[P2P-F] Software : "Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs"

[Dante-Gabryell Monson]

*http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/*
*

http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/joinourteam.html

Lead Ecosystem Services
Modeler<http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/joinourteam.html#ESModeler>
(Application
review begins September 6, 2011)

Term: September 15, 2011 through September 14, 2013 and beyond, contingent
upon funding.

Software :

http://invest.ecoinformatics.org/

NY Times article - 9 August 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/science/09profile.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all?src=tp


InVEST: Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs
The Need for a New Tool

InVEST is a family of tools to map and value the goods and services from
nature which are essential for sustaining and fulfilling human life.

*UPDATE* Now includes models for COASTAL and MARINE ecosystem services.


 For further information on tool development, the InVEST user forum, and to
register for InVEST updates, go to: http://invest.ecoinformatics.org

 Who Should Use InVEST

Governments, non-profits, and corporations manage natural resources for
multiple uses and inevitably must evaluate trade-offs among these uses;
InVEST's multi-service, modular design provides an effective tool for
evaluating these trade-offs.

How it Works
[image: How InVEST Works]


NY Times article - 9 August 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/science/09profile.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all?src=tp

"Early on, Dr. Daily recognized that new tools were needed to quantify
nature’s value. “We began by developing a software program called InVEST
(Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) to map and value
nature’s goods and services that are essential for humans,” she said.

The software, which is available as a free download, enables the comparison
of various environmental scenarios. What is the real cost of draining a
wetland or clearing a coastline of mangroves? InVEST models the trade-offs
and helps decision makers better understand the implications of their
choices."

...

The Costa Rican program helped inspire Dr. Daily to co-found the Natural
Capital Project in 2006. NatCap, as the program is known, is a venture led
by Stanford University, the University of Minnesota and two of the world’s
largest conservation organizations, the Nature Conservancy and the World
Wildlife Fund. It aims to transform traditional conservation methods by
including the value of “ecosystem services” in business, community and
government decisions. These benefits from nature — like flood protection,
crop pollination and carbon storage — are not part of the traditional
economic equation.



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