Economic valuation of marine and coastal ecosystem services is increasingly being considered to be of critical importance for informed decision-making and effective management of marine and coastal resources. However, the translation of scientific theory to policy in practice can be challenging. This report provides an overview of the main methods of economic valuation, their strengths and weaknesses, and practical applications. Theoretical concepts are illustrated with a number of practical examples throughout this report, to demonstrate how these approaches can be of practical use across all scales, in policy development, decision making and communication. Practical guidance on how to implement a valuation exercise, and how to overcome common challenges, is also provided.

La evaluación económica de los servicios ecosistémicos marinos y costeros se considera cada vez más de una importancia crítica para la toma de decisiones bien fundadas y para la gestión efectiva de los recursos marinos y costeros. Sin embargo, la traducción de la teoría científica a las políticas en la práctica puede suponer un reto. Este informe proporciona una visión general de los principales métodos de evaluación económica, sus puntos fuertes y débiles, y aplicaciones prácticas. Los conceptos teóricos se ilustran con una serie de ejemplos prácticos en el informe, para demostrar cómo estos enfoques pueden ser de utilidad práctica a todas las escalas, en el desarrollo de políticas, la toma de decisiones y la comunicación. También se presentan directrices prácticas sobre cómo implementar un ejercicio de valoración, y cómo superar los retos comunes. (Translation: UNEP-WCMC, Pablo Sinovas)

L’évaluation économique des services écosystèmiques marins et côtiers est de plus en plus considérée comme étant d’une importance cruciale pour des prises de décision éclairées et la gestion efficace des ressources marines et côtières. Toutefois, la traduction de théories scientifiques en mesures politiques appliquées peut se révéler difficile. Ce rapport fournit un aperçu des principales méthodes d’évaluation économique, leurs qualités et leurs défauts, et leurs applications pratiques. Les concepts théoriques sont illustrés à travers ce rapport grâce à des exemples pratiques, afin de démontrer comment ces approches peuvent être utiles en pratique à toutes les échelles, dans l’élaboration des politiques, la prise de décision, et les communications. Des conseils pratiques sur comment appliquer un exercice d’évaluation, et comment surmonter des difficultés courantes, sont également fournis. (Translation: UNEP-WCMC, Elise Belle)

Download the report

Bees Under Bombardment
Geneva/Nairobi, 10 March 2011

More than a dozen factors, ranging from declines in flowering plants and the use of memory-damaging insecticides to the world-wide spread of pests and air pollution, may be behind the emerging collapse of bee colonies across many parts of the globe, according to a new Report launched by UNEP on 10th March.

Scientists are warning that without profound changes to the way human-beings manage the planet, declines in pollinators needed to feed a growing global population are likely to continue.

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Read the whole press release or the presented brochure-report (16 pages).

"Reefs at Risk Revisited" report presents comprehensive analysis of threats to reefs

WASHINGTON D.C.//LONDON (February 23, 2011) — A new comprehensive analysis finds that 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs are currently threatened by local and global pressures. For the first time, the analysis includes threats from climate change, including warming seas and rising ocean acidification. The report shows that local pressures— such as overfishing, coastal development and pollution— pose the most immediate and direct risks, threatening more than 60 percent of coral reefs today.
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See the full press release.

With support from GEF, UNEP and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) launches a new system for monitoring international efforts for implementation of the Convention.

Unique amongst the Rio Conventions, this innovative tool, named the PRAIS portal, collates information from 194 countries on quantifiable actions towards the UNCCD’s 10 year Strategy for poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. The portal has enabled the UNCCD, for the first time in history to establish an objective baseline of the implementation of the Convention..

An informative video outlining the PRAIS initiative was launched concurrently in Nairobi, Kenya and Bonn, Germany to coincide with the opening of two parallel events starting on the 21 February 2011. The 26th Session of the UNEP Governing Council and Ministerial Environment Forum and the UNCCD Committee for the Review of Implementation of the Convention.

View the official press release and PRAIS video online: english; français; español.

The GCDD is an online database for coral disease information, providing interactive maps and dynamic statistics of world-wide coral disease distribution, highly customizable search options and a number of supporting functions, including guidance on survey methods. The database is user-driven, and users can upload, store and manage datasets by creating personal profiles. The site already contains more than 8500 separate disease records. The database was originally established in 2000 by NOAA and UNEP-WCMC, and was re-assessed in 2009 in light of the information needs and priorities of researchers, practitioners and managers working with coral disease. The new-look GCDD was launched in Samoa last week at the 25th General Meeting of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) (8-12 November, 2010). To visit the website, go to www.coraldisease.org.

UNEP-WCMC at the CBD's 10th Conference of the Parties meeting in Nagoya, Japan

UNEP-WCMC at the CBD's 10th Conference of the Parties meeting in Nagoya, Japan

Spotlighting some 35 important areas worldwide -such as Ramsar, World Heritage sites and Protected Areas -this electronic guide also explains the species and habitats they seek to protect as well as in their legal status and the extent to which local communities are present.

For more information see the press release or visit the A-Z Areas of Biodiversity Importance website www.biodiversitya-z.org/.

UNEP-WCMC at the CBD's 10th Conference of the Parties meeting in Nagoya, Japan

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has joined forces with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to create protectedplanet.net – an interactive, social media-based website that provides in-depth information on both the leading lights and hidden gems of the conservation world.

For more information see the press release or visit the ProtectedPlanet website www.protectedplanet.net.

UNEP-WCMC at the CBD's 10th Conference of the Parties meeting in Nagoya, Japan

UNEP-WCMC has participated in an unprecedented partnership of organisations – from forestry and conservation sectors and from across the United Nations -  to contribute to a new and comprehensive global assessment of the state of the world’s mangroves. The full colour World Atlas on Mangroves illustrates the extraordinary synergies between people and mangrove forests and contains detailed maps, photos and illustrations, and comprehensive country-by-country assessments of mangroves. The World Atlas on Mangrove was launched on July 14th 2010. For more information please see the press release and World Atlas on Mangrove Flyer.

UNEP-WCMC has been working with partners at UNDP and the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas Consortium since 2008 to increase awareness of the role of indigenous and local people in the conservation of biodiversity. As part of its contribution, UNEP-WCMC has been leading on the development of an ICCA Registry to host information, maps and case studies about ICCAs. National-level analyses are being developed as a means to inform global policies and decisions. For further information, please visit this link for a news article written by UNEP.

Between 2000 and 2005 deforestation, and resulting carbon loss, was lower inside protected areas than in unprotected areas in the humid tropical forest biome. However, 1.75 million hectares of forest were lost from these protected areas, causing the emission of 250-330 million tonnes of carbon. These findings are reported in a paper co-authored by UNEP-WCMC staff published in the conservation journal Oryx and present the first detailed analyses of remotely-sensed deforestation data in protected areas.

Forest loss and degradation in the tropics contribute about 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Protected areas cover 217 million hectares of the world's humid tropical forests and contain 70,000 million tonnes of carbon. Reducing carbon emissions from ongoing deforestation inside protected areas could be valued at USD 6,200-7,400 million, 1.5 times the estimated spending on protected area management in the tropics. Improving management of protected areas to retain forest cover better may be an important, although certainly not sufficient, component of an overall strategy for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).

The Beta version of the Crocodile Specialist Group's crocsurveys.net – also known as the African Crocodile Survey Database has been launched, and can be accessed at www.crocsurveys.net.

This database contains information on more than 1000 surveys of Crocodiles (C.niloticus, C. cataphractus and O. tetrapsis) in Africa undertaken since 1956.  The surveys can be viewed in a list, or in a Google map of Africa, both of which are fully searchable by country, location, species, date and author. The summary data is, in most cases, accompanied by a downloadable PDF of the original source document.   Users can immediately search and view the summary results, but if they want to download the documentation they are obliged to register. By registering they also agree to upload any additional data they may have.

The site also contains some basic information on survey methodology and a blog where users can exchange experiences.

Produced jointly between UNEP-WCMC and UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, this document reviews the business case for biodiversity; provides an overview of impacts by sector and highlights existing and potential opportunities for companies. The document covers a wide range of sectors and complements existing and ongoing work on business and biodiversity. Are you a Green Leader? is available as an executive summary as well as the full publication.

The CITES Trade Data Dashboards were launched on the CITES website on 1 July 2010 the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention. The CITES Trade Data Dashboards are a new, interactive and dynamic way of viewing the trade data submitted by CITES Parties in their annual reports to the Convention. The Global dashboard displays global trade trends (e.g. global trade in live reptiles), whereas the National dashboard shows information by country. The dashboards have been developed by UNEP-WCMC on behalf of the CITES Secretariat.

In June 2010, an agreement was finally reached that is expected to ultimately lead to the establishment of an IPBES. The Busan Outcome is the culmination of significant effort by Governments and a range of other stakeholders, including three intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder meetings in less than two years. UNEP-WCMC has provided significant technical support for this process, details of which can be found here. More details on IPBES and the series of meetings that have led to this agreement can be found at www.ipbes.net.

Restoring lost and damaged ecosystems from forests and freshwaters to mangroves and wetlands can trigger multi-million dollar returns, generate jobs and combat poverty according to a new report compiled by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Dead planet, living planet: Biodiversity and ecosystem restoration for sustainable development identifies thousands of ecosystem restoration projects worldwide and showcases over 30 initiatives that are transforming the lives of communities and countries across the globe. Further Details

Ramsar Convention Secretary General Anada Tiéga and Jon Hutton, Director, UNEP-WCMC, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the Ramsar offices in Gland, Switzerland, on 4 June 2010. The purpose of the agreement is to establish a framework for collaboration to further common goals, including the mobilization of UNEP-WCMC’s technical and capacity-building expertise for an improved implementation of the Ramsar Convention. Jon Hutton declared that UNEP-WCMC is proud to provide support to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, building on a long history of cooperation between the two institutions. Further Details

On 21 May 2010, the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) concluded its 14th meeting at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3), in which UNEP-WCMC was substantially involved, the meeting also benefited from other inputs from UNEP-WCMC, including reports on the biodiversity implications of ocean acidification and ocean fertilization. SBSTTA adopted 19 documents, containing recommendations for the Conference of the Parties, which will meet in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan. Further Details

The 10th May 2010 saw the launch of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3). This much anticipated flagship publication of the CBD is the product of close collaboration between the Secretariat of the CBD and the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre. The Outlook, an assessment of the current state of biodiversity, is being launched simultaneously in a multitude of cities across the globe. UNEP-WCMC, with our partner the Zoological Society of London, is co-ordinating the UK launch. Further Details