Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are the benefits that people and societies receive from nature, such as food, water, pollination, nutrient cycling and many others. WLE works to facilitate agricultural intensification that recognizes, preserves and enhances the services that ecosystems provide.

Natural infrastructure

Wetlands, forests, flood plains and other environmental systems can all be considered part of the natural infrastructure that supports thriving cities and healthy landscapes. WLE is working to understand and quantify the important functions that natural infrastructure fulfills and to advise decision makers on how to take advantage of its benefits.

Blog Post
Blog Post
January 31, 2020
Disappearing wetlands show why we need to nurture nature
Rainforests grab the headlines, but with 87% of wetlands lost globally, it is time to nurture these immensely productive and diverse ecosystems.
- Matthew McCartney
- Chris Dickens
Blog Post
Blog Post
February 07, 2018
Fighting floods with 'sponge cities'
In an era of rampant land development and increasing climate unpredictability, the world is growing used to alarming images of flooded city streets. But cities can combat these floods by turning themselves into "sponge cities".
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Blog Post
Blog Post
December 05, 2019
Time to act on global groundwater
Op-Ed in Thomson-Reuters: Groundwater is vital for food, drinking water and climate adaptation. But it's under threat. 700+ groundwater experts from more than 75 countries call for three urgent global actions.
Blog Post
Blog Post
March 21, 2018
Water Crises Are Hitting Our Economies. Time to Hit Back with Natural Infrastructure
We need natural infrastructure - like forests, swamps, aquifers and grasslands - to overcome droughts and floods that have a high economic cost.
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Partner News
February 02, 2017
Promoting wise use of wetlandsread original article on external website
Urban and peri-urban wetlands of the city of Kolkata in India are under threat, and their ecosystem services are being lost due to rapid urbanization.

Biodiversity

Across the globe, biodiversity loss is accelerating, harming the provision of life-sustaining services such as pollination, pest regulation and dietary diversity. WLE is working to find ways to increase food production, while protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

Blog Post
Blog Post
June 03, 2018
Asia’s environment is at a tipping point
We need to act now to save biodiversity, ecosystems...and ourselves.
IPBES Plenary and assessment launch
Partner News
March 23, 2018
Human well-being at risk. Landmark reports highlight options to protect and restore nature and its vital contributions to peopleread original article on external website
Biodiversity – the essential variety of life forms on Earth – continues to decline in every region of the world, significantly reducing nature’s capacity to contribute to people’s well-being. This alarming trend endangers economies, livelihoods, food security and the quality of life of people everywhere, according to four landmark science reports released today by IPBES, written by more than 550 leading experts, from over 100 countries.
Blog Post
Blog Post
May 22, 2017
Protecting biodiversity to ensure the future we want
The Asia-Pacific Regional Assessment for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has been drafted and is ready for external review. Get involved!
Blog Post
Blog Post
July 04, 2016
Current agricultural practices stand in the way of sustainability: It’s past time to diversify
The data is abundantly clear: it's time to transition to cleaner, more sustainable agricultural practices. A new report from IPES-Food demonstrates how vicious cycles of vested interests and entrenched thinking are the barriers to agricultural change.
- Emile Frison
- Fabrice DeClerck
2 comments
Blog Post
Blog Post
June 19, 2018
Science-policy collaboration: an appealing way to tackle pollution from bananas
A banana boom in Northern Lao was attracting some attention as people noticed the ill effects of what was assumed to be pesticide overuse. Coordinating with research and government agencies, evidence was gathered that helped bring about policy change.

Equitable benefit sharing

Ecosystems provide a wealth of benefits, but these are not always equitably shared. WLE seeks to identify the right incentives and institutions that can facilitate a fair distribution of resources and services between all people, including women, youth and other disadvantaged groups.

Partner News
May 04, 2017
WISE-UP to climate: water infrastructure solutions for the Volta Basinread original article on external website
WISE-UP - 'Water Infrastructure Solutions from Ecosystem Services Underpinning Climate Resilient Policies and Programmes' - aims to demonstrate natural infrastructure as a 'nature-based solution' for climate change adaptation and sustainable development in the Volta and Tana Basins. The WISE-UP project is implemented by IUCN with partners IWMI, BC3, ODI, ACCESS in Kenya, University of Manchester, and CSIR in Ghana, with the support of the Volta Basin Authority. It is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).
News
August 08, 2016
Agriculture: From foe to friend of the environment
Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals on hunger and poverty will require a 50 percent increase in food production in the next 15 years. In fact, a global food revolution is urgently needed, argues a recent paper by a number of leading scientists working with WLE.
- Michael Victor
Lead Partner: International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Partner News
January 13, 2017
Experimental games test efficacy of subsidies to encourage farmers to invest in natural ecosystem services read original article on external website
Synthetic pesticides have helped to close agricultural yield gaps around the world. But their use is also a classic double-edged sword.

Natural infrastructure

Biodiversity

Equitable benefit sharing

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