Biodiversity

Our Work

IEEP is at the forefront of developing ways to integrate environmentally-sound socio-economic signals into decision making, to recognise the true value of environmental resources and ecosystems, and thereby encourage resource efficiency. We are developing tools to assess, quantify and take up the multiple values of nature, biodiversity and ecosystem services. IEEP experts are making substantial contributions to the international TEEB initiative (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity), particularly through leading and contributing to the TEEB for policy makers, and TEEB Water reports, and advancing national and regional initiatives, for example in the Nordic countries, Finland, and the Danube Basin.

IEEP is promoting ways of assessing the complete benefits provided by protected areas, including estimates of the costs and benefits of Natura 2000. We have carried out major assessments of the costs of biodiversity actions in the EU (including the costs of restoring 15% of degraded ecosystems in accordance with Target 2 of the Biodiversity Strategy, and the costs of maintaining High Nature Value farmland, and the far greater costs of failing to protect biodiversity. We also look at the opportunities of using biodiversity conservation to advance social inclusion and create jobs.

More about our work in this area...

Latest in Assessing the costs and benefits of biodiversity conservation

  • Socio-economic benefits of EU Marine Protected Areas

    They are more than just a nature conservation tool – a study by IEEP shows how EU Marine Protected Areas help to maintain and improve the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services and related socio-economic benefits.

  • Wildlife crime and the EU

    Wildlife crime threatens global biodiversity. The EU is both a destination and a transit region for illegally-traded products. A new study for the European Parliament summarises the situation in Europe and offers policy recommendations in view of the upcoming EU Action Plan. A set of in-depth case studies outline the situation in five EU countries.

  • New report: assessing the benefits of marine protected areas

    Marine Protected Areas provide a range of benefits to human wellbeing, including providing food, mitigating climate change and creating opportunities for recreation and tourism. Further steps are needed to assess and communicate these benefits, this way supporting marine conservation both globally and in the EU.

  • Benefits of marine protected areas in the context of EU’s Natura 2000 network

    A scoping study by IEEP outlines a step-wise methodology to assess the overall benefits provided by the EU’s marine Natura 2000 network.

  • 40 years of cooperation in protecting the Baltic Sea

    IEEP’s Marianne Kettunen gave a presentation at the Helsinki Convention (HELCOM) Jubilee Session on the understanding and valuation of marine ecosystem services, Helsinki, 5 Mar 2014.

  • Understanding and valuing ecosystem services provided by the Baltic Sea

    IEEP’s Marianne Kettunen outlined key perspectives on the valuation of coastal and marine ecosystem services in a regional workshop on the Valuation of Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services in the Baltic Sea, Stockholm (7-8 Nov 2013)

  • Socio-economic importance of ecosystem services in the Nordic countries

    New TEEB-inspired regional assessment (published on 31 January) shows that nature and its ecosystem services are of high socio-economic significance for the Nordic countries. In order to be truly sustainable, Nordic economic systems need to build on a more comprehensive appreciation and understanding of the value of natural capital.

Highlights