Augustin Berghöfer

• M.A. Int. Rel.
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

Key messages: • Financial resource mobilisation needs to go hand in hand with efforts to slow the drivers of conservation costs and to improve effective spending capacity. • Constraints to financial sustainability of biodiversity conservation are highly diverse and need to be better understood at country level. • Innovative financing mechanisms can...

Demonstrating that conservation is not only beneficial for nature but also for human well-being is as much desirable as it is challenging. Undoubtedly, using economic numbers hold some great promises, there is, however, a considerable number of critical reflections on using economic thinking to promote nature conservation. A recent aspect within th...

The future scenarios for Rothenklempenow were created as part of the REWILD_DE research project. It examines how the nature conservation approach "rewilding" can be interpreted from a scientific and socio-economic point of view for a German cultural landscape and which practical implementations are possible.

In 2011, MoorFutures® were introduced as the first standard for generating credits from peatland rewetting. We developed methodologies to quantify ecosystem services before and after rewetting with a focus on greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, evaporative cooling and mire-typical biodiversity. Both standard and premium approaches to assess th...

Global scientific assessments increasingly reach the conclusion that transformative change of global production and consumption systems is necessary to safeguard and maintain global commons, such as biodiversity, natural forests and the ocean. Against this background the present study analyses the conclusions of global assessments and derives recom...

In this paper, we operationalize the concept of Societal Relationships with Nature (SRN) as a framework for understanding nature‐related conflicts and multiple values. Based on three dimensions knowledgescape, interactions and identity, we propose a set of questions for the empirical analysis of conflict situations. We use two case studies—designat...

This study provides coherent evidence on how the more than 7000 protected areas on the African continent make substantial contributions to societal welfare. While the core mandate of conservation is to protect biodiversity, this evidence pinpoints the role of protected areas for other policy priorities, such as food and water security, disaster ris...

With populations of wild carnivores growing in Europe, public debates on human-wildlife conflicts are becoming polarized around economic damages and risks to human safety. This article explores the state of knowledge on the broader socio-economic impacts of four European large carnivore species (wolf, bear, lynx and wolverine). We have developed a...

Die vorliegende Publikation ist die Kurzversion der englischsprachigen Studie „Transformative change for a sustainable management of global commons. Recommendations for international cooperation based on a review of global assessment reports and project experience“ (im Erscheinen) und wurde im Rahmen des Projekts „Transformativer Wandel zum Schutz...

Many international studies and initiatives have contributed to mainstreaming Natural Capital Valuation (NCV) in scientific and political advice. However, NCV is neither a clear-cut concept, nor does its application meet unconditional enthusiasm. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on NCV, sharpen its understanding, and provide...

Decisions on the use of nature reflect the values and rights of individuals, communities and society at large. The values of nature are expressed through cultural norms, rules and legislation, and they can be elicited using a wide range of tools, including those of economics. None of the approaches to elicit peoples’ values are neutral. Unequal pow...

Dar es Salaam (DSM) is the cultural, political and economic centre of Tanzania – and one of the most vibrant cities in East Africa. It is also one of the fastest growing metropoles in the world. How can the city government ensure that all citizens of Dar es Salaam live in a safe environment, enjoy a good quality of life and make a sustainable livin...

Previous studies on community-based natural resource management have repeatedly underlined the significance of the design principles for sustainable commons governance developed by Elinor Ostrom. In this paper, we apply the principles heuristically to the case of the Sikunga Channel Fish Protection Area (FPA), a recently established fish reserve in...

Das seit 2012 laufende Vorhaben »Naturkapital Deutschland – TEEB DE« ist die deutsche Nachfolgestudie der internationalen TEEB-Studie (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity), die den Zusammenhang zwischen den Leistungen der Natur, der Wertschöpfung der Wirtschaft und dem menschlichen Wohlergehen zum Thema hatte. »Naturkapital Deutschland – T...

The project »Natural Capital Germany – TEEB DE«, which has been running since 2012, is the German follow-on study to the international TEEB study (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity), which explored the links between the ecosystem services of nature, economic activity and human well-being. By adopting an economic perspective, »Natural Cap...

Ecosystem service (ES) evidence and arguments can mobilize support for biodiversity conservation. However, the ES concept’s impact on the ground seems unclear: It is reliant upon a range of pre-requisites at the science-policy nexus and it tends to be science-driven and demanding in terms of data and required capacity. The TEEB stepwise approach (T...

The financial resources needed for globally implementing the Aichi Biodiversity Targets have been estimated at US$ 150–440 billion per year (CBD COP11, 2012) – of which only a fraction is currently available. Significant efforts have been undertaken in many countries to increase funding for biodiversity conservation. Nonetheless, this funding short...

Scoping study of ecosystem services provided by the Comoé National Park to the region of North-Eastern Côte d'Ivoire - in French

Die Leistungen der Natur können zur Lösung des Klimaproblems beitragen, indem sie gezielt für den Klimaschutz und die Anpassung an den Klimawandel genutzt werden. Hierdurch lassen sich einerseits kostengünstiger Klimaschutz und andererseits Synergien zwischen Klimapolitik und Naturschutz- und Biodiversitätspolitik erzielen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag...

Demonstrating that conservation is not only beneficial for nature but also for human well-being is as much desirable as it is challenging. Undoubtedly, using economic numbers hold some great promises, there is, however, a considerable number of critical reflections on using economic thinking to promote nature conservation. A recent aspect within th...

The ValuES report 'Indicators for Managing Ecosystem Services - Options & Examples' picks up key issues for a needs-oriented focus on, and selection of, indicators. The report is geared to a wider audience of assessment practitioners. Following a stepwise approach to indicator development, recently proposed by WCMC, this report (i) illustrates its...

Acknowledgements: This synthesis report complements the 'ValuES collection of case studies: Experiences with ecosystem service assessment processes'. It would not have been possible without the willingness of experts and practitioners to share their inside views of assessment processes with the research team of the ValuES project: Cross are gratefu...

In 2011, MoorFutures® were introduced as the first carbon credits from peatland rewetting. Financed by the German government, a recent research and development project expanded MoorFutures® to include additional quantified ecosystem services such as water quality improvement, flood retention, increased regional groundwater storage and evapotranspir...

MoorFutures® wurden im Jahr 2011 als erste Kohlenstoffzertifikate für Moorwiedervernässung eingeführt. Im Rahmen eines F+E-Projektes wurden die MoorFutures® weiterentwickelt. Mit der neuen Version werden weitere Ökosystemdienstleistungen (Wasserqualitätsverbesserung, Hochwasserrückhalt, Grundwasseranreicherung, Verdunstungskühlung) und die Erhöhung...

There are many different approaches to, and methods for, doing an assessment. This online navigator guides through possible purposes for doing an assessment before suggesting a sub-set from the 60+ method profiles available online. Diverse scoping tools, and qualitative, quantative and monetary assessment methods are being covered. Profiles come wi...

Value Integration is the challenge of consistently combining a diversity of value systems in resource use decisions. An effective ecosystem service assessment includes the multitude of values of nature, taking into account local and planetary boundaries of natural resource use. The central aim of ecosystem service assessments is to raise awareness...

This Fundraising Strategy is intended to guide the strategic financial planning and fundraising decisions for the recently designated Kafa Biosphere Reserve (BR), Ethiopia. It is written for those in charge of implementing the UNESCO concept for biosphere reserves - namely the Kafa BR managers in the Kafa Zone Administration (KZA) - and for all fur...

The Kafa Biosphere Reserve, which stretches for more than 760,000 ha and covers a forested area of about 352,000 ha, is part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot. It is a nature lover’s dream and a place of world importance with regard to its dazzling range of biodiversity. The cloud forests are home to the people of Kafa. They are also...

Institutions for biodiversity governance are located at the interface of human and ecological systems. The analysis of such institutions is challenged due to addressing a multitude of complex interactions between these two systems occurring at different natural scales and levels of human organization. Due to this complexity, empirical analysis of b...

In order to share experiences and discuss approaches for the implementation of PES as instruments for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem protection, a workshop titled "Payments for Ecosystem Service – Towards an Implementation Strategy", was organised by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), together with the Secretariat of...

TEEB in national and international policy making highlights the need for new public policy to reflect the appreciation that public goods and social benefits are often overlooked and that we need a transition to decision making which integrates the many values of nature across policy sectors. We explore the range of instruments to reward those offer...

Why and how can a focus on ecosystem services help cities achieve their goals? This manual guides practitioners and decision makers in a stepwise approach towards counting on a city’s natural capital - and making it work for you. The concept of ‘ecosystem services’ is key to this. This manual builds upon the report TEEB – The Economics of Ecosystem...

A response to Frauke Fischer. In her article 'The Importance of Law Enforcement for Protected Areas' (GAIA 17/S1(2008): 101-103), Frauke Fischer presents a strong plaidoyer: We need strict protection of nature against human interference in protected areas for the long-term conservation of biodiversity. While protected areas cover only a fraction of...

Participation is said to improve decisions on environmental conflicts. When investigating 16 case studies of participatory processes in European Water and Biodiversity Governance, which necessarily is multi-level, the picture becomes blurred: many different forms of participation can be observed, only few of them are well-defined and well organised...

Public and stakeholder participation has been shown to have the potential to enhance the quality and the public legitimacy of decisions. It also has the potential to motivate a potentially diverse range of participants to learn from each other, and can even simplify the implementation of public policies. Our focus in this policy briefing is to outl...

Effectively evaluating the governance of natural resources is a precondition for its improvement in contexts of change. In order to do so, one can use methods for evaluating (1) the outcome of a governance process or (2) the governance process itself. Outcome‐oriented and process‐oriented approaches have different strengths and weaknesses. This pap...

Der neue Environmental Performance Index 2008, ein weltweites Länder-Ranking der Yale University, misst anhand von 25 Indikatoren, wie ernst es Regierungen mit der Umweltpolitik meinen und welchen Handlungsbedarf sie haben. Eine eigentlich gute Idee, deren Umsetzung aber erheblich zu wünschen übrig lässt.

In this synthesis article, we claim that institutional innovation is required for ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management (EBAFM), and that such innovation can best be achieved by engaging in a delicate process of societal decision making. Current instances of participation in fisheries shed light on the societal processes required for s...

Social-ecological complexity challenges conservation-oriented interventions even in settings with a small number of actors and conflicts involved. This article examines the development and trajectory of King and Snow Crab fisheries in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (BR), the highly remote but globally connected Southern tip of the Americas. The fe...

Successful species conservation typically results in conflicts between wildlife protection and economic uses of natural resources as in fisheries and aquaculture. This article shows why managing these conflicts require a more comprehensive approach than currently pursued by endangered species conservation programmes. Against the background of sever...

Der Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2008 der Universität Yale ist ein Versuch, Umweltpolitik international vergleichbar einzuschätzen. Auf einer Skala von eins bis 100 bewertet der EPI, inwieweit Länder 25 umweltpolitische Ziele erfüllen. Einzelne Ziele und ihre Indikatoren sind gruppiert in die Politikbereiche Umweltgesundheit, Luft, Wasser,...

Located on the land bridge between North and South America, Guatemala is characterized by exceptionally diverse ecosystems, which make the country one of the foremost repositories of biodiversity in Latin America (Detlefsen et al. 1991). Guatemala has signed the Central American Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 and the global Convention o...