Ecosystem services

This resource is a compilation of resources for communicating the work of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), which might be useful for outreach activities organizations might wish to undertake related to the findings of the MA, on the importance of ecosystem servicse and actions that can be taken the better manage ecosystems and their services. Contributors include N. Davidson, P. M. Rosabal Gonzales, S. Mainka, F. Schutyser, M. Rivera, H. Simons, C. Hilton-Taylor, J. Chanson, N.

To help shape a research programme proposed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), this report seeks to highlight some of the critical issues facing water ecosystem services in Africa, South Asia and Latin America and makes recommendations on the research that is needed to fill the current gaps in knowledge and practice.

This Facilitator Manual has been written to support a 2.5 - 3 day workshop that has as one of its goals helping a team or group of people to understand better the parts of the system in which they work in order to make thoughtful recommendations for strategic intervention points - points at which they can have a maximum impact with the most focused (and hopefully the least amount of) effort.

Climate change and the over exploitation of water resources is challenging the sustainability of the Pangani River Basin to deliver water services. Competition for diminishing water resources has led to tensions between the various stakeholders within the basin. Together with the government of Tanzania and donor partners, WANI has responded to this crisis by supporting the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

Inappropriate water management practices in the Komadugu Yobe Basin, upstream of Lake Chad in northern Nigeria, changed the seasonal river flow and caused widespread environmental degradation. Coupled with this were fragmented regulation and conflicting responsibilities among institutions, a lack of coordination for hydro-agricultural developments, inequitable access to water resources and growing tensions and risk of conflicts among water users.

This report presents the proceedings of the workshop, held in Hanoi and attended by participants representing GEF International Waters projects and partner institutions from governments and NGOs. Some participants brought perspectives mostly from freshwater systems, others from marine ecosystems.