European Commission

One of the pre-requisites in the process of putting in place the Kikuletwa Catchment Forum is development of training materials to be used for Training of Trainers (TOT) programme covering topics in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), entrepreneurships; community participation; gender and other cross cutting issues relating to WRM, climate change and adaptation strategies and the contribution of water resources in poverty reduction.

One of the pre-requisites in the process of putting in place the Kikuletwa Catchment Forum is development of training materials to be used for Training of Trainers (TOT) programme covering topics in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), entrepreneurships; community participation; gender and other cross cutting issues relating to WRM, climate change and adaptation strategies and the contribution of water resources in poverty reduction.

This book presents the results of an international research project, which was designed explicitly to examine application of the forest landscape restoration (FLR) approach to dryland forest ecosystems in Latin America. In order for FLR to be transferred into mainstream practice that is adopted and promoted by governments and the private sector, as well as by local communities, information is needed on how the principles of FLR can be implemented in practice, in a cost-effective manner.

This report is planned to be a useful advisory tool for local and regional policymakers, administrators and managers. The information in this report will also be of interest to organisations such as NGOs, regulatory bodies, permitting agencies and the judicial system. It explores and gives practical guidance on how to deal with the challenge of biodiversity loss at a local and regional level.

The TEEB study is underpinned by an assessment of state-of-the-art science and economics. The goal is to provide the conceptual foundation to link economics and ecology and to posit a paradigm of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services. This aspect of the study tackles the challenges of valuing ecosystem services, as well as issues related to economic discounting.

This publication is the executive summary for a full report which demonstrates the value of ecosystems and biodiversity to the economy, to society and to individuals. It underlines the urgency of action, as well as the benefits and opportunities that will arise as a result of taking such action. The report shows that the cost of sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services is lower than the cost of allowing biodiversity and ecosystem services to dwindle.

The TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers was released on September 9, 2010, and includes overviews to the various chapters of the full TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers Report.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Interim Report, a first assessment stemming from a G8+5 initiative sponsored by Germany and the European Commission, points to the growing pressures on biodiversity and ecosystem services across the world and the need for improved valuation metrics for pricing natural resources. The main pressures come from population growth, changing diets, urbanization, climate change and invasive alien species.

The aim of this synthesis is to highlight and illustrate the approach adopted by TEEB: namely to show how economic concepts and tools can help equip society with the means to incorporate the values of nature into decision making at all levels.