Mapping ecosystem service provision Lucy Rogers AWT 30 th October - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

• Reg. Charity no. 280422

Mapping ecosystem service provision

Lucy Rogers AWT 30th October 2017

• Reg. Charity no. 280422
• 1. WENP
• 2. Why we need evidence
• 3. Why mapping
• 4. What we mapped
• 5. How we are using the maps

• Reg. Charity no. 280422
• 1. West of England Nature Partnership

Our Vision: "To create and coordinate a plan for the restoration of the natural environment within the West of England region and integrate that plan into strategies for spatial planning, economic development and public health"

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WENP Prospectus

• Aim 1: Collate, increase and expand
• ur environmental evidence base
• LNPs around the country aim to

improve environmental evidence available to aid decision making

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• 2. Why do we need evidence?

(and why haven't we got any?)

• Lots of data, but not evidence

– often raw, un-interpreted, held by multiple organisations, patchy, stored in different formats, collected without specific question in mind. – Where there is evidence it’s often at a national level, or at a very local level

• Monitoring species and habitats difficult and expensive

– Easy enough to record presence, but not absence, abundance or change over time.

• Many organisations focus on delivery rather than monitoring

& evaluation

– Leading to lack of specialists, lack of funding, and expectation that rely on ad hoc surveys e.g. Local Record Centres.

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• Because we don’t know the State of the Environment in WoE

– are things getting better or worse?

• What we do know isn’t good

– species declining, habitats being lost, ecosystems degrading. a) Understand, demonstrate and communicate to a wide range of users the contribution that natural resources make. b) Take full account of the environment in assessing risks and

• pportunities of investment decisions.

c) Protect and enhance the environment for everyone’s benefit. d) Inspire people and communities to value and take action for nature.

• 2. Why do we need evidence?

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• 3. Why ecosystem service mapping?
• Presents information in visual format
• Comprehensive - including stock, opportunity and risk maps, baseline

statistics against which possible to record and monitor change over time.

• Accurate maps can be produced even with incomplete data sets

using proxy data.

• A strategic decision-making tool – can work across multiple
• rganisations and data-sets, so that possible to look holistically at a

range of priorities, resulting in the most cost-effective outcomes that are best for the environment, business and people.

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• 4. What we mapped
• 200 regional and national data

sets acquired

• First iteration of maps

produced 2015

• Maps consulted on with 4 UAs,

Avon Wildlife Trust, Wessex Water and Natural England.

• WENP maps published in 2016

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Stock maps

Wetland Multiple ecosystem service provision Grassland Water quality Water quantity Woodland Ecosystem services Ecological networks Wetland

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Opportunity maps

Wetland Multiple ecosystem service

• pportunities

Grassland Water quality Water quantity Woodland Ecosystem services Ecological networks Wetland

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Online mapping portal

www.wenp.org.uk/maps

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Stock and Opportunity

The maps provide us with some facts and figures:

87 144 102 8 50 384 307 300 219 233 292 107 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Area (km2) Habitat/Ecosystem Service

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Habitat networks

• Grassland makes up only 3% of the WoE, woodland

6% and wetland 7%

• 79% of wetland network located within protected

areas, whereas only 22% of core grassland is protected Ecosystem services

• 15% of the land plays an important role in slowing

water and preventing flooding.

• 21% land important for water quality
• 21% of land in the West of England is contributing to

3 ecosystem services (providing more resilience)

• 7% of land could be enhanced to support 3 services
• r more – should we focus energy there?

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• 5. How we are using the maps
• Planning Policy and GI
• Offsetting – natural capital
• Conservation delivery
• Conservation Policy
• NBS

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Application - Planning policy and GI Going beyond the designations

'the planning system should minimise impacts on biodiversity and provide net gains in biodiversity where possible, contributing to the Government’s commitment to halt the overall decline in biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures''

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Joint Spatial Plan

• 30 possible strategic development

locations

• Final 10 Strategic Development

Locations

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Strategic Green Infrastructure

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Opportunities to deliver 3 ecosystem services simultaneously in the West of England

Application - Identifying natural capital investment areas

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The Natural Capital Trust

• Aim - facilitate strategic markets and

mechanisms to reverse future biodiversity and ecosystem loss and ensure, at worst, that there is ‘No Net Loss’ of natural capital.

• Using the maps to identify ‘stock’ and

‘opportunities’ for habitat creation and ecosystem service enhancement so can make strategic natural capital investments across the region.

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Combined Ecological Network map

Species-rich grassland – 97% loss (1930-1984), habitat degradation and fragmentation Woodland – habitat degradation and fragmentation Urban – loss, degradation and fragmentation Wetland – habitat degradation and fragmentation

Application – conservation delivery

Creating coherent and resilient ecological networks (Lawton 2010) but how do we prioritise?

Combined ecological network map

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Targeting grassland restoration

Grassland makes up only 3% of the WoE and only 22% of the core grassland is protected

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Working at a landscape scale in Chew Valley - Reserves and Grassland restoration areas

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Application – Conservation Policy

• The Wildlife Trusts

advocacy leaflet

• Defra 25 Year

Environment Plan

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Application – Nature Based Solutions

15% of land in WoE plays an important role in natural flood management

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With thanks