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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. 2 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 3