0:00:13.193,0:00:15.715
We all know that we receive[br]benefits from nature,

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but have you ever tried[br]to list them out?

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To identify them,[br]assign values to them

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or actually trace them back, to particular[br]landscapes that give rise to them.

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Most of us probably don't go[br]through this exercise

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on a regular basis if ever.

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But the answer to these questions[br]is fundamental to our ability

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to manage our landscapes,[br]for both sustainability

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and for improved quality of life.

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But to answer these questions,[br]I need to know,

0:00:41.525,0:00:44.314
what values you assign

0:00:44.314,0:00:45.524
to wetlands,

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streams, forests, fields?

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And this question isn't particularly[br]easy to answer,

0:00:50.491,0:00:52.030
if you think about it.

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We all have familiarity with assigning[br]a value to a pint of maple syrup

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or a glass of water.

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But, what's the value of the maple trees[br]that produced that syrup,[br]

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or the forest[br]where maple trees grow?

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Is the value of the forest equal[br]to the value of the maple syrup?

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Probably not.

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Forests produce[br]a lot of other services,

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and we could sit and think[br]about them for a minute.

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We can think whether it is –[br]board field lumber it produces,

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or they generate other food,[br]fuel-fiber type resources, firewood –

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These all have market values,

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so, again, it's relatively easy[br]to look up at the values[br]

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or think about them,[br]or think about trading them.

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But what about the elements,[br][br]

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the services that we get[br]from this ecosystems

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that aren't necessarily material,

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that aren't part or the structure,

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but rather functions

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of the greater structural complexity[br]of these systems?

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That is – what is the value[br]of a forest as a forest

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as opposed to the value[br]as a piece of lumber?

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So, that's an important question[br]to think about.

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So if we can think about things like,

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forests absorb carbon dioxide[br]from the air,

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thereby medicating greenhouse[br]gas emissions and climate change –

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they produce oxygen[br]that we can breathe,

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they retain nutrients,[br]like phosphorus and nitrogen,

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as well as sediment,[br]keeping them out from water ways

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to keep them clear.

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They provide habitat for biodiversity

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and they provide endless recreation[br]opportunities for us.

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We can think of all[br]these kinds of things.

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So, maybe we can get[br]at a lower bound for value

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for a given forest,[br]if we try to add up[br]

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the individual contributions[br]of each of these different elements

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to our well being.

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So we can try and do that.

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But now we are still faced[br]with a more fundamental problem,

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which is that – we're talking[br]about questions of value,

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and we're talking about value,

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we're talking about[br]people's perceptions of worth,

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which, been held subjectively,[br]vary widely across populations,

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culture, generation, ethnicity,[br]any number of things,

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we can think about these axes.

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So, that means extremely,[br]extremely difficult to assign

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blanket values, generalized values[br]to a given landscape,

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because the services[br]that they generate are valued

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by different people in different places[br]at different times.

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So, that's the problem space[br]that we want to play with here.

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So, if we're thinking[br]about this localization of the problem,

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maybe a more important question,[br]or a different way to phrase this,

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is not to ask ourselves,[br]or is not to try and say,

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"The value of a service[br]from forest is x,"

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but rather to say,

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"The value of this service from this forest[br]is x to these people,"

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and to get specific.

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So, in that spirit,[br]for the last few decades,

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our researchers[br]in ecosystems services area

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have been traveling[br]around the world

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and surveying people[br]about the values[br]

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they assign to the services of nature.

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But, obviously these things[br]are time consuming

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and they are expensive.

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So it's extremely difficult[br]to get very much data here.

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There are databases built up[br]on these things,

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specially in the last decade –

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we've started to see some[br]databases emerging that you can query

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and try to get an idea[br]of what the literature says[br]

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about some of these[br]different kinds of values –

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these, again, socio-economic values[br]that we're playing with.

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But, we don't think even[br]remotely close to global coverage,

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nowhere near.[br]And at the same time,

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especially in the last five to six years,[br]we've seen a major upswell

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in institutions of both[br]the public and the private sector,

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begging for global coverage[br]of ecosystems service information

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that they can use[br]for their land management decisions,

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and run scenarios against.

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So, as we've already seen, we do have[br]a lot of [due] a spatial data now.

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That's kind of a new big fun thing[br]in ecosystems services world –

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we're not just limited to doing[br]these one off surveys,

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because we can actually do[br]these secondary

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meta-level evaluations of the data.

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And what we get to do with this –[br]we get all this geospatial data,

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we put it together, and now[br]what we can do in filling these gaps,

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is we can actually try[br]and create functions

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that go in and study the structure[br]in the data

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of the landscapes and the people,[br]the cities, the community centers,[br]

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the roads,[br]all these kinds of structures,

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and try to pull out[br]with these signature functions,

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where services are likely[br]to be produced,

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and where there's probably[br]demand for them.

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But, once you've applied[br]these kinds of functions,

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you still don't necessarily know –

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if you know where[br]the supply might be,

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and you know where[br]the demand might be

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in any given landscape,[br]once you've run these functions –

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you still don't know[br]if any service is being delivered.

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So, what we have to do there –

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is we take the landscapes,[br]we project this information

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about likelihood of supply and demand[br]up on to a network,

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and then we start flowing around,[br]we simulate in our computers

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across all this geospatial data.

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We simulate the flow of,[br]what we call "service carriers",

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so things like bees[br]for pollination services,

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or carbon dioxide moving around,[br]water moving for flooding

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and wild-fire, water supply,[br]water quality, any number of things.

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You move it across the landscape[br]and you try actually see –

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given any particular[br]topographic variables,

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what is the service flow topology,[br]any given area,

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and thereby, you can finally answer[br]the question:

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Who receives services from where[br]in any given landscape?

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And that's extremely powerful,[br]if you have that kind of information.

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So, the kinds of things[br]you can answer with that, now –

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[br]– that's not too bad –

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So, for example, you can finally[br]show maps like this,[br]

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where the green areas here are like

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[repeated sound of] on the top,[br]and over here you have a mountaineer,

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and we're looking at scenic views –

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So the impact of scenic views[br]on different properties –[br]

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for the red, on the top there,[br]is the city of Kent.

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And so you can try and see:[br]

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Who receives services from where,[br]and to what degree?

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And the yellow stuff is visual blight –

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You can actually look at the degree[br]to which individual properties

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are being impacted in terms[br]of their service,

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because of the way[br]landscapes configure.

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And you can run scenarios against this[br]

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to try and actually, really answer[br]questions about

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who wins and who looses[br]on different management scenarios?[br]

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So you say,[br]on a development scenario one,

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this group of people gained something,

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a different group of people gains[br]a little bit more,

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and this third group of people[br]gets hurt.

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Whereas under development scenario two,[br]if I develop in this area,[br]

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well, it turns out that everybody[br]gets hurt a little bit,

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but if I develop in the third area,[br]everyone benefits.

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This is really becoming[br]very interesting

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in the US, in particular,[br]the EPA has this entire research divisions

0:07:16.653,0:07:19.352
entirely turned around[br]to ecosystem service research these days;[br]

0:07:19.352,0:07:21.386
the US GS has a very[br]big program in that;

0:07:21.386,0:07:23.996
the US GA has an office[br]of ecosystem services and market –

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just started off a few years ago[br]under this administration,

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and so on and so forth.

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So, our government's all into it.

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We're seeing a lot of[br]ecosystem service work,

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starting to find its way[br]into public policy in the EU.

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And I'm participating in some projects[br]in Africa as well,

0:07:38.293,0:07:40.222
for the Gund Institute right now,

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where this stuff is also[br]coming into play.

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So, we're hoping that taking this kind[br]of technology[br]

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to finally connect people[br]to the landscapes,

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the actual landscapes,[br]which generate their services,

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will really help us to better inform,

0:07:53.496,0:07:55.931
better land management[br]in the future for all of us.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)