Green infrastructure (GI), a network of nature, semi-natural areas and green space, delivers essential ecosystem services which underpin human well-being and quality of life. Maintaining ecosystem ...services through the development of GI is therefore increasingly recognized by policies as a strategy to cope with potentially changing conditions in the future. This paper assessed how current trends of land-use change have an impact on the aggregated provision of eight ecosystem services at the regional scale of the European Union, measured by the Total Ecosystem Services Index (TESI8). Moreover, the paper reports how further implementation of GI across Europe can help maintain ecosystem services at baseline levels. Current demographic, economic and agricultural trends, which affect land use, were derived from the so called Reference Scenario. This scenario is established by the European Commission to assess the impact of energy and climate policy up to 2050. Under the Reference Scenario, economic growth, coupled with the total population, stimulates increasing urban and industrial expansion. TESI8 is expected to decrease across Europe between 0 and 5 % by 2020 and between 10 and 15 % by 2050 relative to the base year 2010. Based on regression analysis, we estimated that every additional percent increase of the proportion of artificial land needs to be compensated with an increase of 2.2 % of land that qualifies as green infrastructure in order to maintain ecosystem services at 2010 levels.
Water, food and energy are at the core of human needs and there is a boundless complex cycle among these three basic human needs. Ecosystems are in the center of this nexus, since they contribute to ...the provision of each component, making it imperative to understand the role of ecosystems in securing food, water and energy for human well-being. In this study we aimed to map and assess water provisioning services and associated benefits to support the ecosystem–water–food–energy nexus by taking into account environmental flow requirements for riverine ecosystems using the hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). We developed a framework that includes indicators of renewable water (capacity of ecosystem to provide water) and water use (service flow) and we applied it in the Danube river basin over the period 1995–2004. Water scarcity indicators were used to map the possible water scarcity in the subbasins, and analyze the spatial match of water availability and water use. The results show that modelling is instrumental to perform the integrated analysis of the ecosystem–water–food–energy nexus; and that spatial mapping is a powerful tool to display environmental availability of water provisioning and regulatory services delivered by ecosystems, and can support the nexus analysis.
•Efficient water management requires spatial knowledge of water availability and use•We develop an approach for assessing and mapping water provisioning services•We implement the approach in the Danube river basin.•The approach can support assessments and policies related to the ecosystem–water–food–energy nexus
A historically large percentage of the world’s population has moved to urban areas in the past few decades, causing various negative effects for the environment, such as air, noise, water, and light ...pollution; land degradation; and biodiversity loss. Under the current climate crisis, cities are anticipated to play an essential part in adaptation strategies to extreme atmospheric events. This study aims at developing indicators at an urban scale that can highlight adaptation progress by investigating relevant data (especially in situ) and statistics at a pan-European level in support of the EU’s strategy for adapting to the impacts of climate change. The proposed indicator, Urban Biodiversity Indicator for Trees (UBI4T), which can be derived from city tree inventories, assesses one essential component of urban biodiversity by computing the proportion of native, alien, invasive, and toxic tree species spatially across a city. According to our findings (applying the UBI4T for Amsterdam and exploring its policy potential for Barcelona), the UBI4T can offer crucial information for decision and policy makers, as well as stakeholders of a city, with the aim of conducting dedicated and effective strategic initiatives to restore, improve, and protect nature in the urban environment, thus contributing to adaptation and resilience to extreme atmospheric events in cities.
•Composite indicators are widely used in sustainable development and elsewhere.•The effect of weights used in aggregating indicators is complex.•Three tools are presented which help developers and ...users to investigate effects of weights.•Case studies related to sustainable development demonstrate the benefits.
Composite indicators are very popular tools for assessing and ranking countries and institutions in terms of environmental performance, sustainability, and other complex concepts that are not directly measurable. Because of the stakes that come with the media attention of these tools, a word of caution is warranted. One common misconception relates to the effect of the weights assigned to indicators during the aggregation process. This work presents a novel series of tools that allow developers and users of composite indicators to explore effects of these weights. First, the importance of each indicator to the composite is measured by the nonlinear Pearson correlation ratio, estimated by Bayesian Gaussian processes. Second, the effect of each indicator is isolated from that of other indicators using regression analysis, and examined in detail. Finally, an optimisation procedure is proposed which allows weights to be fitted to agree with pre-specified values of importance. These three tools together give developers considerable insight into the effects of weights and suggest possibilities for refining and simplifying the aggregation. The added value of these tools are shown on three case studies: the Resource Governance Index, the Good Country Index, and the Water Retention Index.
In order to assess water efficiency options on the European scale, a multi-criteria integrative hydro-economic modeling framework has been developed. With this framework, it is possible to assess ...combinations of measures which could help reducing the gap between water demand and water availability, while taking into account ecological, water quality, flood risk and economic aspects. The assessed measures include water retention, water savings and nutrient reduction measures. The presented work was carried out within the framework of the "Blueprint to safeguard Europe's waters" policy initiative of the European Commission. Contrary to earlier studies concentrating on single measures in single river basins, this study shows that this modeling environment can evaluate combinations of measures in multiple river basins that meet the considered objectives, and in general can improve various water quantity and quality indicators as compared to the baseline situation. However, additional work is needed on for example quantifying the economics of damage and benefits before the modelling environment may be used for policy advice.
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•We present a framework to assess spatial alternatives for Green Infrastructure.•Peri-urban areas are important sources of ecosystem services.•Restoration costs (removal of invasive ...species) are higher in peri-urban areas.•Areas with poor ecosystem condition have lower ecosystem service potential per unit area.•The proposed prioritization framework is applicable at different spatial scales.
Target 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 aims at the deployment of Green Infrastructure (GI) and the restoration of at least 15% of degraded ecosystems. We assess different alternatives for the spatial planning of GI and ecosystem restoration across the European Union by using spatial conservation prioritization tools. We compared three different scenarios for the identification of priority areas in which the ecosystem service potential, beneficiaries (i.e. people) and ecosystem condition play different roles. As an example of GI restoration, we also assessed the cost-effectiveness of removal of invasive alien species in the areas prioritized under each scenario.
The comparative assessment of the spatial alternatives for GI shows synergies and conflicts. We found that GI could be efficiently established close to densely populated areas, since high multi-functionality is delivered in these locations (close to human settlements). However, restoration costs, such as the removal of invasive alien species, were higher in such areas given the influence of urban pressures. We also found that GI prioritized in areas under poor ecosystem condition would require a larger spatial extent of implementation, due to a lower ecosystem service potential per unit area.
Given the scarcity of resources for investment in GI and ecosystem restoration, win-win situations should be identified where GI designation can deliver several policy objectives simultaneously. The prioritization framework we have presented here could also be applied at the country or regional level to support local planning.
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