The Natural Capital Project

Help people understand what we get from natureUse that understanding to inform decisions

Filling the Gap

Filling the Gap

Most Policy WindowsMedium spatial scale

Short timelineStandard approach

With sea level rise?

With expanded aquaculture?

With nearshore habitat restoration?

How might a range of benefits people get from nature change:

InVEST evaluates alternative futures

How might shoreline armoring affectErosion/flooding from storm events?

How might shoreline armoring affect Erosion/flooding from storm events?

Coastal and marine recreation?Nursery habitat for key species?

Fisheries?

InVEST

Applicable anywhereFlexible data requirementsFlexible scale of inquiryScenario-basedRelevant to many kinds of decisionsBiophysical and socio-economic outputsBiodiversity and multiple ecosystem services

ChoicesChange in Management, Climate

Stakeholder Engagement

InVEST in practice

InVEST

Maps

Tradeoffs

Balance sheets

A Tiered Approach

Low Model Complexity

Data Availability Local, fine

Global, coarse

High

0 1 2

China

Tanzania

California

Hawai’i

Amazon Basin

ColombiaEcuador

Applying InVEST (on land)

New tool: Marine InVEST

www.naturalcapitalproject.org

Aligning economic forces with

conservation

Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs

Renewable energy: waves (Tier 1)Coastal Vulnerability (Tier 0)Aquaculture: finfish (Tier 1)Aesthetic quality (Tier 1)Fisheries (Tier 0)Recreation (Tier 0)Biodiversity/habitat quality (Tier 1)Coastal protection (Tier 1)Water quality (Tier 1)Carbon storage and sequestration (Tier 1)Fisheries (Tier 1)Aquaculture: shellfish (Tier 1)Nursery habitat (component of fisheries model)Renewable energy: offshore wind (Tier 1)Fisheries: connect to existing models (Tier 3)

Marine InVEST

13

West Coast Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Multiple services.Not sector by sector.

Recreation Ranking based on simple (0, 1) classification and distance decay

Combined index of vulnerability:Where are the people + where are the biophysical hazards?

Run Wave ModelO

ffsho

re

Beac

h

Erosion Difference: 1.5m

15 hrs Storm

Hmax=1.5m

T=4s

0 - 1.5

1.5 - 3.0

3.0 - 4.5

4.5 - 6.0

6.0 - 7.5

NPV ($ mil)

COM_SAL_TRCommercial Fishery: Salmon trawl: Salmon net: Crab and Shrimp

REC_FISHRecreational Fishery: Salmon : Ground fish

: Power Grid Connection Point

: Cable Landing Point

SummaryScenario Aquacultur

e yieldEnergy from waves

Recreation Aesthetic views

… …

Add netpens, lodges & wave energy facilities

…

…

•Simplest InVEST models are helping to: • frame the discussion• explore suitable, vulnerable, & important areas

•More complex InVEST models can explore trade-offs and compare alternative scenarios•A work in progress…

Applying Marine InVEST

Vancouver Island

Belize

Chesapeake BayPuget Sound

Galveston Bay

Monterey Bay

When do land-based activities affect success of marine resource management?

•Oyster restoration•Fisheries•Coastal protection

•Nutrient runoff•Coastal hardening•Water withdrawals

Testing many kinds of decision contexts

Decision Context Geography

Spatial Planning Tanzania, Indonesia, British Columbia, Hawai’i, China, Belize

Ecosystem-based management (terrestrial-marine links)

Puget Sound, Galveston Bay, Chesapeake Bay

Climate adaptation (ecosystem-based adaptation)

Galveston Bay, Monterey Bay

Return on restoration investments Colombia water funds, Gulf of Mexico, Indonesia

Impact assessment, permitting, licensing

Colombia mining concessions, agricultural practices in US

InVEST

• Simple (or complex)• Readily available• Easy to use• Created within decision-making processes• Designed to stay there

www.naturalcapitalproject.org

Aligning economic forces with

conservation