James Vause

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre | UNEP-WCMC

Summary for policymakers of the thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health (nexus assessment) of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 16 December 2024 The thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health (nexus assessment) of...

This study was commissioned by the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) – an initiative dedicated to the transition to a green economy, led by major economic and development organisations and UN agencies. It builds on a series of detailed GGKP economic reports assessing the gap that exists between the state of the Earth’s remaining natural ass...

To support green economic transition and a green post-COVID recovery in Africa, there is an urgent need to help financial institutions and governments make more nature-positive investment decisions on a routine basis. Recognizing this, the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP), African Development Bank (AfDB) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WW...

In Africa, the need to mainstream these benefits from nature, or natural capital, into development planning is explicitly recognized in the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and the African Union Green Recovery Action Plan (2021 – 2027). Many African countries also recognize the need to sustainably manage and invest in natural capital in green economic de...

To better understand the role of natural capital in green recovery in Africa, the Natural Capital for African Development Finance (NC4-ADF) programme in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre, Kampala, organized a webinar series entitled “Mainstreaming Natural Capital in Africa’s post-COVI...

This policy brief provides an overview of key concepts relating to natural capital and NbS to better inform the practical implementation of a green recovery in Africa, targeting its policymakers and a wider audience. It introduces key entry points for NbS in activating green recovery, as set out in the African Union’s Green Recovery Action Plan. T...

The COVID-19 outbreak has contributed to a tremendous global decline in international trade flows. The rapid spread of the disease and the control measures implemented by governments to contain the virus have led to serious consequences for the global economy. The pandemic has affected the international movement of people, goods, and services. Curr...

This report presents methodological approaches to apply the System of Environmental EconomicAccounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) framework to seagrass ecosystems,focusing on ecosystem extent and condition accounts. The methodologies were tested for selectedpilot areas in Europe. Protocols for experimental seagrass ecosystem exten...

Urban ecosystem accounting, a system used to assess the status of urban nature and track the benefit it can bring to urban settings, is one of the innovative methods tested in many Chinese cities to provide this information. However, urban NbS are new to many, and capacity needs to be developed across municipal governments to incorporate nature int...

Urban ecosystem accounting, a system used to assess the status of urban nature and track the benefit it can bring to urban settings, is one of the innovative methods tested in many Chinese cities to provide this information. However, urban NbS are new to many, and capacity needs to be developed across municipal governments to incorporate nature int...

This annex responds to some of the key barriers identified to scaling up the use of the NbS – particularly the challenges of showing that nature in cities can be an ‘asset’ rather than a ‘cost’. It reviews how the application of urban Ecosystem Accounting (EA) can help decision-makers in cities scale up the use of NbS in the context of managing the...

As of 10 July 2021, there have been over 186 million cases of COVID-19 and more than four million died as a result of this disease. The COVID-19 outbreak has also contributed to tremendous global decline in trade flows. The rapid spread of COVID-19 and the measures implemented by governments to contain the pandemic have had serious consequences for...

This document outlines key considerations on resource mobilization for multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in of the context of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Its scope goes beyond the biodiversity-related MEAs, emphasizing important synergies between the Rio Conventions and therefore addressing biodiversity alongside climate...

This document is an output from the indicator workstream of the UNSD & UNEP led NCAVES project. The workstream sets out to assess the linkages of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) to the existing global monitoring frameworks. For more details see: https://seea.un.org/content/indicators-and-natural-capita...

This report is the GCRF TRADE Hub’s contribution to the Dasgupta Review. It formed the basis for Chapter 15 of the Review on Trade and the Biosphere.

This document is an output from the indicator workstream of the UNSD & UNEP led NCAVES project. The workstream sets out to assess the linkages of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) to the existing global monitoring frameworks. For more details see: https://seea.un.org/content/indicators-and-natural-capita...

To incorporate natural capital into national green growth planning, it is critical for decision-makers to have access to information that reflects the quality, quantity and spatial configuration of natural capital assets. The utility of natural capital analysis for policy-making is ultimately dependent on the availability of information, which can...

Details of the tools and platforms assessed and discussed in accompanying technical paper

It is often suggested that ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) can be more cost-effective, provide both the desired adaptation benefits and multiple co-benefits, and be more sustainable than engineered adaptation measures in the long term. Assembling the evidence to present this case, however, remains a challenge in practical terms. This briefing not...

This document is an output from the indicator workstream of the UNSD & UNEP led NCAVES project. The workstream sets out to assess the linkages of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) to the existing global monitoring frameworks. For more details see: https://seea.un.org/content/indicators-and-natural-capita...

This working paper is the first in a series produced by Space for Giants and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) entitled ‘Building a wildlife economy’. The series has been commissioned to inform a framework for the African Union and its member nations for the optimum use of wildlife to diversify and expand their economies, st...

There is increasing interest in the use of economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services for a wide variety of purposes. These include relatively familiar uses in project appraisal and more novel applications in advocacy, performance tracking and accounting in public and private settings. Decision makers who use valuation information need to u...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Natural capital assets are currently under pressure globally. This pressure may result in changes in the function of ecological systems and associated ecosystem services, resulting in changes in the benefits derived by people. The loss of natural capital also translates into economic and business risk. While advances have been made to understand an...

How we manage farming and food systems to meet rising demand is pivotal to the future of biodiversity. Extensive field data suggest that impacts on wild populations would be greatly reduced through boosting yields on existing farmland so as to spare remaining natural habitats. High-yield farming raises other concerns because expressed per unit area...

Version of the TEEB for Agriculture and Food Scientific and Economic Foundations report, released as work in progress in June 2018.

This report provides an overview of the main economic methods for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services.

This report supports work to develop an integrated system for natural capital and ecosystem services accounting in the EU (KIP INCA). It fulfils three main objectives with respect to developing accounts of biodiversity and, by extension, accounting for ecosystem condition via species-level biodiversity metrics. Specifically, it reviews relevant bio...

Reversing biodiversity loss by 2020 is the objective of the 193 countries that are party to the global Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In this context, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets 2020 were agreed upon by the CBD in Nagoya, Japan in 2010 and this was followed by asking a high-level panel to make an assessment of the financial resources...

The experimental ecosystem accounts for Uganda presented in this report follow on from a recent publication which explored approaches to accounting for species-level biodiversity and a feasibility study of applications using existing data in Uganda. The accounts compiled respond to policy entry points for biodiversity and ecosystem related concerns...

Meeting the ever-increasing needs of the Earth’s human population without excessively reducing biological diversity is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, suggesting that newapproaches to biodiversity conservation are required. One idea rapidly gaining momentum-as well as opposition-is to incorporate the values of biodiversity into deci...

The feasibility study reviews the availability of data to inform spatial accounts of the stocks of ecosystem and species-level biodiversity in Uganda. The application of a ‘Risk Register’ approach to communicate ecosystem service benefit at risk due to the status of these stocks in Uganda is also evaluated. Learn more on the UNEP-WCMC website: htt...

Key future research questions underpinning understanding of the values of biodiversity

Key future research questions underpinning understanding of the values of biodiversity

Key future research questions underpinning understanding of the values of biodiversity

Balancing the ever-increasing needs of the Earth's human population with the maintenance of the biological diversity that ultimately supplies those needs is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. The scale of this challenge has led to suggestions that a new approach to biodiversity conservation is needed. One idea rapidly gaining momentum—...