MESH: A new model for Mapping Ecosystem Services to Human wellbeing for the Sustainable

Development Goals

Justin Andrew JohnsonCo-authors: Sylvia L.R. Wood; Sarah Jones; Fabrice DeClerck

We’ve become decent at modeling ecosystem service supply…

We’re not yet good at connecting to policy or human well-being.

Coastal Vulnerability

Coastal Protection

Overlap Analysis

Wave Energy

Habitat Quality/Risk Assessment

Water Yield

Carbon sequestratio

n

Managed Timber

Production

Crop Pollination

Nutrient Retention

(Water quality)

AestheticQuality

Recreation

Crop Production

Flood Risk Mitigation

Sediment Retention (Water

quality, Avoided dredging)

Fisheries (including

recreational)

AquacultureMarine Water

Quality

Non-Timber Forest

ProductsBlue Carbon

e.g. 20 InVEST models

MESH originated from SNAP Working Group: Making Ecosystem Services Count

in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

MESH Model:Open Source (python)

Free

Beta version available at www.naturalcapitalproject.org/mesh

(still has some bugs but is useful)

1.0 release planned for early 2016.

Simple input

FRONT END:Define scenarios,

get data

INTERNAL ES MODELS:

Sediment retention

Pollination

Water yield

many others

BACK END:Distill results,

compare decisions

Simple output

Necessary complexity

Major stakeholder challenge:

front-end and back-end

difficulties

Resembles a diamond shaped

process in terms of

complexity

Software demo time!

1: Create new project and set area of interest (AOI) shapefile.

2: Select which models to run

3: Create your scenarios, place input data in the created folders

4: Link input data to scenarios

5: Run “Setup Run” for each model.

6: Ensure that each selected model is ready for the full MESH run

Yay!

Yay!

7: Click run. This runs each selected model through each selected scenario (potentially 1000s of combinations)

8: Check to see if your run has worked. Run other scenario-model pairs if desired.

9: Create raw-data spatial outputs

10: Create “nice,” formatted maps from the spatial output

11: Save formatted maps to the correct scenario’s output folder

12: Create report for desired run from report templates

13: Review dynamically created report

14: Edit in the program or in (for example) Microsoft’s WORD.

Thank youJustin Andrew Johnson

Questions? jandrewjohnson@gmail.com

@jandrewjohnsJustinandrewjohnson.com

www.naturalcapitalproject.org/mesh

Co-authors: Sylvia L.R. Wood; Sarah Jones; Fabrice DeClerck

Appendix

How are the SDGs related to Ecosystem Services?

SDG 2. End hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

SDG 3. Attain healthy lives for all

SDG 6. Ensure availability and sustainable use of water and sanitation

SDG 7. Ensure sustainable energy

SDG13. Tackle climate change

SDG14. Conserve and promote sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources

SDG15. Protect and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, halt desertification, land degradation and biodiversity loss

Strategic Grants

Private Sector

$$

Civil Society $$

Govt

$$

Why do countries care about SDGs?

• Global funds unlock large $$• Intl. funding will be channeled along

SDGs • Pooled financing mechanisms

• The Global Fund• Catalytic Fund for Nutrition • the Global Financing Facility• The GEF

*A significant portion of SDG investment will also come from private companies – key partners in large infrastructure partnerships

Engagement with stakeholders throughout

Engagement with stakeholders throughout

(1) Incentives

(2) Actions

Ecological production functions

(6) Valuation

(3) Non-anthropocentric approaches

Other considerations

Benefitsand costs

Decisions by firms and individuals

Policy decisions

Ecosystems

Ecosystem services

(7) Economicefficiency

(5) Biophysical tradeoffs

(4)

Polasky & Segerson Annual Review of Resource Economics 1: 409-434.