Current and future work on forest ecosystem services

Richard Yao

Ecosystem services

Ecosystem Services in New Zealand

• Valuing Nature Conference in Jul 2013

• ES in NZ book - launched by MfE in Feb 2014

539 pages, 36 chapters, >100 NZ scientists

Chapter 1.4 – Planted forests

ES provided by NZ planted forests (updated)

Ecosystem

Services

Attributes

Supporting • Nutrient cycling • Soil formation • Primary production

Security • Personal safety • Secure resource access • Security from disasters • Employment

Basic material for the good life • Adequate livelihoods • Timber • Shelter

Health • Strength • Feeling well • Access to clean air and water

Social relations • Social cohesion • Mutual respect • Ability to help others

Freedoms of choices and action

Opportunity to be able to achieve

what an individual values doing

and being

Provisioning • Wood and fibre • Understorey crops • Freshwater • Biofuel

Regulating • Carbon sequestration • Avoided erosion • Air quality • Flood mitigation • Biodiversity

Cultural • Recreation • Species conservation • Rongoa

Arrow’s colour

Potential for mediation by

Socio-economic factors

Low

Medium

High

Arrow’s width

Intensity of linkages between ecosystem

Services and human well-being

Weak

Medium

Strong

Adapted from Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005)

Ecosystem

Processes

Papers and a report on FES values

Recreational walking and mountain biking

Dhakal B, Yao RT, Turner JA, Barnard TD 2012. Recreational users’ willingness to pay and

preferences for changes in planted forest features. Forest Policy and Economics 17: 34-44.

Indigenous forestry report (recreation use values in native and planted forests)

Heaphy M, Harrison DR, Holt L, Steward G, Yao RT 2014. Exploring the opportunities for

indigenous forestry. A project report. Scion, Rotorua.

Biodiversity enhancement values in planted forests

Yao RT, Scarpa R, Turner JA, Barnard TD, Rose JM, Palma JHN, Harrison DR 2014.

Valuing biodiversity enhancement in New Zealand's planted forests: Socioeconomic and

spatial determinants of willingness-to-pay. Ecological Economics 98: 90-101.

Avoided erosion from afforestation of marginal land

Barry LE, Yao RT, Harrison DR, Paragahawewa UH, Pannell DJ 2014 Enhancing ecosystem

services through afforestation: How policy can help. Land Use Policy 39: 135-145.

Indigenous forestry report

Recreation value per visit – natural & planted

93

16

93

47

38

54

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

Kaimanawa andKaweka

(recreationalhunting)

Kaitoke (generalrecreation)

Coromandel(group visit)

Bottle Lake(general

recreation)

Whaka (walking) Whaka(mountainbiking)

Rec

reat

ion

al v

alu

e in

20

14

$ p

er

visi

t

Forest location and type of recreation

23,639 20,000

400,000

304,000

-

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

Kaimanawa andKaweka

(recreationalhunting)

Coromandel (groupvisit)

Bottle Lake (generalrecreation)

Whakarewarewa(walking and

MTBing)

Ap

pro

xim

ate

nu

mb

er

of

visi

ts p

er

year

Indigenous forestry report

Number of visits per year – natural & planted

Recreation value per ha per year – natural & planted (blue bar = value per hectare; dot = forest area)

$16 $26

$15,667

$2,468

140,000

71,900

1,200 5,667

-

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

-

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

18,000

Kaimanawa andKaweka

(recreationalhunting)

Coromandel(group visit)

Bottle Lake(general

recreation)

Whakarewarewa(walking and

MTBing)

Fore

st a

rea

in h

ect

are

s

Re

cre

atio

n v

alu

e in

20

14

$ p

er

he

ctar

e p

er

year

Valuing

biodiversity

enhancement

in NZ planted

forests (Yao

et al. 2014)

Simulated willingness to pay (in NZ$) [n = 209]

Avoided erosion value

from afforestation

(Barry et al. 2014)

- Forest investment finder (spatial

economic model) – estimated

the profitability

- New Zealand Empirical Erosion

Model (NZEEM) – estimated the

reduction in sedimentation of

waterways

- Areas in green on the East

Coast $1 loss in P. radiata

planting = at least $3 in avoided

erosion benefit

- those landowners should be

provided with incentives to plant

trees on marginal land

Ecosystem services values from NZ forests

Group Ecosystem service

Forest type

Planted Natural

Pro

vis

ion

ing

Wood and fibre $7.3b ●

Bioenergy $1b

Understorey cropping (e.g. Ginseng) $4/gram

Freshwater ● ●

Reg

ula

tin

g

Carbon sequestration ($4/tonne of CO2) $100m/yr ●

Avoided erosion (avoided sedimentation) $1,250/ha/yr ●

Flood mitigation (avoided flood damage) $250/ha/yr ●

Air quality ● ●

Water quality ● ●

Water quantity ● ●

Habitats ● ●

Cultu

ral

Recreation $100m/yr $3m/yr

Conservation of endangered species $28m/yr ●

Aesthetics ● ●

Cultural heritage ● ●

Scion’s economics and land use capability

Dr Richard Yao (Environmental Economist)

Economic valuation/assessment of ecosystem services, market values

(provisioning), non-market values (regulating, cultural) and spatial economic

modelling of ecosystem services

Dr Juan Monge (Resource Economist)

Economic land use policy impacts, carbon policy, energy, life cycle

assessment, Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling, risk analysis

Dr Sandra Velarde (Ecological Economist and Forest Engineer)

Carbon, biodiversity and profitability trade-offs, environmental services

compensation and reward mechanisms, land-use change decision making,

participatory planning and climate change mitigation

Duncan Harrison (Spatial Analyst)

Spatial economic modelling of ecosystem services and land use

Stefania Pizzirani (Life Cycle Assessment)

Life cycle assessment and land use within cultural frameworks

Thank you. Any questions?