New Report Focuses on Best Practices for Integrating Ecosystem Services into Federal Decisions
Decisions made by U.S. federal agencies can significantly affect the nation's natural resources, from the air we breathe and the water we drink and recreate in to the wild animals and scenic places we love. Often there are difficult tradeoffs to be considered where one of these benefits is enhanced while another is reduced. A new report by the National Ecosystem Services Partnership provides recommendations on best practices for ecosystem services assessments in federal decision making. It is a first attempt by experts to set standards for implementation of ecosystem services assessments and is intended to assist federal agencies in their response to the 2012 Forest Planning Rule, the 2013 Principles and Requirements for Federal Investments in Water Resources, and prospective guidance from the Council on Environmental Quality related to ecosystem services and federal decision making.
Authors include experts from Duke University, Clark University, The Nature Conservancy, The University of Minnesota, The Institute for Natural Resources, Resources for the Future, The University of Maryland, and the Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center authored the paper. Three of the authors--Lydia Olander, Rob Johnston, and Jimmy Kagan--presented an overview on this report, which can be heard here or downloaded.
The report refines and clarifies methods presented in the online Federal Resource Management and Ecosystem Services Guidebook released last year, and its recommendations will be incorporated into the online guidebook later this year.
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