Tools for Joint Production of Ecosystem Services: North Carolina Case Study

Sponsored by the Nicholas School for the Environment and Earth Sciences and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

BACKGROUND: The Nicholas School and Nicholas Institute at Duke University have received a grant from the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) Wildlife Habitat Policy Research Program, which is part of a four-year initiative funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. During the next 12 months researchers at Duke will develop prototype tools to assess the joint production of ecosystem services and the estimated value of these services spatially across a landscape. With a wide range in ecosystems, growing patchwork of mixed types of land use development, substantial investments in land conservation for a variety of services, and experimentation with innovative market based programs North Carolina makes a wonderful case study.

To initiate this work the Nicholas Institute is coordinating a one-day workshop to bring together those at the cutting edge of developing ecosystem service market tools (particularly those building tools applicable to joint production of services) with those who would use these tools. The objectives of the workshop are:

• to initiate conversation and collaboration with others who are developing tools for ecosystem service evaluation and planning, and
• to bring practitioners into the discussion and incorporate on-the-ground needs. 

The purpose of the workshop will be to develop an outline for a multiple ecosystem service tool for North Carolina and a network for users in the state to work with on its development.  A white paper will be produced from the workshop.

Invited participants will include local, regional and statewide practitioners, and national authorities in the field of ecosystem services.  Policy analysts, economists and scientists from the Nicholas School and Nicholas Institute will lead many of the discussions and breakout groups. 

For more information, contact Lydia Olander, senior associate director for ecosystem services at the Nicholas Institute, at (919) 613-8709 or lydia.olander@duke.edu

WORKSHOP AGENDA: 
8:00 a.m. – Coffee and Breakfast

8:30 – Welcome 
Lydia Olander (Nicholas Institute)

8:35 – Introduction of participants

8:45 –Overview of NCSE program and it goals
Dean Urban (Nicholas School)

9:00 – Water overview and discussion
(Watersheds and water quality; wetlands and water quality; runoff and coastal impacts; etc).
9:00 –Science  
9:05 – Valuation 
9:10  --Management
9:15 – Discussion

9:45 – Carbon overview and discussion 
9:45 – Science - 
9:50 – Valuation and Management
10:00 – Discussion

10:30 – BREAK

10:45 – Wildlife and biodiversity overview and discussion
10:45 – Science 
10:50 – Valuation
10:55 – Management
11:00 – Discussion

11:30 – Assignment and organization of break out groups for each of the three topic areas: 
water, carbon and wildlife.  Groups to address:

• What are the ecosystem services of their focus area?
• What are the biophysical and value metrics we would use? 
• What is the available data? Other needed data?
• What are the hooks to link in other services?
• What are critical challenges and opportunities for linking these services to other services?
• Suggested group assignments

Noon – Lunch

1:00 p.m. – Break out sessions

2:00 – Reconvene, with progress reports from each group

2:20 – Discussion

2:30 – Group session outlining a tool for joint production

3:30 – End of invitation-only workshop

4:00 – Public seminar (open to outside participants) 
“Where to Put Things: Spatial Landscape Management with Biological and Economic Objectives,” by Steve Polasky, Fesler-Lampert Professor of Ecological and Environmental Economics, University of Minnesota

5:30 – Reception