demonstration of invest: a decision- support tool for valuing nature

Demonstrat ion of InVEST: A Decis ion ‐Support Tool for Valuing

Nature

December 10, 2012

The NatCap Team

• ecologists• oceanographer• fisheries scientist• coastal engineers• hydrologists• computer

scientists

• policy and communication specialists

• economists• geographers• biologists

Natural Capital in decision‐making

Ecosystem Processes

Ecosystem Services

DecisionsEcosystems

Institutions

Resulting benefits

Natural Capital:the goods and

services from nature that are essential for

human life

Ecosystems Decisions

Institutions

The Natural Capital approach

Ecosystem Process

Ecosystem Service

Resulting Benefits

Ecosystem structureEcosystem structure

Location + activity of

beneficiaries

Location + activity of

beneficiaries

Social preference

Social preference

DECISIONS

SupplyPotential available

ServiceDelivered to people

ValueEconomic & social impacts

Ecological function

Changes in ecosystems changes in ecosystem services and their values

Habitat restoration decision

Amount & location of marsh habitat

Wave and storm surge attenuation

Mitigation of erosion, flooding at property

Damage costs, people affected

InVEST

Quantify, map and value the benefits provided by terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems




Scenarios

Plausible, simplified, descriptions of the future

InVEST requires scenarios of maps of land cover and/or coastal and marine habitats and uses

Why use Scenarios?

Compare alternativesMarginal change in ES

Future oriented

Identify tradeoffsConsider new policies‘Future‐proof’ policies

Air conflicts, develop consensusStorytelling

Process for iteration and learning

Types ofScenarios

• Interventions‐ Designs for policies, plans and projects

• Explorations ‐ Possible but unexpected futures

• Visions‐ Perceptions of desirable or undesirable futures

• Projections‐ Depictions of the expected future

Scenarios

A Tiered Approach

Low Model Complexity

Local, fine

Global, coarse

High

InVEST

0 1 2

Data Availability

• Relative amounts• No valuation• Not time‐specific, or

annual average

• Absolute amounts• Valuation• Annual average,

no temporal dynamics

• Absolute amounts• Valuation• Daily to monthly time

step, some temporal dynamics

InVEST• Multiple services and biodiversity• Scenario‐based analysis• Biophysical and economic currencies• Applicable globally with minimal data

It’s free & open source!http://natura lcapi ta lproject .org

Where We Work

Different Decision‐Contexts

Decision Context Geography

Spatial Planning Tanzania, Indonesia, British Columbia, Hawaii, China, Belize

Ecosystem‐based management (terrestrial‐marine links)

USA (Puget Sound, Galveston& Chesapeake Bays)

Climate adaptation USA (Galveston &Monterey Bays)

Payments for ecosystem services Colombia (water funds), Indonesia(REDD), Borneo, Tanzania

Impact assessment, permitting, licensing Colombia (mining)

Multilateral development bank investments World Bank in Malawi

Corporate strategy Lafarge in Michigan, USA

InVEST w/ and w/o ArcGIS

InVEST 3.0• Launch through ‘Start’ menu

• Independent of ArcGIS

• Faster

• Moreuser‐friendly

Terrestrial / FW Models

Biodiversity (Habitat quality and loss)

Crop pollination

Carbon sequestration & storage

Managed timber production

Sediment retention

Water yield for hydropower production

Water purification: nutrient retention

T i e r 0 :

T i e r 1 :

FW and Terrestrial inputs

Land use/ Land cover Soil type Topography Cities Infrastructure

Spatial data

Associated dataExamples:• Carbon pools by land use/land cover and soil• Habitat suitability by land use/land cover• Market value of timber or carbon

Outputs: Quantifying & Mapping

1) Relative or absolute measures 2) Biophysical amount or value

MORE

LESS

Sediment Retention: example

Sediment erosion can:

• Increase reservoir dredging costs

• Increase water treatment costs

• Decrease agricultural productivity

Sediment example: Biophysical inputs

Land use/Land cover+ associated factors affecting soil loss and retention

Slope

Rainfall erosivity

Soil erodibility

Watersheds

Sediment thresholds(of reservoirs or water quality requirements)

Streams

Sediment Retention model

Sediment loadsSediment retention

Slope

Soil Erodibility

Rainfall erosivity

Sediment – supply, service, value




Avoided sedimentation(beyond sediment

thresholds)

Sediment retained

Watershed Areas

Sediment retainedFrom biophysical analysis

Sediment costsReservoir dredging costs or water treatment costs




Avoided sedimentation

Sediment retained

Avoided dredging or

treatment costs

Sediment example: Output

• Where are the sediment sources?

• Where is sediment retained?• How much is retained?

• What is the value of this retention?

• How does this differ between scenarios?

AVO I D ED S ED IMEN TA T I ONP E R SUBWAT E R SH ED

8,000 tons/yr

500 tons/yr

AVO I D ED T R EA TMENT CO S TP E R SUBWAT E R SH ED

$4.3 mil

$0.2 mil

Targeting Investments in Resource Conservation

with RIOS (Resource InvestmentOptimization System)

Adrian Vogl ([email protected])Heather Tallis, Stacie Wolny, Rich Sharp, James Douglass, Doug Denu, Silvia Benitez, Fernando Veiga, Juan Sebastian Lozano, Paulo Petry,

Jorge Leon, Joao Guimaraes, Eddie Game

Can we do a better job of targeting investments in watershed services by using a science‐based approach with biophysical and social data?

25

• Use biophysical data with models to target where services are highest

• Scenario analyses of vulnerability or sensitivity to interventions

• Specific to context and available data

Science‐based approaches

• An approach general enough to work everywhere in Latin America

• Easy with available data

• Give standard outputs

Resource Investment Optimization System

Resource Investment Optimization System

RIOS approach:• What changes to the current landscape would maximize benefits of ecosystem services?

• Scenarios (portfolios) are an end point

InVEST approach: • How do the amount, distribution and value of ecosystem services differ between scenarios?

• Scenarios often a starting point

RIOS mode l s planned (2013 launch):

• Erosion control• Nitrogen &

phosphorous regulation• Groundwater recharge

• Flood mitigation• Dry season base flow• Biodiversity

Deep Dive Sites

Bogotá Water Fund

30% to 600% better estimated returns than

business as usual

Can We Do Better? YES!

RIOS MODU

LES

OUTPUTS

Portfolio Builder

•Erosion Control (Hydro, Drinking Water)

•Nitrogen Regulation•Phosphorus Regulation•Groundwater Recharge

•Flood Mitigation•Dry Season Baseflow

•Biodiversity•“Other”

Benefits Estimator

•Erosion Control•Nitrogen Regulation

•Phosphorus Regulation

•Flood Mitigation

25% Erosion Control

32% N Regulation

25% Erosion Control

32% N Regulation

RIOS Structure

Portfolio Translator

Better than Business as

Usual

Better than Business as

Usual

1

2

3

2 Estimated Return on Investment(Estimate Returns)

3 Estimated Value of Science(Business case for approach)

RIOS Outputs

1 Investment Portfolio(Multi‐objective, ranking & diagnostic screen)

Current Marine Models

Fisheries

Aquaculture (finfish, shellfish)

Coastal Protection

Recreation

Renewable Energy (wave and wind)

Carbon Sequestration

Habitat Risk Assessment

Aesthetic Quality

Water Quality

InVEST Marine Linking Diagram

HarvestedBiomass

LandedBiomass

VisitationRate

AvoidedArea

CarbonSequestered

Water Quality

Habitat Risk

RecreationFisheryAquaculture Coastal Protection Carbon

Flow rate, Sediment, Nutrients, Toxic waste and bacteria

Terrestrial System

water purification

Wave attenuation

light attenuationSedimentation

SCENARIOS

E C O S Y S T E M S E R V I C E S

wastes, filtration

food supply (shellfish)

spawning, rearing

Steps for ES AssessmentSet Objectives1

Informdecisions about MSP objectives

7

Baseline & Scenarios3Compile Data2

Iteration6

W e l l ‐ b e i n g m e t r i c s

5 Synthesize Results

Habitat

Rec

WaterQualityKayak

Aqua

MONEY HEALTH SECURITYHAPPINESS*SERVICESHED

Model creation/testing4

Take Home Points

1. NatCap interdisciplinary team and approach

2. Many tools available― InVEST and RIOS are two examples

3. Our ecosystem framework can help bring together a variety of stakeholders within a decision context, access useful scientific tools, influence decisions

low i n t e ra c t i v i t y high

Spectrum of Engagement

Download and use NatCaptools

Get technical support

Adapt models & contribute to NatCap tools

Collaborate & innovate together

Attend a training Work with NatCap staff in decision context

NatCapdemonstration

site

Clarify expectations

(‐) You will not be an expert in our approach or GIS in six hoursNot possible to learn GIS or spatial modeling in one day

(+) We can give you an overview of our approach, tools and experienceThere are certain groups that have been able to run with it…

Group Name Background Why Successful?

PeruJ.C. Riveros(WWF Conservation Director)

spatial analysis background;team of spatial analysts.

Good data access and GIS capacity,completed similar projects in the past

ColombiaCesar Suarez , WWF

Very proficient in spatial analysis, strong team. Cesar and J.C. are data and science leaders in the region.

own geospatial unit (hub)resource for the region

Carribean(Emil Cherington –

CATALAC)

Former GIS analyst in Belize, now at CATALAC in Panama

Strong science/modelingbackground, GIS proficient

Viet Nam(Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Res and Environment)

Policy arm of Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment in Viet Nam

Diverse team:policy lead, GIS analyst, ecological consultant

Successful Groups

37Good GIS capacity…industry leader…strong and diverse team

Website and other Resources

Free content • scenario tools and guidance• scientific guide & users manual• demonstrations sub‐pages• support forum & training videos

InVEST‐U (coming soon!)• online training• teach how to use InVEST

without attending a training

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demonstration of invest: a decision- support tool for valuing nature

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