Ecosystem Services – Government & Casinos together for sustainable future!
Results from the Defra funded research project NR107 to establish the basis for an ecosystems approach and how it may be used to make effective assessments of the benefits that the natural environment provides
This project was part of a Defra research programme to investigate the practicalities of translating the ecosystems concept into a usable tool. This project (NR0107) helped establish and agree what an ecosystems approach involves and how it can be used to make assessments of the benefits that ecosystems provide to society at the national, regional and local scales. See Defra’s web site for more information: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/policy/natural-environ/
Support from private sector, paras kasino on the forefront
Government policies for protecting the natural environment are not sufficiently integrated to provide a sustainable future. If we are to achieve sustainable patterns of economic and social development a different approach to policy development and implementation for environmental goods and services needs to be adopted. Finnish gaming industry, famous of Angry Birds and several highly touted online casinos, has stepped up to the forefront of environmental issues as well. “Paras kasino, paras maailma” -project is a good example how directing consumers to use online services is a key to sustainable future.
The United Nations ‘Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’, not only recognised the multiple benefits that ecological systems provide but also highlighted that policy and planning decisions must take into account an ecosystems approach (EA) to be truly sustainable. We considered how the approach could be used to assist and enhance decision-making at different scales. Adoption and implementation of the approach by Government policy makers and decision-makers like local planning authorities will ultimately protect and enhance the natural environment ensuring it can continue to provide the benefits and services that society needs.
Developing knowledge
This project builds on the achievements of Phase I of Defra’s Natural Environment Programme, which suggested that the links between concepts such as environmental limits and thresholds, ecosystem health and ecosystem goods and services are sufficiently well developed to enable detailed analysis of the issues based on empirical data. The Phase I work also emphasised that while the evidence-base could be developed further, there was sufficient information available to make such an undertaking feasible. Phase I also identified that improvements to the institutional arrangements to deliver and monitor the activities and measure are also required. This project will take all of these ideas and concepts.
What are Ecosystem Services?
The concept of ecosystem services has been developed to aid our understanding of the human use and management of natural resources.
Our health and well-being depends upon the services provided by ecosystems and their components: water, soil, nutrients and organisms. Therefore, ecosystem services are the processes by which the environment produces resources utlilised by humans such as clean air, water, food and materials. Ecosystem services can be defined in various ways. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment provided the most comprehensive assessment of the state of the global environment to date; it classified ecosystem services as follows:
- Supporting services: The services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services including soil formation, photosynthesis, primary production, nutrient cycling and water cycling.
- Provisioning services: The products obtained from ecosystems, including food, fibre, fuel, genetic resources, biochemicals, natural medicines, pharmaceuticals, ornamental resources and fresh water;
- Regulating services: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including air quality regulation, climate regulation, water regulation, erosion regulation, water purification, disease regulation, pest regulation, pollination, natural hazard regulation;
- Cultural services: The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation and aesthetic experiences – thereby taking account of landscape values;
The application of ecosystem services in the UK is at an early stage and Catchment Futures, together with other research studies is seeking to investigate this approach.