Overview of an ecosystem services approach to comply with international lending standards for large development projects

Background/Question/Methods

A precedent -setting framework of classifying and analyzing Ecosystem Services was developed based on World Bank (International Finance Corporation) Performance Standard 6 (PS 6), including guidance for PS 6 guidance published in January 2012. The incorporation of ecosystem services are a recent requirement for development of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).  A major goal of PS6 is protecting and conserving biodiversity, maintaining ecosystem services, and sustainably managing living natural resources are fundamental to sustainable development.  The objective is to maintain the benefits from ecosystem services.  The ecosystem services framework takes a novel approach to presenting physical, biological and social/cultural data.  This approach considers the ecological benefits or services that people gain from the natural environment. By drawing attention to multiple ecosystem services that benefit humans, the framework serves to link impacts across the many other chapters of the ESIA.

The basic methodology includes:

• Development of a baseline,
• An ecosystem services review,
• An ecosystem services screening,
• Determination of impacts by analysis of the relationship and overlap between ecosystem services,
• An estimate of significance of overlapping ecosystem service interactions,
• Application of mitigation measures, determination of residual impacts, and
• A critical ecosystem services determination and offsets, within context of Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP).

 

Results/Conclusions

Baseline conditions are established using data and information collected and analyzed from the other chapters of the ESIA.  The impact assessment describes the actions the Project would implement to eliminate, minimize, mitigate, offset or compensate for impacts. Each of these impacts is assessed in terms of the nature of the impact; the existing and planned mitigation measures, the potential significance, and the residual significance after mitigation measures have been implemented. Where long-term measures are required, the information feeds into the relevant management plans, and the monitoring and adaptive management plans.  Ecosystem services analysis provides a comprehensive way to:

 

• Integrate understanding of multiple technical areas and the overall impacts of a project,
• Focus and clarify impact assessment process,
• Clarify interfaces between components of major impact assessment documents (ESIA, ESMP, Action Plans),
• Address concerns of project stakeholders and opponents, and
• Provide fundamental prioritization, monitoring, and compliance data in management of project changes and Environmental and Social Management Plan implementation over life of the project.