Introduction to a toolkit to decision-makers supporting the integration of ecosystem services and natural capital into sectoral policies.

1. Pursuing sustainable development through green economy:
Integration of ecosystem services into sectoral policies
OPERAs Synthesis Webinars
“How are ecosystem services included in policy?”
18 September 2017
Marianne Kettunen & Patrick ten Brink, IEEP
4 Rue de la Science, Brussels 1000, Belgium
11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB, UK
www.ieep.eu
http://www.oppla.eu/

2. What is green economy?
Source:: UNEP Green Ecobomy report (2011), ten Brink et al. (2013)
“ … one that results in improved human
well-being and social equity, while
significantly reducing environmental risks
and ecological scarcities.
In its simplest expression, a green economy
economy can be thought of as one which is

3. Starting point & take-home messages
• Integration of ecosystem services (ES) and natural capital (NC)
into socio-economic sectors …
→ concrete shift towards a truly “green” green economy
• This starts with the integration of ES & NC into the policies
governing the different sectors:
→ I: current level of integration?
→ II: key areas for further integration?
→ III: concrete development paths for policy “greening”

4. Green economy

5. For policy integration, range of tools are needed …
Information
instruments
Data, indicators, monitoring, mapping, accounting, science-policy
assessments
Decision-support
instruments
Planning and targeting, supported by indicators, monitoring and mapping
Reporting, supported by indicators, monitoring and mapping
Impact assessment procedures and risk assessment and analysis
Implementation
instruments
Dedicated legislative acts, regulations & standards
Spatially specific instruments (e.g. protected areas, land-use zoning)
Public investment
Market-based instruments and certification
Other

6. Environment (water, air) Agriculture Forestry Fisheries Regional development Health …POLICY AREAS
Regulation Protected areas Public funding Private investment Certification PES Offsetting …INSTRUMENTS:
Implementation
Planning & targeting Reporting Impact assessments Cost-benefit assessments …INSTRUMENTS:
Policy / decision
support
Indicators Monitoring & mapping Surveys Natural capital accounting Science-policy assessments …INSTRUMENTS:
Information
Governance & decision-making processes
For policy integration, tools need to work together …

7. There are different levels of policy integration …
Conceptual integration: documents underpinning sectoral
policies (e.g. strategies and roadmaps) explicitly or implicitly take ES
into account.
Operational integration: specific measures or instruments are
identified and committed to address ES related objectives within
policy sectors.
Implementation integration: concrete measures achieve
integration on the ground in actual policy- and decision-making
situations.

8. Understanding current level of integration is
the starting point for further action …
Level of
integration
Conceptual integration Operational integration
Implementation
integration
Comprehensive and
explicit
Explicit recognition of all ecosystem
services, including the recognition of
ecosystem services and natural capital
as underpinning elements of human
wellbeing
Dedicated instruments exist for
addressing ecosystem services and
natural capital in a comprehensive
manner within a policy area.
The dedicated instruments and
measures are implemented, with due
procedures in place to support the
implementation (e.g. funding), monitor
their effectiveness (e.g. ex-post
assessments) and adopt changes if
needed (e.g. process for adaptive
governance).
Explicit but not
comprehensive
Some explicit integration (e.g. some
specific ecosystem services), including
some recognition of ecosystem services
and natural capital as underpinning
elements of human wellbeing.
Some instruments exist that proactively
address / build on the understanding of
ecosystem services and natural capita
within the policy area.
The existing instruments and measures
are implemented, with some
procedures in place to support and/or
monitor the implementation (as per
above).
Implicit and
incomprehensive
Implicit and indirect integration,
generally focus on preventing negative
impacts of a policy sector on ecosystem
services and natural capital
No dedicated instruments exist for
directly addressing ecosystem services
and natural capital. Some aspects –
mainly focusing on avoiding negative
impacts on (some) ecosystem services
- integrated into sectoral instruments.
The existing indirect instruments and
measures are implemented, with
procedures in place to support and/or
monitor the implementation. The
framework for implementation does not,
however, explicitly or comprehensively
cover ecosystem services or natural
capital.
No specific
integration
No recognition (direct / indirect) of
ecosystem services and natural capital
No instruments exist that would in any
way address ecosystem services and
natural capital.
No implementation of any instruments
or measures linked to

9. Example: current level of integration in the EU
Source EU: Kettunen et al. (2014) Policy needs and
opportunities for operationalising the concept of ecosystem
services, Report in the context of EU FP7 OPERAs project
Source Scotland (next slide): Claret et al. (2017)
Understanding the integration of ecosystem services and
natural capital in Scottish context, submitted manuscript in
the context of EU FP7 OPERAs project

10. Example: current level of integration in Scotland

11. Future action starts by identifying
key opportunities & needs for future integration …
 Win-wins for ecosystem services integration and delivery of sectoral objectives
within sectors
 Win-wins for ecosystem services integration and delivery of sectoral objectives
between sectors
 Trade-offs between policy sectors required to be addressed
 Bottlenecks for development within or across policy sector
 Windows of opportunity (e.g. upcoming policy reforms) and linking these to
possible sources to finance uptake.

12.  Impact: which win-wins provide the largest positive impact?
 Urgency: which trade-offs are causing a considerable negative impact?
 Feasibility: which win-wins or trade-offs are feasible to address?
 Opportunity: which policy sectors have clear windows of opportunity for change?
 Engagement: which sectoral stakeholders have good capacity to support a
change?
 Assets: which policy sectors have the most concrete opportunities for benefiting
from natural capital assets?
 Knowledge: which sectors have the level of knowledge needed for developing
robust policies and instruments?
Key opportunities & needs for future action
can be identified by a set of criteria …

13. Future potential
Education &
Training
Lack of
awareness
Demographic
change and social
justice
Contribution to
priorities / Benefits
Urban
Development
Regional
Development
Public Health
Jobs & Skills
Economic Growth
Lack of
skilled
workforce
Lack of
policy
integration
Other
political
priorities
Plans and
Strategies
Understandin
g of synergies
Policy
integration
drivers
Current situation
barriers
Funding
Mapping the integration pathway for sector(s) …

14. Information
instruments
Data, indicators, monitoring, mapping, accounting, science-policy
assessments
Decision-support
instruments
Planning and targeting, supported by indicators, monitoring and mapping
Reporting, supported by indicators, monitoring and mapping
Impact assessment procedures and risk assessment and analysis
Implementation
instruments
Dedicated legislative acts, regulations & standards
Protected areas
Public investment
Market-based instruments and certification
Other
Policy
Formulatio
n
Decision
making
Policy
Implementation
Monitoring
Evaluation
Science-policy interphase (e.g. expert
working groups)
Impact assessment
Mapping, planning and targeting
Indicator development
Etc.
Ex-ante assessment
Cost-benefits assessments
Science-policy assessments
Etc.
Ex-post assessments
Science-policy assessments
Science-policy interphase
(e.g. expert working
groups)
Etc.
Laws and regulations
Public funding
PES schemes
Offsetting
Certification schemes
Private sector partnership schemes
Etc.
Databases
Indicators
Monitoring and mapping frameworks
Accounting frameworks
Etc.
Identifying and mapping ES instruments into sectoral
policy cycles …

15. 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Ex-ante impact
assessments and
studies supporting
policy instrument
formulation
Conceptual
integration:
Launch of policy
paper outlining a
green vision for the
sector
Ex-post impacts
assessments and
mid-term reviews
of the instrument
Operational
integration:
Adoption of
a dedicated instrument
Policy actions
Science-policy
actions
Stakeholder
oriented actions
Key
Impact
assessments
and studies
supporting
policy
formulation
Consultation of
stakeholders
and experts
Consultation of
stakeholders
and experts
Implementation integration:
Implementation of the dedicated instrument
E.g. possible financial support from public budget
Consultation of
stakeholders
and experts
Possible revisions to
the instrument
Mapping the policy development timeline for sector(s) …

16. Conclusions & take-home messages
Integration of ecosystem services (ES) and natural capital
(NC) into socio-economic sectors →
Concrete shift towards a green economy that …
• Functions within ecosystems’ limits
• Builds on nature’s capital
• Delivers sustainability objectives

17. Further reading …
Kettunen, M. and ten Brink, P. (eds) (2013) Social and economic benefits of protected areas – an assessment guide,
EarthScan/Rutledge, London.
Illes, A., Kettunen, M., Ferreira de Santos, R. and ten Brink, P. (2017). Innovative Financing Instruments to Support
Biodiversity Protection in the EU: Opportunities Provided by Environmental Fiscal Reform, in Global Conference on
Environmental Taxation Conference Series
Ezzine de Blas, D., Kettunen, M., Russi, D., Illes, A., Lara-Pulido, J.A., Arias, C. and Guevara, A. (2017) Innovative
mechanisms for financing biodiversity conservation: a comparative summary of experiences from Mexico and Europe, an
executive summary in the context of a project “Innovative financing mechanisms for biodiversity in Mexico.
D’Amato, D., Droste, N., Allen, B., Kettunen, M., Toppinen, A., Lähtinen, K., Matthies, B.D (2017) Green, circular, bio economy:
A comparative analysis of sustainability avenues, Journal of Cleaner Production
Schweitzer J-P., Howe M., Mutafoglu K., Kettunen M. and ten Brink, P. (2017) Investing in nature for well-being in the city. In
Reconnecting Natural and Cultural Capital - Contributions from Science and Policy. Eds. Paracchini M. and Zingari, P. Joint
Research Centre - European Commission. Brussels/Geel.
Mutafoglu K., ten Brink P., Dekker S., Woollard J., and J.-P. Schweitzer (2017). Adapting to climate change and improving
urban resilience: The role of nature and biodiversity protection in cities, in Building a Climate-Resilient Economy and Society -
Challenges and Opportunities, Eds. Ninan K. and M. Inoue. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar
Publishing.
ten Brink P., Mazza L., Badura T., Kettunen M. and Withana S. (2014) ‘Governance of the Transition to a Green Economy –
Responding to the Values of Nature’, In Nunes, P., Kumar, P., Dedeurwaerdere, T., (eds.) Handbook on the Economics of
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.