Soomaa NP © Arne Ader

Paanajärvi NP © Viktor

Gritsuk

CHALLENGES, EXAMPLESand many more, Payments for Ecosystem Services in Europe’s wilderness areasZoltán Kun, Executive DirectorPAN Parks Foundation

Oulanka NP © Kimmo Salminen

Presentation outline

• introduction to PAN Parks Foundation + personal intro• situation and tendencies in Europe• the European case of Ecosystem Services linked to wilderness• questions about how to go forwardALL IMAGES from EUROPE

Wilderness is closer than you think ...

Borjomi-Kharagauli NP © Kote Gabrichidze

„...about 1% of Europe’s territory ...can be called wilderness area”Ladislav Miko,EC DG Environment

Wilderness is a scarce resource in Europe!

Wilderness in Europe

Paanajärvi NP ©Viktor Gritsuk

What is PAN Parks?

PAN Parks works to protect Europe’s wilderness, the continent’s most undisturbed areas of nature

©iStock/Graeme Purdy

237 000 ha of wilderness

Wilderness momentum

• European Parliament’s special report on wilderness

• European Commission- ‘Agenda for Wilderness’

• Wilderness in Biodiversity Strategy

What we have achieved so far

Network of certified PAN Parks

Archipelago NP © Seppo Keränen

The Million Project

To ensure guaranteed protection of 1 million hectares of wilderness in Europe by 2015

What is wilderness?

• nature is left to develop on its own• native species, animals roam free• no human intervention

Oulanka NP ©Hannu Hautala

Fulufjallet NP © Vitantonio Dell’Orto

What is PAN Parks Wilderness?

NO extractive use such as•hunting•fishing•mining•logging•grazing•grass cutting•road and building constructionis allowed in PAN Parks wilderness

What is PAN Parks Wilderness?

...but visitors have the opportunity to enjoy PAN Parks Wilderness!

Paanajärvi NP ©Minna Koramo

Peneda-Geres NP © Marcos Veiga

Europe’s perceptive wilderness

Archipelago NP © Janne Gröning

European tendencies

Threats and Opportunities exist parallel

• wilderness comes up on the agenda (catch phrase?)• land abandonment provides opportunity to restore• wilderness disappears• restoration is more attractive than protection of existing areas!

European Wilderness Research Agenda initiated by PAN Parks

Central Balkan NP © Evgeni Diniev

Research database

Setting up a searchable, public Wilderness Resource Bank (analogy to Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute website)

• top 3: PA management, ecosystems, species conservation

• down 3: climate change, ecosystem services, financing wilderness protection

Payments for Ecosystem Services

Majella NP ©MNP

TEEB report

• introduces the PES term

• PES can be an opportunity to raise additional resources and explain the real values of wilderness beyond biodiversity

Archipelago NP © Heidi Arponen

Challenge 1

How the definition of wilderness applies to the case of indigenous / local needs (is it an excuse in Europe?)• Example 1: Nordic countries• Example 2: Peneda-Geres, Portugal• Example 3: Retezat, Romania

Paanajärvi NP © PNP Archives

Challenge 2

We are still in a stage in Europe when we need to explain the biodiversity benefits of wilderness

Hunter/Gatherers

Pre-1900

UtilitarianNatural Regulation

Ecological Integrity

1900s-1950s 1950s-1990s Post 1990s

PROTECTED AREA ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

Challenge 3

Majella NP © Bruno D’Amicis

How to apply the PES under the current economic structure

• Example of shorting on biodiversity loss!

Conflict between indirect (ecocentric) and direct (anthropocentric) interpretation of Ecosystem Services

Retezat NP © Mihai Moiceanu

Based on our current definition• they are linked to non-use / existence / bequest values• re: challenge with the definition! How much are we willing to make a compromise?

Classification of Ecosystem Services

Retezat NP © Mihai Moiceanu

Challenge 4• Plenty of examples in Europe linked to direct use values but significant lack of role models for paying for indirect or non-extrective values

• Examples: 1. economic valuation of Tatra and Slovensky raj National Parks 2. our Tourism Model

© Gunther Desmedt

© Eki Ollila

Climate Change and Resource Efficiency

© Basecamp Oulanka

A short introduction…

PAN Village is founded as an initiative from WWF and Molecaten.

Mission:Creating a balance between wilderness conservation and tourism in Europe

•Offering tourist accommodations and nature activities in or close to wilderness areas•Stimulating local economy•Supporting the PAN Parks Foundation:

• (joint) promotion of wilderness areas in Europe• financial support for wilderness conservation

We need to test and apply various valuation tools

• assessing trade-offs between competing uses of ecosystems• restoration vs cost of in-action

• transboundary services

Central Balkan NP ©CBNP

Challenge 5

Biodiversity haven and beyond....• good examples are needed for biodiversity• ...social benefits• ...economic benefits

Oulanka NP ©Michael Hennemann

Defining the role of wilderness

Borjomi-Kharagauli NP © Kote Gabrichidze

Looking for good examples• social benefits: youth at risk projects• economic benefits: failure to mobilise the corporate sector• tax pressure in Europe!• Example: Nokia in Finland• Example: pasta factory in Italy• Example: Sofia vs Rila NP

Challenge 6 (re. challenge 2 biodiversity)

Challenge 7

Retezat NP ©iStock/Falk Kienas

• mainstreaming ecosystem accounting in Europe

• corporate projects to enhance biodiversity protection (how relevant they are for wilderness?)

• Example: Audi in Györ

Challenge 8

Borjomi-Kharagauli NP ©Kote Gabrichidze

Promoting good European examples as role models (after finding them)!

Oulanka NP © Kimmo Salminen

Case studies

A study to be finalised by 15 December

• PAN Parks Tourism Model

• Drinking water• Flood mitigation• Carbon market

• Biodiversity market

Retezat NP ©iStock/Falk Kienas Oulanka NP ©Hannu Hautala

Communication

More understanding is needed in Europe

• different target groups (youth!)

• evidences needed

Rila NP © Nicolas Cegalerba

How to communicate?

Whom to talk to?

How people interact with nature? Wilderness helps to re-establish the lost relation

Show (and not tell) a story!

PAN Parks works to protect

Europe’s wilderness, the

continent’s most undisturbed areas

of nature

http://panparks.orghttp://facebook.com/panparks

http://panparks.org/user/registerhttp://linkedin.com/panparksgrouphttp://youtube.com/user/PANParks

http://storiesofwilderness.panparks.orghttp://mymillionproject.ning.com

zkun@panparks.org

Be part of it!...