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| Related projects... |
| Catchment Futures
case study |
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This case study will explore the ecosystem approach
in sustainable natural resource management in
the Parrett Catchment through practical application
and by providing demonstrations of 'best-practice'
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| Social and economic
database |
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A project to review the existing
social and economic evidence base and its use
for assessing the state of England's terrestrial
ecosystems using an ecosystem approach more
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| Ecosystem Services |
| A Defra research project
to establish the basis for an ecosystems approach
and how it may be used to make effective assessments
of the benefits that the natural environment provides |
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Government policies for protecting
the natural environment are not sufficiently integrated
to provide a sustainable future. If we are to
achieve sustainable patterns of economic and social
development a different approach to policy development
and implementation for environmental goods and
services needs to be adopted. The United Nations
'Millennium Ecosystem Assessment', not only recognised
the multiple benefits that ecological systems
provide but also highlighted that policy and planning
decisions must take into account an ecosystems
approach (EA) to be truly sustainable.
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As a result, this new project is
part of a new Defra research programme to investigate
the practicalities of translating the ecosystems
concept into a usable tool. This project (NR0107)
will establish and agree what an ecosystems approach
actually involves and how it can be used to make
assessments of the benefits that ecosystems provide
to society at the national, regional and local
scales.
We will consider how the developing approach can
be used to assist and enhance decision-making
at all scales. Adoption and implementation of
the approach by Government policy makers and decision-makers
like local planning authorities will ultimately
protect and enhance the natural environment ensuring
it can continue to provide the benefits and services
that society needs.
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| Developing knowledge |
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This project builds on
the achievements of Phase I of Defra's Natural
Environment Programme, which suggested that
the links between concepts such as environmental
limits and thresholds, ecosystem health
and ecosystem goods and services are sufficiently
well developed to enable detailed analysis
of the issues based on empirical data. The
Phase I work also emphasised that while
the evidence-base could be developed further,
there was sufficient information available
to make such an undertaking feasible. Phase
I also identified that improvements to the
institutional arrangements to deliver and
monitor the activities and measure are also
required. This project will take all of
these ideas and concepts.
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