Introduction to ecosystem services assessment tools: the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA)
Economic valuation of ecosystem services (ES) is frequently used to present ecosystem value in a policy-relevant and accessible way (which can be leveraged into decision-making). Practitioners and decision-makers use a range of methods to assess the value and relative importance of the full range of ES including biodiversity. One of the tools being used to measure ES is TESSA, which is a practical step-by-step guidance on how to understand, assess, and monitor ES. It helps non-experts with limited capacity to value and compare multiple ES and
involves stakeholders and beneficiaries. The session was followed by an open forum guided by the question, “What are your challenges in measuring and monitoring ecosystems services?”
Note: This presentation had been jointly developed with Stefano Barchiesi (BirdLife International Inc.) and Evelyn Pina Covarrubias (University of Southampton).