Valued ecosystem components, or vecs, are key elements of the puget sound nearshore ecosystem restoration project psnerp conceptual framework for nearshore restoration. Despite the central role of valued ecosystem component vec selection to project impact assessment ia and cumulative effects assessment cea, little is known about what influences it. Conocophillips 1 environmental impact assessment 15 march 2012 table e1 summary of selected valued ecosystem components for the project. Any ecosystem is characterized by a set of abiotic and biotic factors, and functions. Identification of ecosystem components and their indicators and.
Valued ecosystem components for watershed cumulative. A welldefined ecosystem has strong interactions among its components and weak interactions across its boundaries. A valued ecosystem component or vec can be defined as. These service flows are valued for marginal changes in their provision. Salt marshes are an extremely valuable component of south carolinas economy. Ecology is the study of organisms, how they relate to one another, as well as their surrounds or their ecosystem. Draft cumulative impact assessment guidelines for hpp in lao pdr 3 the format of the ciag is as follows. The need for a standardized environmental accounting unit, the authors concluded. Provides decisionmakers with an overview of the expansion of hydropower project and the cumulative impact assessment requirements contained within the law on environmental protection 2012 and ministerial instruction on environmental and social impact assessment process. Abiotic components of an ecosystem might include how much rain falls on it, whether it is fresh water or salt water, how much sun it gets or how often it freezes and thaws.
Valuing ecosystem services capturing the true value of natures capital forest ecosystems are human lifesupport systems. Riverscape ecology emphasizes interactions among processes at different scales and their consequences for valued ecosystem components, such as. An analysis of environmental impact assessments in the south saskatchewan river. Valuing ecosystem services portland state university. A valued ecosystem component vec is an element of the environment that has scientific, economic, social or cultural significance. The list of vecs is meant to represent a crosssection of organisms and physical structures that occupy and interact with the physical processes found in the nearshore. The table below describes the vecs that may be impacted by vision 2010 activities. Valued environmental components vecs are defined as fundamental elements of the physical, biological or. Chapter 5 the economics of valuing ecosystem services and. The components of the ecosystem are categorized into abiotic or nonliving and biotic or living components.
An ecosystem could be as small as a drop of pond water or as big as the amazon rainforest. Valued environmental components valued environmental components vecs are defined as fundamental elements of the physical, biological or socioeconomic environment, including the air, water, soil, terrain, vegetation, wildlife, fish, birds and land use that may be affected by a proposed project. Environment and ecosystem, components of an ecosystem pmf ias. Ecosystems represent the interconnected nature of living organisms and their world. The ecosystem functions through several biogeochemical cycles and energy transfer mechanisms. It has been prepared to inform the understanding and application of appropriate, standardized methods for conducting environmental assessments to meet the needs of eao and the requirements of the bc environmental assessment act. The accumulating impacts from human development are threatening water quality and availability in the watersheds of western canada. Selection of valued ecosystem components in cumulative effects assessment. Valuing ecosystem services theory, practice, and the need for a transdisciplinary synthesis shuang liu, 1robert costanza, stephen farber,2 and austin troy3 1gund institute of ecological economics and rubenstein school of environment and natural resources, university of. Environment and ecosystem, components of an ecosystem.
Economists have considered different ecosystem components and used a myriad of valuation techniques to estimate the value of goods and services provided by coastal marshes and wetlands. Indicators and assessment framework for ecological health. Ecosystem components include resources such as surface water, oceans, vegetation types, and species. Part of our mission is to steward healthy and resilient coastal and marine ecosystems that provide valued resources to our nation. Despite the central role of valued ecosystem component vec selection to project impact assessment ia and cumulative effects assessment. These values are expressed through, for example, designation of sacred species or places, development of social rules concerning ecosystem use for instance, taboos, and inspirational experiences. Read valued ecosystem components for watershed cumulative effects. An introductory guide to valuing ecosystem services pms pms pms c m y k job location. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search.
It also includes descriptive information on the nonliving physical features of. The impacts of the project activities on each of these valued cosystem components are evaluated using a significance ranking process. Conocophillips 1 environmental impact assessment 15 march 2012 table e1 summary of selected valued ecosystem components for the project environment. Identification of focal components of the puget sound ecosystem. The tool focuses on threats to barrier and bluffbacked beaches, which represent 50 percent of puget sound shorelines by length. This study examined how aquatic vecs and indicators were used within projectbased. Tev encompasses all components of disutility derived from ecosystem services using a common unit of account. This is the executive summary from a technical report produced for the puget sound nearshore partnership on valued ecosystem components vec. Technical report 200707 valuing puget sounds valued.
Please authorise approval only if you wish to proceed to print. Selection of valued ecosystem components in cumulative. Valued ecosystem components vecs are ecosystem components that are considered to be important or valuable and that merit detailed consideration in the eia process treweek, 1999. A major critique of early ecosystem services valuation work was the rudimentary treatment of ecological systems at the scale of the biomes and the extrapolation of sitespecific values across the entire globe 23, 24. True to ecosystem complexity, forest ecosystem management fem operates at multiple scales and incorporates components from several organizations and programs.
They include the water, the air, the temperature and the rocks and minerals that make up the soil. Valuing puget sounds valued ecosystem components book, 2007. Valued ecosystem components for watershed cumulative effects. Although the project is situated on the apex of north mountain, a small serpentine ridge line runs east west along the mountain. The broad overview of economic valuation provided in this chapter is followed in subsequent chapters by more detailed discussions of the types of ecosystem services that can be valued, the economic methods that can currently be used to quantify those values, and the role of professional judgment and uncertainty in ecosystem valuation. Valued ecosystem component vec selection is a core component of cumulative effects assessment cea and gives direction to impact analysis, mitigation and monitoring. Pdf valuing puget sounds valued ecosystems components. The surface elevation of the various turbines ranged from. Valuing ecosystem services of coastal marshes and wetlands. Observe and document the components of the ecosystem which consists of its nonliving or abiotic features such as air, water, climate and soil.
The concept of a valued ecosystem component vec was introduced in canada in the early 1980s to bring focus to projectspecific environmental assessment. Valued ecosystem components canadian nuclear safety. Ecosystem services valuation an overview sciencedirect. Pdf valued ecosystem components for watershed cumulative. Valued ecosystem components have gained widespread recognition in ia globally, especially in a north american context, because of the focus they can bring to an assessment process, i. Value chain ecosystems of the future the role of outsourcing in supply chain strategy executive summary open versus closed supply chains. This paper discusses the underlying human values that motivate the choice of vecs and their use in environmental management. When you think about what makes an ecosystem function, the critical concepts revolve around the organic and inorganic components and their interactions with each other. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Man modified ecosystems include agricultural land and urban or industrial land use patterns. A solution white paper value chain ecosystems of the. Cumulative impact assessment guidelines for hydropower. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Review of valuation methods for mangrove ecosystem services.
Ecology includes the looking at individual organisms, the population of an ecosystem, or the collective group of organisms living in one ecosystem, or an entire ecosystem, including its organisms, as well as its abiotic components. Coastal marshes and wetlands provide benefits and services that are valued in the billions of dollars. Valued ecosystem component vec selection is a core component of cumulative effects assessment cea and gives direction to impact. Methods for ecosystem service valuation ufifas oci. Companies as of 2015, there are three companes battling to be the dominant distributor for hadoop, namely. Valued ecosystem components vecs, such as, specific vegetation communities, forage fish, juvenile salmon, native shellfish, and nearshore birds have been selected to communicate to both managers and the public the value of puget sound nearshore restoration.
As suggested by beanlands and duinker 1983, the vecs are determined on the basis of perceived public concerns related to social. Fish habitat the aquatic vec focuses on the assessment of the significance of. Concepts of ecosystem value and valuation approaches 129 cal, religious, cultural, and philosophical. Appendix 18 interrelationships between the elaiom and the socioeconomic valued ecosystem components. The concept of a valued ecosystem component vec was introduced in canada in the early 1980s to bring focus to projectspecific environmental assessment ea, and its corollary, cumulative effects assessment cea. Valuing puget sounds valued ecosystem components book. We provide an overview of coastal ecosystem services and estimate economic values of various coastal marshes and wetlands benefits using the relevant literature. Ecosystem components interact through dynamic chemical, physical, and biological processes that influence organism populations and ecosystem sustainability. They provide a suite of goods and services that are vital to human health and livelihoodnatural assets called ecosystem services. The structure of an ecosystem is basically a description of the species of organisms that are present, including information on their life histories, populations and distribution in space.
Ecosystem services valuation an overview sciencedirect topics. Abiotic components are the inorganic and nonliving parts which act as major limiting factors. Jan 20, 2020 ecosystem services are the benefits that humans derive from different aspects of ecosystem structure and function. Watershedbased cumulative effects assessment wcea will need a standard set of ecosystem components and indicators for assessment across the watershed, but it is not clear how such valued ecosystem components vecs and related measurable parameters should be identified. Native shellfish in nearshore ecosystems of puget sound. This short overview lists the most important components. An analysis of environmental impact assessments in the south saskatchewan river watershed, canada murray a ball department of geography and planning, university of saskatchewan, saskatoon, saskatchewan, canada. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus.
The vecs will help psnp frame the symptoms of declining puget sound nearshore ecosystem integrity, explain how ecosystem processes are linked to ecosystem outputs, and describe. An analysis of environmental impact assessments in the south saskatchewan river watershed, canada, integrated environmental assessment and management on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. Alive working group a landscape level inventory of valued ecosystem components agenda may 21, 2008 9. A suite of submodels identify multiple connections between land use and the nearshores capacity to support valued ecosystem components vecs and ecosystem services figure 1, table 1. Nevertheless, there is a solid, growing body of empirical evidence on how different components of biodiversity underpin the ecosystem conditions and processes that in.
Communisis pms cannot accept liability for errors once the file has been printed. The entire document is included as a pdf with this native shellfish in nearshore ecosystems of puget sound encyclopedia of puget sound. Its biotic components, the various plants and animals. The hadoop ecosystem hadoop has evolved from just a mapreduce clone to a platform with many different tools that effectively has become the operating system for big data clusters. This framework relies on the use of valued components vcs as a foundation for the assessment.
Although the idea of ecosystem services has been well developed scientifically, debate continues. Both the components of the ecosystem and environment are the same. Ecosystem based planning takes its cues from nature, adopting a habitat based approach to conserve biodiversity and productivity by maintaining natural conditions and processes. Appendix 18 interrelationships between the elaiom and the. T he puget sound nearshore partnership psnp has developed a list of. Soils the project lands have undulating to steeply sloped topography. Alive working group a landscape level inventory of valued. Coastal and marine ecosystems involve complex interactions between organisms, their environment, and human activities. Valued environmental components vecs are defined as fundamental elements of the physical, biological or socioeconomic environment, including the air, water, soil, terrain, vegetation, wildlife, fish, birds and land use that may be affected by a proposed project. Those vecs that may be affected by a projects activities are included in environmental assessments. Jul 01, 20 read valued ecosystem components for watershed cumulative effects.
Each ecosystem has a set of common features that can be observed in the field. Identification and enumeration of plant and animal species of an ecosystem gives its. Scalingup valued ecosystem components for use in watershed cumulative effects assessment. At the other end of the spectrum, the utility of plotscale. The abiotic components of an ecosystem are all of the nonliving elements. Incorporation of concepts from landscape ecology into understanding and managing riverine ecosystems has become widely known as riverscape ecology. This paper examines 11 canadian road infrastructure project ceas completed between 1995 and 2011 to determine how vec selection in cea is performed, and whether. Jun 25, 2012 to advance the science of wcea, however, a standard set of ecosystem components and indicators is required that can be used at the watershed scale, to inform effects. Prinergy 1 disclaimer approver the accuracy and the content of this file is the responsibility of the approver. Yet little is known about cea vec selection practices. Keeyaskvaluedenvironmental componentsandsupportingtopics manitobahydrokeeyaskgenerationstationprojectmanitobawildlandsjanuary2014. Technical report 200702 marine riparian vegetation. The guideline defines and explains the use of vcs to focus environmental assessments on those aspects of the natural and human environment that are of greatest importance to society. Interaction of biotic and abiotic components result in a physical structure that is characteristic for each type of ecosystem.
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