Eduard Interwies, InterSus

7th Biennial GEF International Waters Conference

Bridgetown, Barbados

Key outcomes from the pre-workshop on Economic

valuation

• Present briefly the key outcomes of the pre-workshop

• “Set the scene” for the upcoming table dialogues on economic valuation

Aim of the presentation

• Sat & Sun 26 & 27.10• Centered on economic valuation as a tool to link science-based

management & policy• Aims:

• Raising capacity among GEF project managers and partner organizations representatives on the topic

• Better use & integration of valuation approaches and methods during GEF IW project implementation (esp. TDA-SAP process)

• More than 100 registered participants• Presentations, 3 breakout groups, facilitated discussions etc. –

conveying economic valuation methodologies and practical examples – what worked, what not

The pre-workshop:

• Management of aquatic resources based on the ecosystem understanding!

• Multiple uses…limited resources…• ...ecosystem services (ES) approach fosters

understanding and integration• Variety of objectives and underlying conditions

per ecosystem

The background/basis:

Ecosystem Services: (MEA, TEEB)

Various ecosystem services related to wetlands-estuaries, e.g.:

Provisioning:• Food, water (direct values)Regulating:• Climate regulation, moderation of extreme events (indirect

values)Habitat:• Maintenance of life cycle of migratory species (indirect

value)Cultural:• Aestetic and religious role (non-use values)

An example:

Decision-making needs to integrate a variety of socio-economic factors & issues:

• Economic growth needs/related investments;• Livelihood & distributional issues;• Costs and benefits of specific policy decisions…• but also how a policy decision influences the ES

functioning & the related values! Valuation of ES only one part of socio-economic

consideration for policy making has its specific role to play within the different steps of

the policy cycle (analysis & advice – decision making – implementation – Review/evaluation & monitoring)

Economic valuation of ES

• Various approaches & methods for economic valuation exist

• Many options for managers, but: “you need first to be clear on what question you want to answer”

• Very case specific No silver bullet: method selection should be “purpose driven, objective specific” (what question, policy, sector, stakeholders, scale, timeline, data available?)

Economic valuation of ES - methods

Variety of examples available, some presented & discussed (both LMEs and River Basins)Key insights on successful link to policy-making:• Valuation only one of the tools supporting better decision

making• Do it at the scale of the policy question• Strong local partnership & stakeholder engagement• Local demand for valuation• Opportunities of revenue raising• Effective communication & access to decision makers –

integration, not “stand alone”• Clear presentation of methods, assumptions & limitations

Economic valuation of ES

..and the links to economic valuation:

Regarding market-based instruments…

..and the links to economic valuation:• Relevant for Payments for Ecosystem Services

(PES)-schemes, but also other market-based instruments e.g. taxes, quantity-based, liability-based, voluntary

• FIRST SLIDE BY MARK???

Regarding market-based instruments…

• Promising, good examples of work done so far• Specific “do´s and dont´s” out of this experience• Fundamental concerns: water as a human right

vs. water as a commodityRole of GEF: to be further discussed• Continue exploration:

• how to upscale to national/transboundary level? ”Out-of-box”-thinking – innovative ideas

• Further case study applications (part of TDA-SAF-process) to promote and use PES-schemes

Regarding PES – and use of valuation

GEF-Action points:Broad(er): Incorporate all relevant aspects of social, economic data/analysis as an integral part of the TDA – SAP framework and related documents• Part of effective governance – of the entire policy cycle• Foster indicator use: further develop socio-economic indicators

(linked to data access & availability) & baseline/trends in GEF-SAP results framework

• Use of e.g. Cost-Benefit-analysis/Multi-criteria analysis (quantitative & qualitative information) in the assessment of options throughout the process (not only towards the end!)

• Complements – does not replace – other data and analysis currently used in GEF-projects

Linking valuation to policy-making

GEF-Action points:Incorporate valuation as an integral part of the TDA – SAP framework and related documents• Ecosystem diagnostic analysis (including valuation) to identify

national & regional key issues: for each member country (communication issues, collecting information/data) undertake individual evaluation & then bring together into the TDA-SAP-process

• Causal chain analysis (including valuation) maybe useful earlier in designing the process (in assessment of options) – identifying the key use & methods of ES valuation

• Include values of large ecosystem assets - add information on economic impacts of options - use CBA (qualitative-quantitative) of options – for the SAP

Linking valuation to policy-making

GEF-Action points:Develop guidance for the use of socio-economic assessments, esp. ES valuation:• Guidelines – practical manual• Clear framework for project managers on what is most useful for

their project• Show the needs for socio-economic assessments (CBA etc.) and

the specific use of ES valuation• Use of specific methods (flexible: not all aspects suited to all

projects), considering data availability• Success stories – lessons learned (evidence of approach advocacy)• Improve data availability / accessability for ES valuation (“do it

quicker and easier”)

Linking valuation to policy-making

GEF-Action points:Support capacity building:• Improve capacity (within GEF-projects, but also of

users/authorities)• Creating a critical mass of expertise –

professionalization – community of practice• Support a stronger incorporation of decision

makers & stakeholders in the ES valuation-process

Linking valuation to policy-making

GEF-Action points:Foster practical application of ES-valuation at the project level:• Conduct high-level ecosystem valuation studies (“fast

and cheap”) to kick-start acceptance & understanding – improve “buy-in” by users/authorities through involvement & awareness raising

• Conduct Pilot projects - Demonstration projects: Hot-spot and small demonstration projects in national diagnostic analysis/TDA/SAP formulation – with strong decision maker & stakeholder involvement

Linking valuation to policy-making

• The IWLearn-team• The co-facilitators:

* Mark Smith & Stefano Barchiesi (IUCN)* Christian Susan (UNIDO)* Warwick Sauer (Rhodes University)* Stephen Lutz (UNEP GRID-Arendal - Blue Forest project)* Adrian Cashman & David Gil (University of the West Indies)* Peter Edwards (NOAA)

• The presenters• …and of course the very involved participants!

Special thanks to: