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1 st Forum for the Future of Agriculture

What are the main ecosystem challenges?

 

Prepared remarks of:

John Finisdore , Business & Ecosystems Researcher

World Resources Institute

 

 

 

Thank you and it is a pleasure to be speaking among such a distinguished group.

 

Climate change may dominate headlines today. Ecosystem degradation will do so tomorrow.

 

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment catalogued past ecosystem degradation and points to tremendous challenges as the very drivers of this change are growing. Left unchecked, this degradation will grow and increasingly limit the services we derive from nature. The uniqueness of the MA and the ecosystem services based thinking it promotes is that is provides a framework for uniting and economic and environmental considerations.

 

But first, let’s note that among the MA’s findings are that certain ecosystem services have been enhanced. They include crops, livestock and aquaculture. This growth is largely the result of technology, but this success has also come at the expense of other ecosystem services. Water, erosion regulation, water and air purification services, pollination, pest regulation, and natural hazard regulation are all in worse shape then they were 50 years ago and looking specifically to Europe’s soils – they are increasingly acidic and have been loosing essential nutrients.

 

Let’s begin with a look at the services around water.

 

It is difficult to underestimate the extent to which water resources have been modified in the past 30 years. This is a fact that I usually share over cocktails – we have put so much water into storage in various reservoirs, dams and holding tanks that we have altered the spin of the Earth and literally changed time. If you are one of those people feeling like things have gotten faster, NASA can provide the scientific backing.

 

Much of our water storage was in wetlands. Here in Europe, over 50% wetlands are gone and agriculture is responsible for approximately 60% of this loss. 25% of the remaining wetlands are endangered from groundwater overexploitation. This presses us to consider more comprehensive water management strategies.

 

Water, or too much of it, can also have negative effects on soils. Loss of erosion regulatory services have been draining Europe’s agricultural productivity. This is most severe in the Mediterranean and Balkan Peninsula. Landslides have impacted over 70,000 people and caused well over eleven billion Euros of damage in just the past 20 years. At least some of this can be attributed to agricultural practices.

 


Continuing with the impacts of agriculture – runoff of agricultural inputs has contributed to the decline of waterways. At least 65% of Europe’s Atlantic coast exhibits signs of eutrophication and the Baltic has 800% more phosphorous than it did a year ago. These are just two examples that are perhaps well know to this audience.

 

Invasive species have also been populating Europe’s waterways, 50 or so have permanently established themselves most with little or no economic value. Land pests have also spread, often directly decimating crops – the western corn rootworm is just one example.

 

Other natural disasters are taking their toll. The 2003 draughts caused over 10 billion Euros of damage poultry, potatoes, maize, wheat and fodder.

 

The ability of ecosystems to control pest has also declined in the past 50 years. The normalization of nature’s pest regulating services into mainstream agricultural practices is indicative of learning among farmers and the institutions that support them.

 

Pollination – 84% of the EU’s crops have their yields enabled by pollination services. Increased losses of key species are widely noted across the continent. Sifting through the drivers of this decline could ultimately provide us a very powerful example of the combined effects of degradation across different ecosystems.

 

 

The global challenges and those here in Europe are tremendous. Demand for agricultural goods will continue to rise. Enhancing the services of crop, livestock and aquaculture provision while reversing the deterioration of others requires several initiatives, among them are:

 

In response, the EU and several European countries themselves are exploring ecosystem audits as part of their formal policies. There is also much we need to know about ecosystem services and research agendas are expanding. Tools are being developed by scientists, policy makers, and advocates including WRI’s Corporate Ecosystem Services Review, the WBCSD Water Tool, the University of Vermont’s valuation mapping tools among many, many others. All provide new ways of coupling economic growth with environmental security.

 

Environmental markets – from carbon, to biodiversity, to wetlands to water quality itself offers opportunities for improving efficiencies. As we continue to integrate the exogenous effects of our activities into these market mechanisms, I believe we will continue to improve them. Ensuring flexibility is essential.

 


We also need to pay attention to larger regulatory framework. Education and policies that, among other items, reduce tilling and encourage improved watershed management are critical. In this vein let me state that our present commodities boom presents the unique opportunity to address harmful subsidies throughout the world.

 

Finally, let me share a thought about climate change as it relates to this discussion. The exaggerated rain patterns, temperatures and species migration has forced adaptation upon us. Perhaps nowhere is this more relevant than in agricultural systems. Increasing resources devoted to modeling and responding to these changes in Europe and around the world should be emphasized.

 

Our journey to addressing these challenges to ecosystem degradation begins by first understanding and valuing these ecosystem services. This forum is not only timely, but critically important and I thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts.

 

 

Question

Which ecosystem service is least understood?

 


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