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Ecosimple is an organization dedicated to understand and protect natural capital values, with extensive experience in different countries, mainly in Colombia. Our purpose is to apply lessons learned, and experiences coming from our partners, to the assessment of incentives application and their impacts.
This tool offers an integrated analysis based on three different and complementary approaches: natural capital accounting; resources invested to promote conservation and sustainable land use; and the understanding of objectives and values promoted by those communities and organizations involved in the process.
The ecosystems and biodiversity assets values are a proxy for their importance from social, ecological and economic viewpoints. Natural capital accounting integrates these aspects with the purpose of monitoring their changes over time, in a comprehensive and systematic structure, using geographic and control boards tools, in order to communicate and promote their relevance.
There are different approaches to the concept of environmental incentives. For the purposes of this tool, incentives are broadly interpreted as projects that link institutions and communities for their social development, and natural capital conservation. Understanding their structure, operation and boundaries is key to define the more suitable joint application at different contexts over time.
In order to reach a comprehensive assessment, it is important to understand stakeholders and communities goals, contexts, and concerns, building with those a proper analysis reference, that allows to identify the adequate incentive and investments options for matching their interests and governance.
Monitoring ecosystems and their economic value is a product aimed at institutions, governments and companies that want to understand the economic impact of ecosystem loss and how its conservation management can bring benefits. We use geoprocessing and economic analysis tools to generate detailed reports showing the extension, health, location, and economic value of ecosystem services lost through deforestation, and services recovered through restoration. Updated spatial data allows us to visualize impacts and calculate the economic value of key ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water regulation and biodiversity. An application of this approach can be used in land appraisal and other territorial instruments and planning instruments.
Example – Dashboard: Natural Capital Values
This is an example where natural capital values of Colombian Forest are estimated, and compared with GDP at national and regional level, based on official available data. Similar tools can be designed for other countries, ecosystems and scales.
Contact us for a consultation and discover how our tool can boost your sustainable projects.
Since 2021, we have been working on the design and strengthening of this methodology, within the framework of the Páramos project with “Alexander von Humboldt” Institute in Colombia, the Biocarbon Project in the Orinoco Region, and our participation in working groups for the appraisal of Paramos ecosystems, with governmental institutions. This methodology includes the diagnosis of the property or area in three stages. An indirect stage in which we use our statistical models to estimate the state of conservation of the area’s environmental attributes, a direct stage in which we collect primary data on the environmental conditions of the study area and validate and adjust the results of the indirect stage. And finally, a valuation stage, in which the potential values of the land cover in terms of ecosystem services, recovery or replacement cost, and potential in environmental markets are determined.
We currently have a standardised methodology for the diagnosis of properties in the Orinoco study area, validated by means of three case studies in the area. Based on statistical models and field procedures, we estimate the economic value of the environmental attributes of the property, considering its potential to maintain ecosystem services and possible participation in conservation incentives such as carbon credits, biodiversity credits and other conservation incentives.
In a context of growing demand for conservation and sustainable use of natural capital, environmental incentives and investments offer income opportunities, especially in rural areas, by financing actions aimed at biodiversity conservation, water quality improvement and carbon sequestration, among others. The increase of ecosystem services related with environmental investments comes from ecosystems that are conserved or recovered basically through preservation and restoration actions. These elements shape their economic values and reflect their prices through the purchase and sale of environmental goods and services, such as green businesses, payments for environmental services (PES), and more complex mechanisms such as carbon or biodiversity credits, which already have a market economic value.
At Ecosimple, we understand that the characterisation of communities is crucial to understand their dynamics, needs and potential. For this, through quantitative and qualitative methods with a participatory approach, we obtain data that allows us to have a deep understanding of local contexts, involving the community in every step of the process.
This ensures the relevance and effectiveness of solutions, and fosters a sense of community ownership and commitment to the projects and programmes implemented. As a result, communities derive benefits such as:
Strengthened leadership and organizational capacity.
Active participation and inclusive decision-making.
Building a shared vision for the future.
This collaborative process not only improves the effectiveness of interventions, but also empowers communities to take control of their own development and well-being.
EXAMPLE – Working with communities
Productivity and business competitiveness improvements, promote actions that strengthen the capacity of the industrial sector in sustainability issues. Through customized diagnoses, we design and implement conservation measures and efficient management of natural resources, ensuring a positive impact on production processes and the environment.
Contact us for a consultation and discover how our tool can boost your sustainable projects.
London, United Kingdom
251 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8QT
www.ecosimple.co.uk
innovation@ecosimple.co.uk
Whatsapp +44 7490 905479
Bogotá, Colombia
Calle 98 # 21-50, of 902
innovation@ecosimple.co
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