Environmental Conservation and Ecosystem Services in River Basins

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Guy Broucke

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Pretoria Office, RSA

Environmental Conservation and

Ecosystem Services in River Basins

Transboundary Water Management Workshop:

Orange-Senqu and Zambezi Basins

Integrated?

Sustainable?

Really?

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Environment – a sector?

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ECOSYSTEM

SERVICES?

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Ecosystem Services = Benefits

people obtain from ecosystems

Provisioning services

� Food

� Freshwater

� Wood fuel

� Timber

� Fibre

� Genetic Resources

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Regulating Services

� Climate Regulation

� Flood Regulation

� Disease Regulation

� Water Purification

� Waste assimilation

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Cultural Services

� Aesthetic

� Spiritual

� Educational

� Recreational

� Social Relations

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ECOSYSTEMS APPROACH

MAINSTREAMING

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES?

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What is Mainstreaming

Ecosystem Services?

� Integrating or incorporating actions

related to conservation and sustainable

use of biodiversity into strategies relating

to production sectors, such as

agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism and

mining

� Including biodiversity considerations in

poverty reduction plans and national

sustainable development plans

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Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services

� Requires an understanding and acceptance of

the importance of a healthy environment to well-

functioning production sectors

� Requires mechanisms (e.g. inter-agency

taskforces; coordinating committees etc;), the

will and ability to identify win-win situations

� Requires an extensive strategy of

communication, education and public

awareness

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Ecosystem Approach =

Integrated Management Strategy

� The ecosystem approach is a strategy for

the integrated management of land, water

and living resources that promotes

conservation and sustainable use in an

equitable way.

� Thus, the application of the ecosystem

approach helps to reach a balance of the

three objectives of the CBD:

� conservation;

� sustainable use; and

� the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits

arising out of the utilization of genetic resources

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ECOSYSTEM

APPROACH

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Principles of Ecosystem Approach

(CBD)

Principle 1:

� The objectives of management of land, water and living resources are a matter of societal choice

Principle 2:

� Management should be decentralized to the lowest appropriate level (subsidiarity)

Principle 3:

� Ecosystem managers should consider the external effects (actual or potential) of their activities on adjacent and other ecosystems.

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Principle 4:

� Recognizing potential gains from management,

there is usually a need to understand and

manage the ecosystem in an economic

context. Any such ecosystem-management

programme should:

a) Reduce those market distortions that adversely affect biological

diversity;

b) Align incentives to promote biodiversity conservation and

sustainable use;

c) Internalize costs and benefits in the given ecosystem to the

extent feasible.

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Principle 5:

� Conservation of ecosystem structure and functioning, in order to maintain ecosystem services, should be a priority target of the ecosystem approach

Principle 6:

� Ecosystems must be managed within the limits of

their functioning

Principle 7:

� The ecosystem approach should be undertaken

at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales

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Principle 8:

� Recognizing the varying temporal scales and lag-effects that characterize ecosystem processes, objectives for ecosystem management should be set for the long term

Principle 9:

� Management must recognize that change is inevitable

Principle 10:

� The ecosystem approach should seek the appropriate balance between, and integration of, conservation and use of biological diversity

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Principle 11:

� The ecosystem approach should consider all

forms of relevant information, including

scientific and indigenous and local knowledge,

innovations and practices

Principle 12:

� The ecosystem approach should involve all

relevant sectors of society and scientific

disciplines

TOOLS

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Drivers of Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity Loss

HabitatChange

ClimateChange

InvasiveSpecies

Over-exploitation

Nutrients& pollution

EconomicDemo-graphic

Socio-political

Cultural &religious

Science &Technology

Indirect drivers

Direct drivers

Example of recording sheetfor status of drivers of biodiversity loss

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Habitat

Change

Climate

Change

Invasive

Species

Over-

exploitation

Nutrients

& pollution

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Provisioning Services

Food crops ��livestock ��capture fisheries ��aquaculture ��wild foods ��

Fiber timber +/–

cotton, silk +/–

wood fuel ��Genetic resources ��Biochemicals, medicines ��Fresh water ��

Regulating Services

Air quality regulation ��Climate regulation – global ��Climate– regional and local ��Water regulation +/–

Erosion regulation ��Water / waste treatment ��Disease regulation +/–

Pest regulation ��Pollination ��Natural hazard regulation ��

Cultural Services

Spiritual / religious values ��Aesthetic values ��Recreation and ecotourism +/–

15 of 24 ecosystem

services are in decline

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Operational Objectives for

Ecosystem Approach Management

(1) Develop broad Stakeholder-Based

Governance system

(2) Conserve essential Parts of the ecosystem

(3) Conserve essential ecosystem Processes

Question, if (2) is done well, is (3) necessary?

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Basic Steps Towards Developing

Mechanisms for Conserving

Ecosystem Services

The process can be done in an iterative way

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Operational Guidance for

Mainstreaming Ecosystems Services

1. Focus on the functional relationships and

processes within ecosystems

2. Enhance benefit-sharing

3. Use adaptive management practices

4. Carry out management actions at the

scale appropriate for the issue being

addressed, with decentralization to lowest

level, as appropriate

5. Ensure inter-sectoral cooperation

Integrated Water Resource

Management

Environmental Management Examples for

Water Basin Management

� Maintaining environmental flows

� Pollution control

� Ecohydrology and phytoremediation

� Habitat rehabilitation.

� Conjunctive use of surface and

groundwater

� Watershed management

� Water demand management

� Payment for ecosystem services

© IISD 2011

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THANK YOU

Environmental Conservation and Ecosystem Services in River Basins

Science

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