Insights into how the TEEB approach can support wise use of wetlands in Asia - The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

The first TEEB training workshop on “Mainstreaming the values of water and wetlands into decision-making” was held 31 August 2013, in Bali Indonesia, organized as part of the 6th Annual International Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) conference. The workshop was attended by 26 participants, each interested in the broad field of ecosystem services and keen to share knowledge on how to mainstream these values in the decision-making process.

The Workshop funded thanks to the generous support of the government of Norway, drew from the findings and recommendations of the recently launched “TEEB for Water and Wetlands” Report, and the results of a training needs assessment survey distributed at the Kigali Forum for Wetlands .

A number of participants shared their experience with using the TEEB findings and approach in their own projects.

	Marlynn Mendoza, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines. "TEEB and the ecosystem approach can contribute to the wise use of wetlands by encouraging a review of existing policies that have an impact on water and wetlands and maybe the organization of a functional committee to promote protection." Read more
	Nirawan Pipitsombat,Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,Thailand. "The TEEB approach can support the selection process of the most appropriate solutions, and allow to discuss costs, benefits and trade-offs among alternative solutions." Read more
	Danial Lee bin Abdullah, Conservation and Environment Management Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Malaysia. "The ecosystem service approach will allow biodiversity and ecosystem services to be integrated into planning processes." Read more
	Maheshwar Dhakal, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation in Nepal. "The income generated from PES schemes can be used for improving the welfare of local and marginalized communities and create incentive packages to motivate them to conserve water and wetland systems." Read more
	Sangeeta Mangubhai from IUCN and Jan Steffen from GIZ. "MACBIO will use the TEEB approach to undertake economic valuations of coastal and marine ecosystems and the services they provide in five Pacific Island countries." Read more
	Nicolas Pascal, from the Insular Research Centre and Environment Observatory, is an environmental economist working on the economic valuation of Jeannette Kawas National Park in Honduras. "Economic valuation is important for finding financing sources that fit the needs of national parks." Read more
	Keren Klass, programme coordinator for Israel's National Ecosystem Assessment (I-NEA, or Hamaarag). "Many of our stakeholders have expressed interest in economic valuation of services, and we recognize that in decision making, having value expressed in economic terms is extremely useful, as it allows comparisons with other factors influencing policy and planning." Read more
	Bernd Hansjuergens, from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Germany "One of our main goals is raising awareness, especially for those who are not familiar with nature conservation and who do not take nature into account when making decisions." Read more
	Dr. Dolf de Groot, Associate Professor in Integrated Ecosystem Assessment & Management with the Environmental Systems Analysis Group of Wageningen University, the Netherlands and chair of the ES Partnership. "A big 'added value' of the TEEB involvement is the authority of its publications which are carefully edited and supported by a globally respected community of scientists and people from the business and policy community." Read more
	Norman Emmanuel Ramirez, from the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. "We would like government officials from the different sectors from the ASEAN region to gain more understanding, but also be appreciative of nature's values through capacity-building and awareness raising activities." Read more

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