1. Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity
The International Legal Regime and the Ecosystem Approach
Ghent, 16 September 2010 – Kathleen Mertens

2. Ecosystem Services The services ecosystems provide to human beings
4 types of services: supporting services, regulating services, provisioning services and cultural services
Climate regulation
Forests, soils, vegetation and marine phytoplankton
Large capacity to store CO2

3. Ecosystem Approach Normative framework
To achieve the 3 objectives of the CBD
A voluntary tool
12 principles

4. Principles of the Ecosystem Approach
P 1: The objectives of management of land, water and living resources are a matter of societal choices
P 2: Management should be decentralised to the lowest appropriate level
P 3: Ecosystem managers should consider the effects (actual or potential) of their activities on adjacent and other ecosystems
P 4: Recognizing potential gains from management, there is usually a need to understand and manage the ecosystem in an economic context

5. Principles of the Ecosystem Approach
P 5: Conservation of ecosystem structure and functioning, in order to maintain ecosystem services, should be a priority target of the ecosystem approach
P 6: Ecosystem must be managed within the limits of their functioning
P 7: The ecosystem approach should be undertaken at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales
P 8: Recognising the varying temporal scales and lag-effects that characterise ecosystem processes, objectives for ecosystem management should be set for the long term

6. Principles of the Ecosystem Approach
P 9: Management must recognize that change is inevitable
P 10: The ecosystem approach should seek the appropriate balance between, and integration of, conservation and use of biological diversity
P 11: The ecosystem approach should consider all forms of relevant information, including scientific and indigenous and local knowledge, innovations and practices
P 12: The ecosystem approach should involve all relevant sectors of society and scientific disciplines

7. Application of the Ecosystem Approach
Institutional cooperation/coordination to avoid adverse effects of fragmented decision-making
Coordination of legal requirements
EIA and SEA
Economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services
Flexible mechanisms – valuation of ton CO2
Incentives for biodiversity conservation
Phase out market imperfections
Application of precautionary approach

8. Application of the Ecosystem Approach
Focus on structures and processes rather than to focus on specific species
Sustainable management of ecosystems having regard at the temporal scale of ecosystem functioning and the fact decisions here might affect the functioning of ecosystems at another place
Special adaptation and mitigation strategies when ecosystems may be pushed beyond the limits of natural variation
Integrate natural resource management in other sectoral policies

9. Application of the Ecosystem Approach
Scientific cooperation
Maintain practices and knowledge of indigenous communities
Awareness-raising
Stakeholder involvement

10. Conclusion
Is it possible to follow the ecosystem approach when implementing the international obligations?
No real institutional cooperation
No coordination of obligations, unless we take into account indirect references in the conventions and the KP
Future?
How to better integrate the conventions?
Agreements on better cooperation/coordination?