Resource

TESSA - Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-based Assessment

Author/Contact:

Birdlife International
Jenny Merriman: jenny.merriman@birdlife.org
Lisa Ingwall King: Lisa.ingwall-king@unep-wcmc.org (Cultural ecosystem services module)

Publication date:

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Resource description:

The TESSA toolkit provides practical guidance for measuring ecosystem services at the site scale.It effectively communicates the results to aid decision-making on a local level,which is an area existing tools have had limited applicability.TESSA provides scientifically robust information and a simple gross assessment of ecosystem services (e.g.climate regulating,coastal and waters services; nature-based tourism,harvested wild and cultivated goods). TESSA has been tested in over 10 case study sites in different parts of the world.The toolkit helps users to identify which services to assess,what data are needed to measure them,which methods or sources might be used in different contexts and how the results can be communicated to stakeholders.

Requirements:

  • Early engagement of stakeholders and decision-makers in the assessment process is key to provide an accurate understanding of the economic, ecological, social and cultural importance of the site and to ensure the results are relevant to the site's needs.
  • Site-level assessment is required where alternative scenarios can be easily envisioned and identified by stakeholders.

Advantages:

  • It can help users who have limited capacity (technical knowledge, time) and resources (money, people) to measure ecosystem services.
  • It provides insights into the overall value of ecosystem services at sites, and a way of comparing the services provided by current and alternatives states of the site.
  • It indicates who will be the 'winners' and 'losers' as a result of any change in the state of a site and in associated ecosystem service delivery.

Constraints:

  • It does not provide a 'blueprint' for assessments - it must be adapted to the local context.
  • It does not provide ecosystem service assessments that can be translated directly into Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) schemes and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) projects.
  • It does not address sustainability or resilience nor explore non-linearity and tipping points whereby small changes in ecosystems maybe have disproportionate effects on the provision of services.

Additional information:

Peh, K. S.-H., Balmford, A. P., Bradbury, R. B., Brown, C., Butchart, S. H. M., Hughes, F. M. R., Stattersfield, A. J., Thomas, D. H. L., Walpole, M., & Birch, J. C. (2014) Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA). Version 1.2 Cambridge, UK

Birch, J.C., Thapa, I., Balmford, A., Bradbury, R.B., Brown, C., Butchart, S., Gurung, H., Hughes, F.M.R., Mulligan, M., Pandeya, B., Peh, K.S-H., Stattersfield, A.J., Thomas, D.H.L. and Walpole, M. (2014) What benefits do community forests provide, and to whom? A rapid assessment of ecosystem services from a Himalayan forest, Nepal. Ecosystem Services 8: 118-127.doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.03.005

Licence:

  • Free, no licence

Development stage:

  • Full, working product