Marine biodiversity and the provision of goods and services:
identifying the research priorities.
Summary
Ecosystem goods and services are delivered through various
combinations of ecosystem functions which are in turn delivered by
different components of marine biodiversity. Given the difficulties
in sampling and understanding the processes occurring in the marine
environment, comparatively little is known of how marine
biodiversity contributes to the delivery of goods and services
relied upon by people.
On request from UK BRAG, a sub-group was
established to explore current knowledge and research requirements
on marine biodiversity and the provision of goods and services. The
remit of discussions was limited to the UK policy and research
area. It was however recognised that many of the results may
have wider application.
Some direct services such as food provision are relatively well
understood and can be quantified whilst much less is known about
indirect services such as gas and climate regulation and waste
remediation and how to quantify them.
Two overarching strands of research with
respect to marine biodiversity and the provision of goods and
services were noted:
- Natural science: the need to understand
how marine biodiversity contributes to delivery of goods and
services. To understand what the ecological links between
biodiversity, ecosystem function and provision of ecosystem goods
and services are; and
- Social science: the need to value goods
and services in a way that resonates to society. This concerns
development of socio-cultural and economic valuation tools;
valuation methodologies: both monetary and non-monetary, social
choices and preferences.
The practicality is that such research is cross-cutting and
requires a multi-disciplinary approach.
Four key research priority areas were
identified by the UK BRAG subgroup. It should be remembered that
determining research priorities for marine biodiversity and the
provision of goods and services, also sits firmly within the larger
framework of fundamental marine research requirements. Such
research is also socially relevant science needed to derive the
evidence base for policy makers to make well informed decisions on
policy options.
Progress in these four research areas will
substantially enhance current understanding of the key processes
and properties of marine ecosystems, why they are important, and
how human activities impact upon them:
- Biodiversity Ecosystem Function;
- Critical properties;
- Quantification of the goods and services; and
- Implications of marine biodiversity change to the delivery of
goods and services.
In addition to the priority research areas,
there is a need to consider knowledge transfer as a key component
of research activity, both within the research community and
beyond. Such activities should not be seen as an ‘addition’ but an
integral part of the research process. Opportunities to engage
scientists more positively, perhaps through models similar to
IPPC e.g. UK Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, the ESRC-NERC
interdisciplinary collaborations and MarBEF should also be
encouraged.
There is also a need to identify mechanisms to
feed science findings into wider policy/funding agendas on
understanding the role of biodiversity and the delivery of goods
and services. This document1 will provide a useful basis
to commence this engagement.
Continual update of the knowledge on the
marine environment including biodiversity (e.g. species; biotopes)
as new technologies are developed will improve understanding of how
the system operates and allow more informed decisions to be
made.
____________________________________________________________________________________
1Austen, M.C., Burrows, M., Frid, C.,
Haines-Young, R., Hiscock, H., Moran, D., Myers, J., Paterson,
D.M., Rose, P. (2008) Marine biodiversity and the provision of
goods and services: identifying the research priorities.
Report to the UK Biodiversity Research Advisory Group.