InVEST A Tool for Mapping and Valuing Environmental Services

Nirmal Bhagabati

World Wildlife Fundand

The Natural Capital Project

What we will cover• What is InVEST? What does it do?

– Questions InVEST is / is not designed to inform– Key characteristics

• Examples– World Bank investment prioritization in Malawi– Spatial planning in Sumatra– Coastal zone management in Belize– etc

• Practical considerations– Common challenges– Resources required

“You can only manage what you can measure”

– Ecosystem services ‘invisible’ in decisions– Need to evaluate choices, quantify tradeoffs

3

Challenge: Integrated decision-making

4

Decision-maker questions– What would be the best (marine) spatial plan for

balancing stakeholders’ visions for the future?

– Where to invest to optimize nature’s benefits for people?

– Where may REDD, payments for watershed services, and other environmental services-based programs be feasible?

– Where should payments be targeted to be cost-effective?

ANSWERS:Accounting tools that quantify ecosystem services

InVEST

Quantify, map & value ecosystem service impacts of alternative resource decisions

(Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs)

InVEST within decision making

Stakeholders

ScenariosResults

Policy input

Mapping toolNow 2050

Now 2050

C (

tons

)Policy implementation

– Evaluate change

– Biophysical & economic

– Free and open source

InVEST attributes

– Multiple services

– Spatially explicit

– Production functions

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

Models

Data

Simple Complex

Tier 0

Currently ArcGIS-based, but platform independent version in development

Multiple Ecosystem Services

Fisheries

Aquaculture

Coastal Protection

Recreation

Wave Energy

Habitat Risk Asst

Aesthetic Quality

Water Quality

Water purification

Sediment retention

Crop pollination

Hydropower

Irrigation water

NTFP

Flood control

Commercial timber

BiodiversityCarbon sequ’n

Agricultural prod’n

Terrestrial/freshwater model: Tier 1 supporting service

Terrestrial/freshwater model: Tier 1 that quantifies service

Coastal Vulnerability

Coastal Protection

Overlap Analysis

Renewable Energy

Habitat Risk Assessment; Biodiversity

Reservoir Hydropower Production

Sediment Retention

Managed Timber

Production

Crop Pollination

Water Purification

Marine model: Tier 1 that quantifies service

Marine model: Tier 0

Marine model: Tier 1 supporting service

InVE

ST M

odel

s &

Lin

kage

s

AestheticQuality

Recreation

Carbon Storage &

Sequestration

(Blue Carbon)

Agricultural Production

Flood Risk Mitigation

Groundwater Recharge

Fisheries (including

recreational)

AquacultureMarine Water

Quality

Optional model linkage, no sequencing

Required/optional model linkage, sequencing needed

Model coming soon!

Outputs of ecosystem service levels

supplied and demanded

And ecosystem service values in currency units

• Social value– Carbon

• Market valuation– Timber– Non-timber forest products

• Avoided damage costs– Water purification– Flood mitigation– Avoided reservoir sedimentation

• Production Economics– Water for irrigation– Pollination of agricultural crops

Strong Scientific Foundation

100 + authors

Oxford University

Press

Published April 2011

Accompanying Tools

AVAILABLE NOW:• TEEB (& other) Case Studies• Screening Criteria• InVEST in Practice e.g. SEA• InVEST Tip Sheets e.g. REDD• Scenario Guidance & Primer• Scenario generation tools

COMING SOON:• Engaging stakeholders• Conditions that enable uptake• Linking to human wellbeing

InVEST models – a sampler

The carbon model - big picture

Atmosphere

Soil type, moistureMicrobes, chemistry

SpeciesHarvested Wood Products

Aboveground biomass

Belowground biomass

Dead wood

Atmosphere

Land management

Land use history

Decay

Soil carbon

Climate

InVEST Carbon Storage ModelAtmosphere

Soil type, moistureMicrobes, chemistry

SpeciesHarvested Wood Products

Aboveground biomass

Belowground biomass

Dead wood

Atmosphere

Land management

Land use history

Soil carbon

Decay

5 pools x f(cost/ton) = Value

Climate

InVEST avoided sedimentation model

Where are the Sediment

sources?

Where are the Sediment

retention areas?

How much is retained?

What is the Value of this

retention?

Uses a modified version of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)

Stream

Corn

Forest

ForestCorn

InVEST Avoided Sedimentation Model

Also maps value of avoided erosion to downstream beneficiary

NEXTMainstreaming InVEST: case studies

China

EasternArc Mtns

California

Hawai’i

AmazonBasin

Colombia

Ecuador

WCVI, B.C.

Belize

Chesapeake Bay

Puget Sound

Galveston Bay

Coastal & Marine

Indonesia

Mainstreaming InVEST

Virungas

Terrestrial

(E. Himalayas)

(Mekong)

Since Dec 2011, over 1700 InVEST downloads from 45+ countries (>100 countries overall)

Many kinds of decision context

Decision Context Geography

Spatial PlanningTanzania, Indonesia, British

Colombia, Hawai’i, China, Belize

Ecosystem-based management (terrestrial-marine links)

USA (Puget Sound, Galveston & Chesapeake Bays)

Climate adaptation USA - Galveston & Monterey Bays

Payments for ecosystem servicesColombia (water funds), Indonesia

(REDD), Tanzania

Impact assessment, permitting, licensing Colombia (mining)

Multilateral development bank investments World Bank in Malawi

Corporate strategy Lafarge in Michigan, USA

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Challenges

–Data – even for Tier 0 / 1 models

–Capacity to interpret and apply

–Water-related services

–Government silos

Resources required

• Expertise needed– GIS expertise for gathering and formatting data – Subject matter experts e.g. hydrology, economics, carbon– Project lead who understands policy questions

• Time estimate vary depending on – location – scale of work– expertise of working team

• Full run of model, from data gathering to results– As little as 1 to 3 months– But often longer!! (18-24 months and counting)

More information

www.naturalcapitalproject.org

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Thanks…People

Andrew BalmfordTaylor RickettsNeil Burgess

Gretchen DailyBrendan FisherPeter KareivaEric Lonsdorf

Guillermo MendozaRobin NaidooErik Nelson

Nasser OlweroSteve Polasky

Jim RegetzAmy RosenthalMathieu Rouget

Mary RuckelshausHeather Tallis

Buzz ThompsonKerry Turner

…

SupportNSF

NSF-NCEASNASA

Leverhulme TrustGoogle

Packard FoundationMacArthur Foundation

Moore FoundationSummit Foundation

Roger and Vicki SantPeter and Helen Bing

…

PeopleAnne Guerry

Jodie ToftKatie ArkemaRich SharpJon FoleyCK Kim

Gregg VerutesDriss Ennaanay

Stacie WolnyAmy Rosenthal

Nirmal BhagabatiJim SalzmanChris Colvin

Mike PapenfusGreg GuannelJoey BernhardtSpencer WoodPam Matson

…

Any questions?

Terrestrial sites

China

Tanzania

California

Hawai’i

Colombia Sumatra

Virungas

Amazon

Marine sites

Vancouver Island

Belize

Chesapeake BayPuget Sound

Galveston BayMonterey Bay

Production functions

• Carbon storage

~ f(veg, storage/ha, harvest, decay)• Inputs: land use/cover, C densities, harvest rates, decay rates of

harvested wood.

• Outputs: C stored/ha

• Valuation: damage costs avoided

Sediment retention

~ f(soil, slope length, veg, rain, neighbors)• Inputs: land use/cover, topography, soils, precip, basins

• Outputs: tons sediment retained/ha

• Valuation: replacement costs avoided (dredging)

Biophysical & socio-economic outputs

Water for Irrigation Crop PollinationSupplyMaximum potential services

Total surface runoff from each land parcel on landscape (vol. ha-1)

Insect abundance (# insects ha-1)

UseIntermediate service

Amount of water used for crop irrigation (vol. ha-1)

Insect abundance contributing to crop (# of insects ha-1)

UseFinal service

Additional crop yield given additional water available for irrigation (kg ha-1)

Crop yield due to insects (kg crop ha-1)

Value NPV of additional crop yield($ ha-1)

NPV of additional crop yield ($ ha-1)

Free and open source

Ready to use, but customizable

www.naturalcapitalproject.org/download

Why assess ecosystem services?

• Important for economy and human wellbeing

• More comprehensive accounting of impacts

• Engage a wider array of stakeholders

• Generate financing for conservation

• Suggest innovative policy mechanisms