Valuing nature’s contributions to people: the IPBES approach

What is it about?

The conceptual framework of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) identifies three inclusive elements in the interaction between human societies and the non-human world, among others: nature, nature’s benefits to people, and a good quality of life. This paper zooms into the values ascribed to nature’s contributions to people (NCP), given that they are the conduit between nature and a good quality of life. The IPBES category of NCP, is defined here as all the positive contributions, or benefits, and occasionally negative contributions, losses or detriments, that people obtain from nature. It resonates with the original use of the term ecosystem services in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and goes further by explicitly embracing concepts associated with other worldviews on human–nature relations and knowledge systems (e.g. ‘nature’s gifts’ in many indigenous cultures). To recognize and make visible the diversity of values of NCP and incorporate this diversity into decision making processes, IPBES has developed a preliminary guide regarding diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its benefits, including biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. Here, we present the rationale for an inclusive incorporation of the diversity of values of NCP in decision making, as well as a (non-prescriptive) set of methodological steps for doing so. While developed within the context of the IPBES, this approach is more widely applicable to initiatives at the knowledge–policy interface that require a pluralistic approach to the diversity of values underpinning nature–human relationships.

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Why is it important?

The importance of this work is that it analyzes and discusses the rationale for the inclusive valuation of nature’s contributions to people (NCP) of the IPBES approach which acknowledges the need to promote the different types of values in decision making. While the intrinsic values of ‘nature’ are recognized as important for decision making, IPBES also acknowledges that decision making relies primarily on the instrumental values of NCP. In addition, NCP can embody symbolic relationships with natural entities to the extent that such relationships are inextricably linked to people’s sense of identity and spirituality, to a meaningful life and to ‘doing the right thing’. In this case NCP are associated with relational values, that is values that do not directly emanate from nature but are derived from our relationships with it and our responsibilities towards it. Moreover, to operationalize the IPBES approach for valuing nature’s contributions to people we propose a five-step method, with the aim of facilitating comparability of valuation results, as well as transparency and accountability of the valuation process in the decision making.

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