Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems


Book Description

This report describes the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Nordic region, the drivers and pressures affecting them, interactions and effects on people and society, and options for governance. The main report consists of two volumes. Volume 1 The general overview (this report) and Volume 2 The geographical case studies. This study has been inspired by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES). It departs from case studies (Volume 2, the geographical case studies) from ten geographical areas in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and the autonomous areas of Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The aim was to describe status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Nordic region, including the drivers and pressures affecting these ecosystems, the effects on people and society and options for governance. The Nordic study is structured as closely as possible to the framework for the regional assessments currently being finalized within IPBES. The report highlights environmental differences and similarities in the Nordic coastal areas, like the inhabitants´ relation to nature and the environment as well as similarities in social and policy instruments between the Nordic countries. This study provides background material for decision-making and it is shown that Nordic cooperation is of great importance for sustainable coastal management and should be strengthened in future work.




Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems


Book Description

This report contributes to a Nordic IPBES-like assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal areas. It is based on ten geographical cases in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The purpose is to reflect upon local biodiversity and ecosystem services, e.g. status and trends, drivers of change and policies for governance, and what future we are to expect. The cases describe the situation in the Näätämö area, Kalix archipelago, Quark, Lake Puruvesi, Bay of Lumparn, Öresund, Helgeland archipelago, Faroe Islands, the northern coastline of Iceland, and Disko Bay. It stretches from fresh water areas to ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean and from urbanised areas with heavy pressures on the environment, e.g. Öresund, to sparsely populated areas, like Greenland with a population of around 0.03 habitants/km2.




Ecosystem Services


Book Description

People are dependent on the ocean and coasts and their resources for their survival and well-being. Coastal ecosystems of the Nordic countries, such as kelp forests, blue mussel beds, eelgrass meadows and shallow bays and inlets, provide a number of supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services to both the local communities as well as the wider population who benefit from them. The study has focused on examining these coastal values through selected examples, and recommend possible applications and relevance for the management of the Nordic coastal areas and their resources. The project has also identified key gaps in the knowledge and suggests where further work should be emphasized.




Ecosystem Services in the Baltic Sea


Book Description

This report presents an overview of the ecosystem services and associated benefits provided by the Baltic Sea, including information on the approaches of assessing and valuing ecosystem services being applied in the Baltic Sea region. It also identifies the main challenges in ecosystem service assessments in the Baltic Sea, and outlines the way forward in applying assessment tools in regional and national policies. Valuation of the benefits provided by ecosystem services can aid in designing more efficient policies for the protection of the Baltic Sea. The existing studies on the value of improved marine environment are useful in assessing the importance and value of some marine ecosystem services, but further work is still needed on describing ecosystem services and their interactions, and evaluating how policy changes affect these services and human well-being.







The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations


Book Description

Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-being, but also seriously undermines the sustainability of the economic system. It is against this background that TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project was set up in 2007 and led by the United Nations Environment Programme to provide a comprehensive global assessment of economic aspects of these issues. This book, written by a team of international experts, represents the scientific state of the art, providing a comprehensive assessment of the fundamental ecological and economic principles of measuring and valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and showing how these can be mainstreamed into public policies. This volume and subsequent TEEB outputs will provide the authoritative knowledge and guidance to drive forward the biodiversity conservation agenda for the next decade.




State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Report


Book Description

This is the first report of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) to summarize status and trends in biotic elements in the arctic marine environment. The effort has identified knowledge gaps in circumpolar biodiversity monitoring. CBMP is the cornerstone program of Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF).




The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture


Book Description

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture worldwide. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, present in and around crop, livestock, forest and aquatic production systems. It is essential to the structure, functions and processes of these systems, to livelihoods and food security, and to the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. It has been managed or influenced by farmers, livestock keepers, forest dwellers, fish farmers and fisherfolk for hundreds of generations. Prepared through a participatory, country-driven process, the report draws on information from 91 country reports to provide a description of the roles and importance of biodiversity for food and agriculture, the drivers of change affecting it and its current status and trends. It describes the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities. It concludes with a discussion of needs and challenges in the future management of biodiversity for food and agriculture. The report complements other global assessments prepared under the auspices of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which have focused on the state of genetic resources within particular sectors of food and agriculture.




The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate


Book Description

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.




Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs): Coral and sponge VMEs in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters – Distribution and threats


Book Description

This report presents results from the NovasArc project that has collated data on the distribution of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. Eleven VMEs were identified, based on management goals for coral and sponge communities. Many of the vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) in the study area has a wide distribution. Soft and hard bottom sponge aggregations, hard bottom gorgonians, sublittoral sea pen communities, and cauliflower corals are predicted to cover > 20% of the study area shallower than 1000 meters. Of the anthropogenic activities in the study area bottom trawling represents the main threat to the VMEs. The compilation of trawling activity in the study area shows that fisheries mainly occurs shallower than 1000 meters and that 50 to 60% of the seafloor is not targeted. However, 30% of the seafloor has experienced intermediate to very high fishing effort. In general, the VMEs shows a larger overlap with fishing when the risk analysis is based on areas with an optimal habitat suitability. Using this conservative threshold to model the distribution of VMEs the results indicate that most VMEs have experienced an intermediate to high level of fishing in less than 40% of their distribution area in the whole study area.