Handbook on Water Management - page 14

Ecosystem services are established on different time and spatial scales. They can be
apprehended at different levels, from local level (protection against natural risks, water
sanitation, cultural functions) and national level (a country’swater resources, national basins)
to international level (transboundary basins, worldwater cycle, fight against climate change,
etc.). They also vary over time: thewater cycle takes place over thewhole biosphere and over
very long periods.
Figure 1: Relationship between ecosystems, functions and services
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is a global initiative that was launched
by the G8 and five developing countries in 2007. It centres on the “economic benefits of
biodiversity including the growing cost of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. TEEB
presents an approach that can help decision-makers recognize, demonstrate and capture the
values of ecosystem services and biodiversity”.
The TEEB study gathers experience, knowledge and expertise from around the world in the
fields of science, economics and politics. Its aim is to guide decision-makers in establishing
concrete political responses to the repercussions of the current deterioration of biodiversity and
ecosystem services.
Several reports were published from 2008 to 2010 and the final results of the TEEB study were
presented in October 2010 at the tenth Conference of the Parties (COP-10) of the Convention on
Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan.
Source:
/
Box 3: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Following 6 years of negotiations, IPBESwas set up in April 2012 to provide a platform of
scientific information to aid local and international politiciansmaking decisions on biodiversity
conservation issues.
IPBES has several missions:
n
Carry out assessments on biodiversity, ecosystemic services and their interactions on
international, regional and sub-regional levels, as well as on thematic issues and new topics
identified by science;
n
Support the production and implementation of policies by identifying appropriate tools and
methods and facilitating their access;
n
Identify and accompany capacity-building requirements (training, dialogue, etc.) to improve
the science-politics interface, especially in countries in the South;
n
Facilitate a coordinated approach to producing new knowledge.
More information:
/
Box 4: Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and EcosystemServices (IPBES)
Ecosystem
Functions
Ecosystemic
services
Benefits
(Wellbeing)
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