United Nations Environment Programme
UNEP.org
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) research presented at the second World Forum on Natural Capital in Edinburgh has found that efficient water use can bring economic and social gains in Morocco and Kazakhstan.
The research on Linking Natural Capital with Macroeconomic Policies provided business leaders, policy makers, environmental experts and academics from around the globe attending the conference with an insightful approach to addressing environmental problems in the two countries.
The study found that, in Kazakhstan, significant welfare gains can be realized if the water authorities along the Syr Darya basin implement an efficient water trading mechanism. The study further suggests that investing in canal infrastructure repair leads to faster rates of Northern Aral Sea restoration, with smaller impact on natural resource in the region.
In Morocco, the research found that crops using water more intensively experienced the largest decline in value added as their costs increased from using ground water to partially replace surface water lost to drought.
The project has developed a tool for mainstreaming ecosystem service valuation that helps understand (and measure) the impact of policies on natural asset wealth, and illustrates how to use the tool and interpret the results.
One of the outcomes from the Natural Capital Forum was a letter, signed by all delegates, urging world leaders attending the UN Climate Conference in Paris to acknowledge and address the fact that climate change cannot be tackled without halting the rapid erosion and loss of natural capital.
The theme for the two-day event was ‘Solutions for a changing world’, a key focus of which will be helping business and sustainability leaders identify the economic importance of protecting and restoring our natural environment-through techniques such as those demonstrated in the UNEP research.
The Ecosystem Services Economics (ESE) Unit of the Division of Environmental Policy Implementation of UNEP-in collaboration with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC), Kazakhstan, the Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, and the University of Minnesota, USA, implemented the project-entitled, “Mainstreaming ecosystem services into country’s sectoral and macroeconomic policies and programmes “.
Financial backing for the project came from United Nations Development Account 8th Tranche funds.
