eea 15-16 march 2005 expert meeting on landscape analysis & ecosystem accounting expert meeting...

EEA 15-16 March 2005 Expert meeting on landscape analysis & ecosystem accounting

Expert meeting on landscape analysis & ecosystem accounting

- Introduction -

Jean-Louis Weber

EEA/AIR3

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Outline

Integrated assessment of environment and sustainable development:o Platform for Integrated Spatial Assessment of Land, Biodiversity

& Watero Environmental Accounts for Integrating Environmental,

Economic & Social Data Land & Ecosystem Accounts (LEAC) Ecosystem accounts/ Natural capital accounts

o Analytical framework o Data issue

Agenda


Bird decline

Loss of natural/ sem i-

natural land Forest m anagem ent

Soil degradationLoss of am enities (tourism )

W ater stressW etland

vulnerability to pollution

Condition of W ater ecosystemsFish decline

W ater stress

W ater abstraction

FloodingDrainage

Pesticides & fertilizers leakage to rivers,

sea

W ater body restructuring, dam s

H ydrom orphic changeAvailab le w ater resource

W ater quality, quality o f the rivers, lakesQ uality o f coasta l & m arine

w ater Q uality o f groundw ater

W aste w ater d ischarge

In troduced species

Species dynam ics

H abita ts sta te and dynam ics

C ondition o f terrestria l ecosystem s

Landscape d ivers ity

B iod ivers ity o f agrosystem

U rban spraw lIrrigation

Transport netw orksPestic ides & fertilizers use

C onvers ion of m arg ina l landW ater use

Intensification of agricu lture

Fragmentation of habitatsLoss in buffering

capacitiesW etland drainage

Eutrophication

Platform for Integrated Spatial Assessment of Land, Biodiversity & Water, based on Corine Land Cover


Environmental Accounts for Integrating Environmental, Economic & Social Data

Production, Consumption

Income & Capital

Accounts

SocialAccounting

Matrixes

NaturalCapital

Accounts

Depletion, Degradation &

Formation of Natural Capital

Distribution of Income &

Consumption PatternsOwnership of

Natural Assets

Use of Free Goods & Services


Environmental accounts: 5 key policy questions

1. Cost of environmental protection the “burden” issueo Cost for public budgets: financing of protection (incl. administration and research)o Cost for companies: effects on economic competitiveness

2. Environmental performance of the economy the “decoupling” issue o Compliance to national emission standards, respect of international conventionso Distances to targets, economic and technological optionso Use of scarce resourceo Sustainability of consumption patterns

3. Cost of insufficient environmental protection the “externalities” issueo Depletion of renewable resources (forest, fisheries, water…)o Degradation of natural assets (forests, fisheries, soil, water, ecosystems…)o Impacts on human health and well beingo Costs of remediation (instead of protection…)

4. Conservation of comparative advantages the “natural capital” issueo Reserves (ownership, access, operation)o Economic rents on natural resources (depletion…)o Viability of living/cycling natural capital, continuity of ecosystem serviceso Adaptability to change (global market, climate change, technology)

5. Assessment of policies the “effectiveness/efficiency” issueo Efficiency/effectiveness of environmental policies and instrumentso Efficiency/effectiveness of environmental sector policies (agriculture, transport…)o Environmental impact assessment of social and economic policies o Incorporation of environmental concerns in the multiple levels of public and private decision-making

(participation, awareness, corporate accounting)


Economic-environmental accounts (seea2003)

National accounts: o Economic natural assets (Sub-soil, forest (managed), agriculture

land…)o Environmental protection expenditures

Hybrid accounts: o Consumption of natural resource by sectors/brancheso Emissions by sectors/branches (NAMEA…)

Material flows accounts Natural assets accounts

o Forests (incl. native)o Fisherieso Watero Land & ecosystems

Pricing and valuation


Land & Ecosystem Accounts (LEAC)

Part of the SEEA 2003 (Integrated System of Environmental and Economic Accounting)

Accounts in monetary AND in physical units

Tested in Europe by UNECE, Eurostat and EEA (France, UK, Germany, European coast, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania)

EU-wide implementation of land cover accounts with CLC2000 in 2004


Land and ecosystem accounts…

…measure stocks as well as change due to gains and losses (flows)

Land cover account, Comunidad de Madrid, 1990-2000

Source: Corine land cover 1990-2000

Net Change in Land Cover during the period - ha

-400

-300

-200

-100

0

100

200

300

400

Hun

dred

s

Artificial surfaces

Arable land & permanent crops

Pastures & mixed farmland

Forests and transitional woodlandshrubNatural grassland, heathland,sclerophylous vegetationOpen spaces with little or novegetationWetlands

Water bodies

Land COVER accounts are implemented at the EEA from CLC2000

…are made of Land Cover Accounts Land Use Accounts Ecosystem Accounts


Land cover: an image of both land use & ecosystems Land cover change: clues of conflicts and degradation


Integration in SEEA’s Land & Ecosystem Accounts

CORE LAND COVER ACCOUNT

ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTS

Soil

Flora & Fauna

Water system

Atmosphere/ Climate

Ecosystem services

Ecosystempotentials

Integrity, health & viability

Vulnerability

LAND USE ACCOUNTS

Land use economic &

social functions

Artificiality of land

Intensityof use

Production & Consumption

Natural Assets

Population

Infrastructures & Technologies


Natura 2000 sites

Legend

Conversion of land to agriculture

F5_n4.SUMOFAREAH / <None>

less than 5%

5 to 30%

more than 30%

Net conversion from pasture to crop land

46M41N4.SUMOFAREAH

Net increase of set aside/fallow land >30%

Net increase of set aside/fallow land 5% to 30%

Net conversion of pasture to arable 5% to 30%

Net conversion of pasture to arable >30%

Withdrawal of farming (total)

F6_N4.SUMOFAREAH

2 to 5%

5 to 10%

10 to 30%

more than 30%

Rivers

(p.m. Wetlds, lakes)

Legend

Total urban sprawl

F2F3_N4.SUMOFAREAH

0 - 2%

2% - 5%

5% - 10%

more than 10%

Urban morphological zones, pop. > 50000

High natural potential: 100

Low natural potential: 0

Landscape Natural Potential

EEA/Land Accounts ProjectProvisional results (Nov. 2004)

Example of spatial integration N2000 & Agriculture

Cultivation of marginal land

Farmland abandonment

Main annual conversions between agriculture and forests/ dry semi-natural land in ha/year

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Withdrawal of farming withoutsignificant woodland creation

Withdrawal of farming withwoodland creation

Conversion from wetlands toagriculture

Conversion from dry semi-natural &natural land to agriculture

Conversion from forest toagriculture

Portugal-Alentejo

Portugal-Alentejo

Main annual conversions between agriculture and forests/ dry semi-natural land in ha/year

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Withdrawal of farming withoutsignificant woodland creation

Withdrawal of farming withwoodland creation

Conversion from wetlands toagriculture

Conversion from dry semi-natural &natural land to agriculture

Conversion from forest toagriculture

Spain - Huelva

Spain –

Huelva


Policy questions (JNO) Natura 2000 on the map and how is it nestled among landscape features? What does this

mean for the ecological functionality of the network and the sustainable conservation and management of the composed habitats?

Natura 2000 is it under pressure? Is the quality of air, water and soil in Natura 2000 sites according to the requirements for the favourable conservation status of the sites? What does

Natura 2000 mean for the environmental conditions in the neighbourhood of the sites? Are land-use practises in the neighbourhood of Natura 2000 sites in agreement with the site objectives?

Natura 2000 and infrastructure goes it together? Where is landscape fragmentation hampering achievement of the objectives of Natura 2000? Do mitigation and compensation measures work?

How is biodiversity in agricultural landscapes distributed? How does this coincide with Less Favourable Areas, areas with environmental restrictions and intensification and land abandonment trends? What kind of agri-environmental measures are applied and where? To what extent is high nature value farmland part of Natura 2000 and what is the agricultural practise?

How are forest biodiversity and ecosystem structures distributed over Europe? How does this coincide with the forestry practices? Which forests are part of Natura 2000 and what is the management practise?

How are infrastructure projects co-financed by the EU through the Structural funds distributed over Europe? What is the nature of these plans and what kind of landscape and ecological features are potentially impacted? To what extent do these plans overlap Natura 2000 sites and areas of high nature value?


Drivers PressureDriving forces Anthropogenic Stress

Surface, length, number of wetlands; distribution by

region; change

Agriculture

Physical restructuring (Drainage of wetlands, Cultivation of marginal land, Soil sealing, Development of transport infrastructure…)

Impact on economic activity of change in wetlands condition

Protection of biotopes & species

Wetlands health (distress indicators)

Ecosystem management

Urban developmentOverharvesting/overuse (Management of dams, Seasonnal over-use of water, Hunting)

Nutrient cycling (Change in primary/secondary productivity/

Exceedance of nutrient loads/ Eutrophication)

Transport Impacts on associated habitats & species of change in wetlands condition

Agri-environmental measures

Industrial/ storage and landfilling of toxics

Introduction of plant and animal species (Intentional and non-intentional)

Species composition (Endemic, Migratory, Introduced or invasive)

Fiscal policies, subsidies

Tourism Impact on amenities and wellbeing of change in wetlands condition Land planning

Discharge of waste & residuals (Polluting emissions from river basins, Use of pesticides, Emissions to air and deposition)

(In)stability of substrate (Partitionning/connectivity, Internal

fragmentation, Accumulation of toxic substances, Instability of Water Systems)

Valuation of amenitiesSedimentation

Climatic events Droughts

Floods

Composite index: Wetlands vulnerabilitySurface of wetlands (km²), each of them weighted by the other state indicators;

breakdown by river basins, ecological and administrative regions and by type

Natural disturbance

State Impacts Responses

Integration of DPSIR within the ecosystem accounting framework: e.g. Wetlands

*


Ecosystem accounts can be established for:

Individual ecosystems and ecosystem types (statistical classes)

o e.g. “salt marshes of West Mediterranean” o “European wetlands“o The coastal lagoon of Thau (FR)o “dry grassland in Continental lowlands”o “large European rivers”

Geographical systems such as “ecozones”, “eco-complexes”, ecological corridors, (small) river basins...o e.g. the Danube Deltao …

Management or synthesis units such as designated areas for nature conservation, river basins, programme areas, regions…o e.g. Natura 2000 sites, Natural parkso Ramsar siteso River basin districts…


Analytical framework

Stocks of ecosystems accounts: physical unitso in first instance, geographical objects from CLC & rivers e-map o additional features/ details (e.g. EUNIS) can be overlaid to the CLC map

or integrated in accounts on a statistical basiso additional dimensions: biomass, energy, volume, srkm (rivers…)

Diagnosis of ecosystem health: “distress of ecosystem syndrome”o stability of substrates (connectivity, fragmentation, patchiness…)o nutrient cycling (productivity, nutrient loss and force-feeding…)o species composition

many table for various approaches of the same reality; not all tables need to be filled in; selection according to data

Balance of ecosystem wealth: physical unitso calculated in physical termso Stocks of ecosystems x Health/Distress coefficients

Natural capital accounts: physical & monetary unitso marketed and non marketed ecosystem assets o ecosystem goods and services

Stress on ecosystems tables: pressure (s)o (generally) combination of several pressureso mapped at the scale of land use accountso Linkages to NAMEA, MFA…


The Ecosystem Distress Syndrome paradigm

David Rapport et al. 1985 “ Given that regional ecosystems are unique and thus may differ

considerably in their normal range of primary and secondary productivity, species composition, diversity, and nutrient cycling, and given that each system is exposed to unique combinations of stresses, it might be expected that patterns of response to stresses will be highly variable and unpredictable. Therefore, it is surprising to discover remarkable similarities in the response of ecosystems to stress. Stressed ecosystems are characterized by a “distress syndrome” that is indicated not only by reduced biodiversity and altered primary and secondary productivity but also by increased disease prevalence, reduced efficiency of nutrient cycling, increased dominance of exotic species, and increased dominance by smaller, short-lived opportunistic species.”


EDS simplified model

Ecosystem Distress Syndrome is common to most types of ecosystems and stress conditions

Limited number of symptoms of distress: o Disruption of the pattern of nutrient cycling from “vertical” direction (e.g.

between biota and substrate) to “horizontal” direction (e.g. force-feeding by nutrients, losses of organic matter, acceleration of sedimentation…)

o Adaptative strategies by opportunistic or introduced species (characterized by high reproductive rates, short life cycles and small size)

o Destabilization of substates (Loss of keystone habitats, changes in pattern and connectivity of habitat patches, loss of structural complexity, alteration of hydrologic patterns…)

Application to managed ecosystems o self-sustaining without subsidies, input; economically viable; o able to sustain healthy human communities


Natural capitalProduction is not only based on man-made capital but as much on

human & social capital and natural capital Human-made capital:

o Produced tangible assets such as buildings, machinery, infrastructures, cultivated assets (livestock and plantations)

o Produced intangible assets such as computer software, results of research, discoveries

o Financial assets Human & social capital:

o individual and collective skills and aptitudes (in relation to population, health, education, culture, participation, social cohesion, institutions…)

Natural capital: o Economic natural assets – land, subsoil assets, non-cultivated biological

resources and water resources – over which ownership may be established and transferred

o Stocks of natural resources not considered as economic assets – fish stocks, most of rivers, aquifers, lakes, primary forests, natural land, glaciers – over which no ownership is established and transferred

o Ecosystems, which deliver ecosystem services that contribute to production and/or directly to human well-being


Ecosystem services

Ecosystems provide “services” that:

moderate weather extremes and their impacts disperse seeds mitigate drought and floods protect people from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays cycle and move nutrients protect stream and river channels and coastal shores from erosion detoxify and decompose wastes control agricultural pests maintain biodiversity generate and preserve soils and renew their fertility contribute to climate stability purify the air and water regulate disease carrying organisms pollinate crops and natural vegetation

(Ecological Society of America, 2000)


Spatial Integration of Environmental & Socio-Economic Data Collection

Mapping

Sampling

Socio-EconomicStatistics

Individual Sites Monitoring


Integrated land cover change and ecosystem monitoring & accounting

T T+3 T+7 T+10

1/100 000(Corine Land Cover,

EU/Countries, Regions, Basins, Ecological

landscape)

1/500 000(Pan-European,

Global, Vegetation/ Humidity…)

1/50 or 25 000(Wetlands, Dry-grasland,

Forests, Ecological Corridors, Natura2000 sites…

Fauna, Flora, Physico-Chemical parameters

In situ monitoring Fauna, Flora,

Physico-Chemical parametersFauna, Flora, Physico-Chemical parameters


Integration of land & water, e.g. soil humidity

Soil humidity can be efficiently measured by combining space and in situ monitoring and modelling. The parameter is used for measuring, modelling and assessing:

o evapo-transpirationo water stress on ecosystemso water stress on cropso crops yieldso seasonal water deficitso extension of irrigationo desertification processeso buffering capacity of soil o risks of fireo risks of flood


I-O Tables,NAMEA Use s

Resource accounts

Supply & Use s accounts

Quality accounts

Disposal accounts

Expenditure accounts

Main Linkages toNational Accounts

Accounts ofthe domain

Monitoring & Surveys

I-O Tables,NAMEAEmissions

Production& IncomeAccounts

AssetsAccounts

Integration of land & water assessments: accounts, sampling and modelling

N – Balance in Kg/ha for Europe (EU 15) calculated at catchments level using the NUTS 3 census database and CLC (JRC with NOPOLU)

Eurowaternet sampling based on hydrological monitoring and CLCWater accounts of the quantity and

quality of the resource, of polluting emissions to water and economic costs


Index classes :

1 – excellent status

2 – good status

3 – moderately perturbed

4 – perturbed

5 – heavily perturbed

Ecological status of European rivers considering fish assessment (FAME)


We should discuss of…

The framework Improvements to the land cover database:

o Classification issues: EUNIS, CLC level 4/5 ???o Small and linear objects

Use of existing maps Use of space monitoring (in addition to CLC) Use of in situ databases How to start… What to do next…


Agenda15 March, 10:00 (Fontana Room – 4th floor)

From land cover accounts to ecosystems accounts: introduction (20mn)Ecosystem accounting in 2005: wetlands, dry grassland and rivers; objectives and organisation

of work (20mn)Background analysis:

Improvement of spatial characterisation of wetlands (30mn)Improvement of spatial characterisation of dry-mesic grassland (30mn)Stratification: Biogeographical regions and landscape types (30mn)Corridors, habitats and species (30mn)

13:00-14:00 LunchTesting ecosystem accounts:

Implementation of pilot ecosystem accounts in 2005: pilot framework & priorities (3 h)Draft framework and priority tables for wetlands Draft framework and priority tables for dry and mesic grasslandDraft framework and priority tables for a scoping study on the Danube delta.

16 March, 09:00 (Room 328 – 3rd floor)Round table on data issues & solutions (1 h)

Reference & background maps: needs and availabilityAccess to databases: focus on speciesUse of statistics

Objectives & ways of cooperation (1 h)SEBI2010, Bio-IMPS, HNV, PEEN, SENSOR, GMES

Future steps and wrap up (1 h)End of meeting 13:00


“Green background pattern”/ “Natural potentials” from CLC/Corilis Version 1

All CLC types with pasture, forest and semi-natural or natural land

Neighbourhood: smoothing radius of 10 km

Values from 0 to 100

eea 15-16 march 2005 expert meeting on landscape analysis & ecosystem accounting expert meeting...

Documents

economic accounting

corine land cover slide

corporate accounting

eea france

environmental performance

degradation slide

valuation slide

assessment of policies