic contribution of A$6.4 billion per year.
Yet this figure grossly underestimates the value of the reef, as it mainly focuses on tourism and the reef’s role as an Australian icon. When you include aspects of the reef that the report excludes, such as the ecosystem services provided by coral reefs, you find that the reef is priceless. Putting a price on the Great Barrier Reef buys into the notion that a cost-benefit analysis is the right way to make decisions on policies and projects that may affect the reef.
For example, the environmental cost of the extension to the Abbot Point coal terminal can be compared to any economic benefits. #100DaysWild day 79: decipher Threave's echolocatory clicks & buzzes with a bat-detector. How many species? @_BCT_ *****Ecosystem Services: The cure to cancer was in a wasp the whole time. So many facilities! Why not recognise the value of this great park's functions too? What would you list? #BigWalkAroundLondon #LoveParks. *****My Life as a Young Bat Enthusiast by Maisy Inston. When I was two years old, my mum and I decided to watch a bit of telly.
I have no memory of this but the programme I watched was about bats and how misunderstood they were. Something inside me clicked and suddenly bats, and their cause, became my entire world. 17 years on and I am at university studying zoology, with the intention of becoming a future bat scientist! Videos of Regenerative Projects from Around the World. The Amazon’s new industrial revolution. The Amazon system exemplifies the global commons on which the health and stability of the planet depends.
The cure to cancer was in a wasp the whole time. Ecosystem Services Clean Water Clean Air The Beauty of Forests HT @andyheald #NaturalCapital. Special Issue on Shared, Plural and Cultural Values – Shared values. A Special Issue on ‘Shared, Plural and Cultural Values’ has been published in the interdisciplinary journal Ecosystem Services, bringing together 15 publications presenting cutting edge theory and methodology building on the UK National Ecosystem Assessment.
The issue is currently freely accessible, and was edited by Dr Jasper Kenter, Principal Investigator in Ecological Economics at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). ***Ecosystem services: The Factory as Forest – The Dirt. “Our goal is to achieve zero negative environmental impacts by 2020,” said Erin Meezan, vice president at Interface, an innovative producer of carpets and textiles, at Greenbuild in Los Angeles.
But as the firm nears its goal, it’s now pursuing an even more ambitious vision — the “factory as forest,” in which their manufacturing facilities become positive contributors to the environment, providing as much ecosystem service benefits as their surrounding landscape. This astonishing vision comes from Interface’s deceased founder Ray Anderson and Janine Benyus, whose firm, Biomimicry 3.8, is advising them. Benyus’ guiding idea: “When the forest and the city are functionally indistinguishable, then we know we’ve embedded sustainability.” To achieve this, she calls for using biomimetic design strategies that “consciously emulate nature’s designs.” This is because nature, with 3.8 billion years of evolution, has “already solved most challenges.” Ecosystem services, the value that has no price. For Miguel Mendoza, recognized consultant specialized in financing, planning, and management of natural resources and the environment, although Colombia is one of the countries that has the greatest regulation of environmental matters, it is urgent to go beyond the law and tackle a value-based approach that includes three fundamental axes: market, multi-criteria, and governance.
Ecosystem services, the value that has no price. Guest blog: On valuing nature's water infrastructure. News & Blog | BlogPosted 15.07.15 Click here to see the full 'Go with the Flow' infographic Posted originally on the Economist Insight for World Environment Day 2015 Written by Dr. Mark Smith, Director IUCN Global Water Programme. Nature is priceless — so let’s value it. October 21, 2016 — Have you ever paid more to buy something labeled “organic” because you thought it was the right thing to do for nature? Looked for a “recycled” or Forest Stewardship Council label on a paper product?
Paid a fee to visit a national park? What’s Nature Worth? Study Puts a Price On Groundwater and Other Natural Capital. The authors point out that the average annual losses in the value of western Kansas’s groundwater aquifer were roughly equal to the amount of the fiscal surplus projected in the state’s 2005 budget. So while the annual losses were significant, they say, they were in a range where Kansas could have offset the losses with investments in other areas, such as conservation, education, or infrastructure. The research provides means to make these types of comparisons. The authors say that the framework is applicable to the full range of natural capital assets, and are currently working to apply it other forms of natural capital such as fish and forests.
It can also be utilized at the project, regional, state, national, and international levels. The importance of urban forests: why money really does grow on trees. The skyline along Manhattan’s Upper Fifth Avenue, where it flanks Central Park, is dominated by vast, verdant clouds of American elm trees. Their high-arched branches and luminous green canopies form – as historian Jill Jones puts it – “a beautiful cathedral of shade”. When she started researching her new book, Urban Forests, she’d have struggled to identify the species – but now, she says, “when I see one, I say ‘Oh my goodness, this is a rare survivor,’ and deeply appreciate the fact that it’s there.”
The American elm was once America’s most beloved and abundant city tree. It liked urban soil, and its branches spread out a safe distance above traffic, to provide the dappled shade that cities depended on before air conditioning. #Greenroofs & #Biodiversity #pollinators #ecosystemservices. Ramsar Sites Information Service. Ecosystem services: Can bats reduce nut farmers’ pesticide use? Ecosystem services: On valuing nature's water infrastructure.
What is a living shoreline? Living shorelines are a green infrastructure technique using native vegetation alone or in combination with offshore sills to stabilize the shoreline. Living shorelines provide a natural alternative to ‘hard’ shoreline stabilization methods like stone sills or bulkheads, and provide numerous benefits including nutrient pollution remediation, essential fish habitat provision, and buffering of shoreline from waves and storms. Living shorelines are known to store carbon (known as carbon sequestration), which keeps carbon out of the atmosphere. Continued use of this approach to coastal resilience will result in increased carbon sequestration and storage, potentially mitigating the effects of climate change. Living Shorelines Support Resilient Communities. Ecosystem services: 'Green exercise' provides £2.2bn in public health savings in England. Researchers from the University of Exeter and Public Health England calculated that more than eight million adults in England take part in ‘green exercise’ or nature-based activities for 30 minutes or so each week.
This includes activities such as dog walking, running, cycling, outdoor swimming or horse riding. Data from Natural England’s ‘Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment’ survey was analysed to reveal that more than 1.3 billion recreational visits to green spaces took place each year in England. Scientists then worked out what proportion of weekly physical activity took place in natural settings and estimated the benefits to health if sustained for a year. Dr Angie Bone, Head of Extreme Events at Public Health England, and co-author on the work, said: “Our parks, gardens, coasts and countryside play a vital role in improving health in this country, inspiring millions of us to get active outdoors every year. Image: Getty. Ecosystem services: Ocean Acidification Could Cost the World its Coral... and a Trillion Dollars.