
Overview
The natural world provides benefits to people, such as clean water, recreation opportunities and carbon sequestration. These are known as ecosystem services. Quantifying these ecosystem services can support arguments for biodiversity conservation and inform policy and planning. Assessing ecosystem services is increasingly embedded within our conservation and research activities.
The RSPB has been involved in the development of a toolkit for carrying out ecosystem services assessment at the site-scale, known as the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessments (TESSA). TESSA is a relatively simple toolkit, which can be used by people with a general scientific background, but without specific training. We use TESSA as our first port of call for carrying out ecosystem service assessments at sites to test whether conservation management improves the provision of services, although we also use other tools where appropriate.
We have been involved in assessments at sites in the UK, in the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) and elsewhere in the world.
The RSPB has been involved in the development of a toolkit for carrying out ecosystem services assessment at the site-scale, known as the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessments (TESSA). TESSA is a relatively simple toolkit, which can be used by people with a general scientific background, but without specific training. We use TESSA as our first port of call for carrying out ecosystem service assessments at sites to test whether conservation management improves the provision of services, although we also use other tools where appropriate.
We have been involved in assessments at sites in the UK, in the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) and elsewhere in the world.