ES Theories & Frameworks
Which scholar stated in order to exist in a sustainable world where human development and personal freedom coincides with biodiversity, we need the most delicate, knowing stewardship of the living world?
E.O. Wilson
According to the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report of 2005, what three factors are likely to lead to an increased loss of ecosystem services worldwide?
Agriculture
Infrastructure
Climate change
What term is given to the methodological approach to understanding human, social perspectives and determining what people prioritize versus what they do not prioritize or value?
Discourse analysis
Give two examples of geospatial data which may be used as a surrogate or indicator of other activity to be measured.
Population data: Extent of potential human impact
Roads: Proximity to natural area access
Soils: Carbon sequestration, erosion potential
Rainfall data: Erosion potential, nutrient delivery
What forms of capital are directly reliant upon natural capital in order to exist or function properly?
Human capital: Basic needs of food/water/shelter
Built/manufactured capital: Raw materials
(Also accepting) Social capital: Formal/informal networks, resilience capacities
Draw a diagram depicting states of equilibrium and the transition to ecological resilience through reorganization and capacity to adapt.
See Module 3 Lecture and Exam 1 for details.
Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) assigns a final, numerical value for action based on what three key economic principles?
- Willingness to pay vs ability to pay
- Market supply vs market demand
- Scarcity of goods/services
In a multi-criteria decision-making analysis and modeling, how can fuzzy logic enable a more nuanced prioritization and ranked choice?
What GIS tool can be used to identify a gradient of possibilities?
Boolean logic: 1/0, assumes a clear, defined and distinct option between one choice and another
Fuzzy logic: Suggests a sliding scale of options in between.
It’s based on the principle that we as human beings rarely, if ever, make a definitive choice based solely on one factor or another.
GIS TOOL: Buffer (vector data)
Which raster data set has a higher resolution?
- 30m elevation data
- 3m elevation data
3m elevation data
Soil quality can impact more than one ecosystem service. Give at least two examples of this.
Supporting: Healthy soils for growing food
Regulating: Carbon and nutrient cycling
Provisional: Raw materials (sand/clay) may be used for producing other goods
Explain E.O. Wilson's "paradox" of human existence as it relates to ecosystem services.
The human drive toward perpetual expansion/personal freedom without biodiversity is not sustainable.
- To sustain it we need the most delicate, knowing stewardship of the living world
- Expansion & Conservation: Approaches to nature used to reshape and reinforce human/environment existence.
Give two critiques of CBA as a stand-alone metric for ES valuation.
- An ongoing/growing need for “democratic” participation
- “Reasoned discussion of choices” and rational behavior rarely occurs among the general human population writ large.
- CBA focuses solely on monetized, quantitative factors (direct costs)
- Individual preference vs social good is not evenly split when considering only market-based, tangible goods
What options exist for MS4 cities to enable development when conditions are limited by environmental factors?
Wetland mitigation banking: When jurisdictional wetlands are to be destroyed in the development process.
Fee in Lieu of Practice: When installing infiltration-based practices is not practical, such as when contaminated soils (brownfields/superfund sites) are present.
Which geospatial/GIS tool can generate a tangible, spatial equivalent to fuzzy logic?
Buffer tools, or other forms of gradient calculations
What are "Anchor" Ecosystem Services? Give an example of two.
When one ecosystem service serves as the foundation for other ecosystem services and benefits.
Examples:
1) Healthy soils as supporting ES providing adequate vegetative cover for food/fiber (provisional), habitat for a variety of organisms (supporting, cultural), water quality benefits (regulating).
2) A healthy atmosphere as a supporting ES for public health (supporting, cultural), which can lead to better overall wellbeing (cultural), etc.
Give one example of a Decision-Support Tool which can be applied for ecosystem services valuation. Briefly explain either steps involved, or strengths/weaknesses of the tool.
- Compliance-based: Driven by regulation, common practice but only doing what is legally required (NEPA: when federal funds are used for development, this is a requirement)
- Monetary: Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), only considers direct costs, commonly used for public decisions regarding land use/transformation/development (infrastructure: roads, bridges, etc.)
- Ranked Value: Multi-criteria Analysis (MCA), weighing inputs from all stakeholders to systematically draw a final conclusion (Ben Franklin model); can include basic or fuzzy logic
- Private Interest (vs public): Ecosystem Services Review (ESR), a systematic evaluation of natural capital accounting as an actualized "cost" in business operations; rarely included in current corporation metrics (but could/should be!); lacks a consistent, universal method for adoption
What 5 steps are included in an ES accounting procedure, as defined by the US Federal Government?
•Ensure that the scope (i.e., time and spatial scale) of analysis is sufficiently broad to reflect ES in the baseline and across alternatives.
•Describe links between regulatory alternatives and likely changes to ES, and preliminarily determine which ES should be included in the analysis.
•To the extent feasible and appropriate, monetize, quantify, or qualitatively describe the important effects of the regulatory alternatives on ES, address uncertainty.
•Aggregate estimated ES changes and summarize/report, along with other benefits, costs, and transfers
•Incorporate monetized, quantified, and qualitatively described ES benefits and costs into a narrative describing all benefits, costs, and transfers.
What habitat types for wetland mitigation banking options exist for projects located in Iowa?
Forested wetland
Emergent wetland
Enhanced wetland
What unit of measurement is used by InVEST to calculate carbon sequestration potential for a given location?
Carbon stocks for above ground living biomass, below ground living biomass, soil, and dead organic matter, measured in metric tons per hectare at a 30m resolution.
Give at least two examples of market-based conservation efforts to curb human consumption and/or conserve ecosystem benefits.
- Quotas: Limit provisional ES consumption/access (permits: fishing, hunting, etc.)
- Market Trading: Allow natural capital market exchanges (carbon, nutrients)
- Offsets: Compensate for damages through additional conservation practices (tree plantings vs logging)
- Banks: Establish reservoirs of ecosystem services (wetlands, carbon, etc.)
What is Coase Theorem as an economic principle? How is it applicable to ecosystem services valuation?
No problems of social cost would exist in a world where:
- There is perfect information
- There is competition without interference
Transactions are “costless.”
In a purely competitive market, in the absence of transaction costs and in the presence of clear property rights, direct negotiation between private parties can lead to efficient outcomes.
In reality, transaction costs are always present, private parties cannot always reach agreements on their own, if ever
How do factors related to risk and uncertainty affect valuation estimations for ecosystem services? What makes these critical, yet challenging elements regarding ES valuation? Give at least one example for each.
Risk Factors:
•Degradation, loss accountability may vary for different factors
•Usually calculated based on precedent: What came before, which may not be available data
•Worst case: Environmental disasters, irreversible damages
Uncertainty Factors:
•Unintended consequences: typically unplanned, unexpected
•Harder to plan for the unknown
•Climate & other change factors (Physical/Social/Economic) as constantly changing variables
Give one example of a direct cost to a stakeholder, and one example of an indirect cost which may be assessed through ecosystem services valuation.
What GIS data might provide such information? Give an example for two.
Direct Costs
- Land acquisition, cost per acre
- Physical items/material goods, cost per unit
- Infrastructure, public investments per project
Indirect Costs
- Environmental degradation, potentially irreversible damages (GIS: NDVI, changes in land cover over time)
- Opportunity costs, social & physical inequities (GIS: Census/demographic data, SoVI)
- Quality of life, physical, mental, economic health and wellbeing (GIS: Census data, property values, etc.)
What is data normalization? How can this technique applied using geospatial data for ecosystem services valuation? What is the result?
Data Normalization: Establish a universal, common unit/form of data for standardized analysis. A common practice when models incorporate data with varying units of measurement, spatial resolution, etc. Also called data harmonization.
Relevant Applications:
- Habitat Risk/Quality Models: Ranked values
- NDVI: Comparison of vegetative cover over time (spectral bands)
Results/Relevance: Ranked scores/values, index-based metrics for standardized comparison of values
Give two key factors when considering mitigation activities over protection/conservation of natural resources as alternatives to development of the landscape.
- Environmental mitigation is never a 1:1 return
- Banks prefer rural implementation, but urban systems are what is destroyed (wetlands, esp.)
- Cost scales: Headwaters vs basin-wide
- Guidance by self-interest vs altruism/biocentrism
- Competition for resources (scarcity)
- Concerns over maintenance & long term viability
- Efficiency encourages bad behavior (shortcuts)
- Technological advancement$ limit capacity for smaller producers