Download revenues from nature areas

Generating revenue from nature areas
requires a targeted approach
Martijn van der Heide, Marien Borgstein and Kees Hendriks+
Nature conservation areas form a potential
source of revenue for the conservation
organisations that own and manage them.
After all, these areas provide numerous
ecosystem services, including water
purification, carbon sequestration, biomass
production and recreation opportunities.
These valuable services benefit society as a
whole, but are generally not paid for. A
study in national park Weerribben-Wieden
in the Dutch province of Overijssel (see
figure 1) shows that a targeted approach is
needed to generate revenue from the
ecosystem services provided by nature
areas.
Until mid-2010, the creation and management of
nature areas in the Netherlands was primarily
funded with government money. Since then,
government budget cuts have forced nature
conservation organisations to look for alternative
funding sources – not only to ensure their financial
security, but also to broaden their support base
and strengthen their position within society and
the market. Against this background, PBL
commissioned Wageningen University and
Research Centre (WUR) to investigate the
possibilities for generating revenue from 'natural
Picture: Martijn van der Heide
capital', focusing on national park WeerribbenWieden.
Making money from ecosystem
services
Covering over 10,000 hectares, national park
Weerribben-Wieden represents the largest
continuous area of low fenland in northwestern
Europe. This highly characteristic landscape in
northern Overijssel was largely formed by peat
extraction activities. Around 1920, when usable
peat ran out and peat cutting was no longer
profitable, the local population switched to reed
production. The present national park provides a
wide range of ecosystem services, ranging from
reed and wild fish production to carbon
sequestration and water purification. In addition, it
is a much-loved destination for day trips and
holidays, thanks to its beautiful landscape,
vegetation and wildlife. The objective of this study
was to investigate the possibilities for generating
revenue from four ecosystem services: water
purification, recreation, biomass production and
reed production.
Water purification
Generating revenue from the water purification
services provided by the national park turns out to
be difficult. It is not feasible to copy the revenue
model of the Dunea water company in the west of
+
Martijn van der Heide: senior researcher at Wageningen Economic Research (LEI). Marien Borgstein: senior researcher at
Wageningen Economic Research (LEI); present position: Programme Manager Agribusiness in the region Rivierenland. Kees
Hendriks: senior researcher at Wageningen Environmental Research (Alterra).
The study discussed in this paper was conducted as part of the Natural Capital Netherlands programme of PBL Netherlands
Environmental Assessment Agency. For more information, see: http://themasites.pbl.nl/natuurlijk-kapitaalnederland/natural-capital-netherlands. This paper is a translation of Van der Heide et al. (2016), ‘Klinkende munt slaan uit
natuur vergt gerichte aanpak’, Tijdschrift Milieu, Mei 2016.
the Netherlands. The latter receives about €5,50
per water consumer per year for managing the
coastal dune areas, a revenue model made
possible by the fact that Dunea combines drinking
water production and dune management in one
organisation. In contrast, nature area management
and drinking water production in northern
Overijssel are carried out by separate
organisations. Besides, only 40% of the water
supply in this region is derived from the national
park area, where water is purified not only by
ecological processes but also by various technical
installations managed by the water management
authority of Reest-Wieden and other local
authorities. Hence, in this case it is difficult to
determine the exact contribution of 'natural
capital' to water purification – let alone to ask
money for this service.
Biomass production for BioBlocks
National park Weerribben-Wieden is managed by
Staatsbosbeheer (Dutch Forestry Service) and
Natuurmonumenten (Dutch society for
preservation of nature monuments). To prevent
that canals and open waters become overgrown
with reeds and other plants, reed beds and
vegetation are cut or removed according to a
cyclical management scheme. Various experiments
are ongoing to use this biomass for the production
of 'BioBlocks': sustainable building blocks for
construction and related applications. The concept
of ‘BioBlocks’ is still in an experimental phase.
Nevertheless, there is already an agreement
between the inventors and developers of
‘BioBlocks’ and Staatsbosbeheer (Dutch Forestry
Service) that a portion of the revenues should flow
back to the national park, for conservation and
environmental management.
Recreation
Recreation and tourism already form an important
pillar of the regional economy, but there is still
much room for improvement, particularly in terms
of marketing and communication. For example,
visitor information at places of interest
(information boards, signposts) is generally
insufficient. And while the area draws many
visitors (Giethoorn – known as Venice of the
Netherlands – being the main attraction for
Chinese tourists, in particular), there is a lack of
recreation packages tailored to the specific needs
of different target groups. New market
opportunities may be created by improving crosssector collaboration between (tourism) businesses
and national park managers. Moreover, by sharing
responsibility for environmental conservation the
tourism sector can prevent the 'killing of the goose
that lays the golden eggs'. To investigate the
possibilities, various pilot projects were set up to
gain experience with the concept of 'Business
Investment Zones' (BIZs) in the countryside. a In
this concept, businesses take a shared financial
responsibility for the conservation of their local
environment. Comparable projects around
national park Biesbosch in the west of the
Netherlands have shown that factors such as
ownership, pride and ambassadorship play a key
role in stakeholder engagement.
Reed production
A study conducted in 2011 on the viability of reed
production in the Weerribben-Wieden found that
the sector is outdated, has hardly invested in
innovation, and is not open to collaboration.
Despite this gloomy outlook, there are still various
opportunities to keep local reed production viable.
For example, by setting up a reed certification
scheme the market position of Dutch reed can be
improved – provided that the sector is willing to
innovate.
Resistance
The central idea in the revenue models sketched
above is that stakeholders take responsibility and
contribute to the management and conservation of
the nature areas involved. However, theory and
practice are two different things. An assessment in
the Weerribben-Wieden shows that even the
smallest suggestion of responsibility-sharing
evokes huge resistance among stakeholders.
Representatives of the most important
stakeholders were initially reluctant to participate
in this study. Their resistance has a number of
causes. Firstly, because the government always
paid for nature conservation, many stakeholders
have the ingrained belief that nature and
ecosystem services are public goods, to be used
freely by everyone. Secondly, the dominating view
is that nature conservation organisations still
receive a lot of government money and therefore
a
For example, with regard to the design and
management of business parks. Similar concepts exist
for city centres, where local shop owners work together
to maintain and improve public space.
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concept of generating revenue from natural capital
can only be successful if it is broadly supported. If,
for whatever reason, stakeholders are not
interested in this concept, any discussions about
revenue models will remain non-committal.
Hence, regional stakeholder processes are key. This
means that stakeholders will have to get together
at an early stage to jointly explore future scenarios
based on current and new policies. In the case of
the Weerribben-Wieden, current policy means that
fewer funds will be available for maintenance of
recreational amenities and conservation of cultural
and natural heritage. The tourism sector, in
particular, will feel the economic consequences of
this policy. In other words, if the quality of the
Weerribben-Wieden declines, this will directly
impact the most important economic pillar of the
region.
are the main party responsible for investing in
environmental conservation. Thirdly, many
stakeholders seem to lack a sense of urgency.
Although local (tourism) businesses are generally
aware of the economic value of the national park
Weerribben-Wieden, they do not voice their
interests for fear of having to foot the bill. Finally,
the inhabitants of northern Overijssel are known to
be conservative; change and innovation tend to be
initiated from outside the region.
Regional stakeholder processes
The main challenge for the Weerribben-Wieden is
to create a perspective that inspires confidence in
all stakeholders, inviting them to actively
collaborate in order to capture and capitalise on
the ecosystem services provided by the area. The
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