Appendix 6.3 List of coastal and marine ecosystem services
- Jordan Gacutan
- Coulson Lantz
Ocean ecosystem services should be classified so they can be consistently organised within the ocean accounting framework over time. The CICES and FEGS/NESCS approaches (see Tables 36 and 37 and Figures 23 below) provide systematic coding structures but imply different scopes. CICES is more of a checklist of often-analysed ecosystem services and, while including many “final” services (i.e., “those directly enjoyed, consumed or used to yield human well-being” (Boyd and Banzhaf, 2007, p619)), it also includes many, such as regulating and maintenance services, that are less-directly used. It also includes services that have less direct link to ecosystem processes, such as cultivated crops. This has the benefit of being broad and therefore able to classify past studies. The newest revision also highlights those services most often associated with marine ecosystems.
FEGS/NESCS services overlap in scope only for services that are directly used and directly linked to ecosystem processes. As such, it excludes most regulating and maintenance services and cultivated products. However, since it links ecosystem types, with service categories and beneficiaries, it can support a more coherent valuation of a narrower set of services. Ongoing conclusions from the SEEA Revision process concerning ecosystem services classification will be progressively incorporated into this Guidance.
There is a risk in being over-specific in defining what counts as an ecosystem service. We likely cannot be comprehensive in detailing very specific ecosystem services (partly because we do not know how to mechanistically link ecosystems with human well-being across all possible links). Being too specific can easily reflect the values embedded in the people establishing the categorization. A more flexible classification approach that lacks a coding structure has been developed by IPBES as a conceptual basis for its assessment reports. This broad two-dimensional classification of Nature’s Contributions to People is illustrated in Figure 24 below.
Table 36. Marine-related ecosystem services flagged in the CICES.
Section | Division | Group | Class | Code |
Provisioning (Biotic) | Biomass | Cultivated aquatic plants for nutrition, materials or energy | Plants cultivated by in- situ aquaculture grown for nutritional purposes | 1.1.2.1 |
Fibres and other materials from in-situ aquaculture for direct use or processing (excluding genetic materials) | 1.1.2.2 | |||
Plants cultivated by in- situ aquaculture grown as an energy source | 1.1.2.3 | |||
Reared aquatic animals for nutrition, materials or energy | Animals reared by in-situ aquaculture for nutritional purposes | 1.1.4.1 | ||
Fibres and other materials from animals grown by in-situ aquaculture for direct use or processing (excluding genetic materials) | 1.1.4.2 | |||
Animals reared by in-situ aquaculture as an energy source | 1.1.4.3 | |||
Wild plants (terrestrial and aquatic) for nutrition, materials or energy | Wild plants (terrestrial and aquatic, including fungi, algae) used for nutrition | 1.1.5.1 | ||
Fibres and other materials from wild plants for direct use or processing (excluding genetic materials) | 1.1.5.2 | |||
Wild plants (terrestrial and aquatic, including fungi, algae) used as a source of energy | 1.1.5.3 | |||
Wild animals (terrestrial and aquatic) used for nutritional purposes | 1.1.6.1 | |||
Fibres and other materials from wild animals for direct use or processing (excluding genetic materials) | 1.1.6.2 | |||
Wild animals (terrestrial and aquatic) used as a source of energy | 1.1.6.3 | |||
Genetic material from all biota (including seed, spore or gamete production) | Genetic material from plants, algae or fungi | Seeds, spores and other plant materials collected for maintaining or establishing a population | 1.2.1.1 | |
Higher and lower plants (whole organisms) used to breed new strains or varieties | 1.2.1.2 | |||
Individual genes extracted from higher and lower plants for the design and construction of new biological entities | 1.2.1.3 | |||
Genetic material from animals | Animal material collected for the purposes of maintaining or establishing a population | 1.2.2.1 | ||
Wild animals (whole organisms) used to breed new strains or varieties | 1.2.2.2 | |||
Individual genes extracted from organisms for the design and construction of new biological entities | 1.2.2.3 | |||
Other types of provisioning service from biotic sources | Other | Other | 1.3.X.X | |
Regulation & Maintenance (Biotic) | Transformation of biochemical or physical inputs to ecosystems | Mediation of wastes or toxic substances of anthropogenic origin by living processes | Bio-remediation by micro-organisms, algae, plants, and animals | 2.1.1.1 |
Filtration/sequestration/storage/accumulation by micro-organisms, algae, plants, and animals | 2.1.1.2 | |||
Mediation of nuisances of anthropogenic origin | Smell reduction | 2.1.2.1 | ||
Visual screening | 2.1.2.3 | |||
Regulation of physical, chemical, biological conditions | Regulation of baseline flows and extreme events | Control of erosion rates | 2.2.1.1 | |
Buffering and attenuation of mass movement | 2.2.1.2 | |||
Hydrological cycle and water flow regulation (Including flood control, and coastal protection) | 2.2.1.3 | |||
Lifecycle maintenance, habitat and gene pool protection | Pollination (or 'gamete' dispersal in a marine context) | 2.2.2.1 | ||
Seed dispersal | 2.2.2.2 | |||
Maintaining nursery populations and habitats (Including gene pool protection) | 2.2.2.3 | |||
Pest and disease control | Pest control (including invasive species) | 2.2.3.1 | ||
Disease control | 2.2.3.2 | |||
Regulation of soil quality | Decomposition and fixing processes and their effect on soil quality | 2.2.4.2 | ||
Water conditions | Regulation of the chemical condition of salt waters by living processes | 2.2.5.2 | ||
Atmospheric composition and conditions | Regulation of chemical composition of atmosphere and oceans | 2.2.6.1 | ||
Regulation of temperature and humidity, including ventilation and transpiration | 2.2.6.2 | |||
Other types of regulation and maintenance service by living processes | Other | Other | 2.3.X.X | |
Cultural (Biotic) | Direct, in-situ and outdoor interactions with living systems that depend on presence in the environmental setting | Physical and experiential interactions with natural environment | Characteristics of living systems that that enable activities promoting health, recuperation or enjoyment through active or immersive interactions | 3.1.1.1 |
Characteristics of living systems that enable activities promoting health, recuperation or enjoyment through passive or observational interactions | 3.1.1.2 | |||
Intellectual and representative interactions with natural environment | Characteristics of living systems that enable scientific investigation or the creation of traditional ecological knowledge | 3.1.2.1 | ||
Characteristics of living systems that enable education and training | 3.1.2.2 | |||
Characteristics of living systems that are resonant in terms of culture or heritage | 3.1.2.3 | |||
Characteristics of living systems that enable aesthetic experiences | 3.1.2.4 | |||
Indirect, remote, often indoor interactions with living systems that do not require presence in the environmental setting | Spiritual, symbolic and other interactions with natural environment | Elements of living systems that have symbolic meaning | 3.2.1.1 | |
Elements of living systems that have sacred or religious meaning | 3.2.1.2 | |||
Elements of living systems used for entertainment or representation | 3.2.1.3 | |||
Other biotic characteristics that have a non-use value | Characteristics or features of living systems that have an existence value | 3.2.2.1 | ||
Characteristics or features of living systems that have an option or bequest value | 3.2.2.2 | |||
Other characteristics of living systems that have cultural significance | Other | Other | 3.3.X.X |
Table 37. CICES marine-related abiotic services (not flagged by the CICES, but selected by the authors).
Section | Division | Group | Class | Code |
Provisioning (Abiotic) | Water | Surface water used for nutrition, materials or energy | Surface water used as a material (non-drinking purposes) | 4.2.1.2 |
Coastal and marine water used as energy source | 4.2.1.4 | |||
Other aqueous ecosystem outputs | Other | 4.2.X.X | ||
Non-aqueous natural abiotic ecosystem outputs | Mineral substances used for nutrition, materials or energy | Mineral substances used for nutritional purposes | 4.3.1.1 | |
Mineral substances used for material purposes | 4.3.1.2 | |||
Mineral substances used for as an energy source | 4.3.1.3 | |||
Non-mineral substances or ecosystem properties used for nutrition, materials or energy | Non-mineral substances or ecosystem properties used for nutritional purposes | 4.3.2.1 | ||
Non-mineral substances used for materials | 4.3.2.2 | |||
Wind energy | 4.3.2.3 | |||
Solar energy | 4.3.2.4 | |||
Geothermal | 4.3.2.5 | |||
Other mineral or non-mineral substances or ecosystem properties used for nutrition, materials or energy | Other | 4.3.2.6 | ||
Regulation & Maintenance (Abiotic) | Transformation of biochemical or physical inputs to ecosystems | Mediation of waste, toxics and other nuisances by non-living processes | Dilution by freshwater and marine ecosystems | 5.1.1.1 |
Dilution by atmosphere | 5.1.1.2 | |||
Mediation by other chemical or physical means (e.g. via Filtration, sequestration, storage or accumulation) | 5.1.1.3 | |||
Mediation of nuisances of anthropogenic origin | Mediation of nuisances by abiotic structures or processes | 5.1.2.1 | ||
Regulation of physical, chemical, biological conditions | Regulation of baseline flows and extreme events | Mass flows | 5.2.1.1 | |
Liquid flows | 5.2.1.2 | |||
Gaseous flows | 5.2.1.3 | |||
Maintenance of physical, chemical, abiotic conditions | Maintenance and regulation by inorganic natural chemical and physical processes | 5.2.2.1 | ||
Other type of regulation and maintenance service by abiotic processes | Other | Other | 5.3.X.X | |
Cultural (Abiotic) | Direct, in-situ and outdoor interactions with natural physical systems that depend on presence in the environmental setting | Physical and experiential interactions with natural abiotic components of the environment | Natural, abiotic characteristics of nature that enable active or passive physical and experiential interactions | 6.1.1.1 |
Intellectual and representative interactions with abiotic components of the natural environment | Natural, abiotic characteristics of nature that enable intellectual interactions | 6.1.2.1 | ||
Indirect, remote, often indoor interactions with physical systems that do not require presence in the environmental setting | Spiritual, symbolic and other interactions with the abiotic components of the natural environment | Natural, abiotic characteristics of nature that enable spiritual, symbolic and other interactions | 6.2.1.1 | |
Other abiotic characteristics that have a non-use value | Natural, abiotic characteristics or features of nature that have either an existence, option or bequest value | 6.2.2.1 | ||
Other abiotic characteristics of nature that have cultural significance | Other | Other | 6.3.X.X |
Figure 23. Structure of the FEGS/NESCS classification scheme.
Figure 24. IPBES Classification of Nature’s Contributions to People.
Global Ocean Accounts Partnership, 2019