Recent research illustrates the essential role that biodiversity plays in both ecosystem function... more Recent research illustrates the essential role that biodiversity plays in both ecosystem functioning and the provisioning of ecosystem services for human well-being.
There is an increasing interest in reintegrating ecosystem services into the economic decision- m... more There is an increasing interest in reintegrating ecosystem services into the economic decision- making, assuming that the divorce between economic growth, leading focus of the economic dedication, and ecosystems, subject of major conservation efforts, is one of the main reasons for biodiversity loss. Emergy synthesis is a methodology oriented to this purpose on ecological and thermodynamic basis. In this document, 4 case studies of emergy synthesis historical series from some Mediterranean social-ecological systems at different scales have been used to study key contributions of emergy to understand, quantify, valuate and assess ecosystem services. Not in vain, Mediterranean systems of human a nd nature have been ancient examples of this relationship, recently labelled social-ecological systems, a nd the study cases chosen are representative of this Mediterranean nature. Results show that emergy synthesis uses a powerful modelling basis and adopts a donor-side approach to ecosystem ...
Different procedures for calculating the Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) and a large number of estimate... more Different procedures for calculating the Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) and a large number of estimates of UEVs for energy, goods, services and information flows are now available in emergyrelated books, papers, reports and PhD dissertations worldwide. A critical selection of these values and calculation procedures is a primary task for any solid emergy evaluation. The demand for a handbook of UEVs has continued to grow as more and more scientists around the world conduct emergy studies. Easily accessible, well-defined and meaningful UEVs and thorough supporting documentation could improve the entire process of conducting an emergy evaluation and ensure that a study uses the highest quality data. Analysts could complete their work more quickly and efficiently and have a higher level of confidence in their results. The use of inappropriate UEVs can lead to faulty indices and erroneous conclusions. The present work aims at identifying the main aspects that need to be taken into account for the calculation of UEVs as well as for the construction and use of a database of values and related diagrams and procedures.
The monetary valuation of ecosystem services has proved to be a powerful tool for influencing man... more The monetary valuation of ecosystem services has proved to be a powerful tool for influencing management decisions, as it can be used to quantify the relative importance of various ecosystem functions. However, these valuation methods are rarely implemented with adequate care; in particular, they do not consider spatial and temporal variations in the services offered and demanded. This paper examines the effect of heterogeneity on the valuation of cultural services offered by the Doñ ana natural protected area in Spain. We apply the zonal travel cost method at various spatial scales, and the individual travel cost method at various temporal scales. We conclude that economic valuation techniques must account for spatial and temporal heterogeneity if they are to provide accurate and realistic information.
Although human presence is one of the main characteristics of the Mediterranean identity since an... more Although human presence is one of the main characteristics of the Mediterranean identity since ancient times, a false dialectic between conservation and social-economic development has emerged in recent decades. On the one hand, an economic growth policy is taken as the paradigm of social-economic development; on the other hand, there is a multi-scale conservation policy, in which natural protected areas, as patches of preserved nature, are used as one of the main tools to deal with the challenge of sustainability. The Mediterranean Basin is the habitat of many unique species and one of the 25 main biodiversity hotspots in the world, and as a consequence a strong conservation policy has been used to protect environmental values. At the same time, Mediterranean countries are deeply involved in promoting strong economic growth policies, which are not always compatible with environmental ones. In this paper, Spain has been studied as one model of this situation. Due to political reasons, Spanish economic growth and conservationist policies were pursued together during the last 20 years. As a result, Spain owns one of the largest networks of natural protected areas in Western Europe, and at the same time it has experienced one of the strongest periods of economic growths in the European and Mediterranean context during the 1980s and 1990s. An historical series of resource use in five annual periods in the last 20 years of conservation policy, and the effects on the preservation of natural capital have been investigated by means of the eMergy (spelled with an 'm') synthesis approach, which was used to characterize the flow of environmental services supplied by ecosystems, but not in monetary terms. This study shows that Spain is becoming less self-sufficient and more inefficient in resource use, comprehensively measured in eMergy terms. A large part of Spain's economy depends on imported goods and services, and most economic activities are based on tourist services and associated construction, which promotes intensification in the urban use of the territory and more intense environmental impacts and resource use intensification of those countries supplying the raw materials. The consequence is a decoupling of the Spanish economy from local environmental services and the increase of Ecological footprint of Spain, measured by means of eMergy-based indicators. In spite of the increase in number, area and associated budget of the natural protected areas and other conservation measures, the general sustainability of the nation is decreasing.
Recent research illustrates the essential role that biodiversity plays in both ecosystem function... more Recent research illustrates the essential role that biodiversity plays in both ecosystem functioning and the provisioning of ecosystem services for human well-being.
There is an increasing interest in reintegrating ecosystem services into the economic decision- m... more There is an increasing interest in reintegrating ecosystem services into the economic decision- making, assuming that the divorce between economic growth, leading focus of the economic dedication, and ecosystems, subject of major conservation efforts, is one of the main reasons for biodiversity loss. Emergy synthesis is a methodology oriented to this purpose on ecological and thermodynamic basis. In this document, 4 case studies of emergy synthesis historical series from some Mediterranean social-ecological systems at different scales have been used to study key contributions of emergy to understand, quantify, valuate and assess ecosystem services. Not in vain, Mediterranean systems of human a nd nature have been ancient examples of this relationship, recently labelled social-ecological systems, a nd the study cases chosen are representative of this Mediterranean nature. Results show that emergy synthesis uses a powerful modelling basis and adopts a donor-side approach to ecosystem ...
Different procedures for calculating the Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) and a large number of estimate... more Different procedures for calculating the Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) and a large number of estimates of UEVs for energy, goods, services and information flows are now available in emergyrelated books, papers, reports and PhD dissertations worldwide. A critical selection of these values and calculation procedures is a primary task for any solid emergy evaluation. The demand for a handbook of UEVs has continued to grow as more and more scientists around the world conduct emergy studies. Easily accessible, well-defined and meaningful UEVs and thorough supporting documentation could improve the entire process of conducting an emergy evaluation and ensure that a study uses the highest quality data. Analysts could complete their work more quickly and efficiently and have a higher level of confidence in their results. The use of inappropriate UEVs can lead to faulty indices and erroneous conclusions. The present work aims at identifying the main aspects that need to be taken into account for the calculation of UEVs as well as for the construction and use of a database of values and related diagrams and procedures.
The monetary valuation of ecosystem services has proved to be a powerful tool for influencing man... more The monetary valuation of ecosystem services has proved to be a powerful tool for influencing management decisions, as it can be used to quantify the relative importance of various ecosystem functions. However, these valuation methods are rarely implemented with adequate care; in particular, they do not consider spatial and temporal variations in the services offered and demanded. This paper examines the effect of heterogeneity on the valuation of cultural services offered by the Doñ ana natural protected area in Spain. We apply the zonal travel cost method at various spatial scales, and the individual travel cost method at various temporal scales. We conclude that economic valuation techniques must account for spatial and temporal heterogeneity if they are to provide accurate and realistic information.
Although human presence is one of the main characteristics of the Mediterranean identity since an... more Although human presence is one of the main characteristics of the Mediterranean identity since ancient times, a false dialectic between conservation and social-economic development has emerged in recent decades. On the one hand, an economic growth policy is taken as the paradigm of social-economic development; on the other hand, there is a multi-scale conservation policy, in which natural protected areas, as patches of preserved nature, are used as one of the main tools to deal with the challenge of sustainability. The Mediterranean Basin is the habitat of many unique species and one of the 25 main biodiversity hotspots in the world, and as a consequence a strong conservation policy has been used to protect environmental values. At the same time, Mediterranean countries are deeply involved in promoting strong economic growth policies, which are not always compatible with environmental ones. In this paper, Spain has been studied as one model of this situation. Due to political reasons, Spanish economic growth and conservationist policies were pursued together during the last 20 years. As a result, Spain owns one of the largest networks of natural protected areas in Western Europe, and at the same time it has experienced one of the strongest periods of economic growths in the European and Mediterranean context during the 1980s and 1990s. An historical series of resource use in five annual periods in the last 20 years of conservation policy, and the effects on the preservation of natural capital have been investigated by means of the eMergy (spelled with an 'm') synthesis approach, which was used to characterize the flow of environmental services supplied by ecosystems, but not in monetary terms. This study shows that Spain is becoming less self-sufficient and more inefficient in resource use, comprehensively measured in eMergy terms. A large part of Spain's economy depends on imported goods and services, and most economic activities are based on tourist services and associated construction, which promotes intensification in the urban use of the territory and more intense environmental impacts and resource use intensification of those countries supplying the raw materials. The consequence is a decoupling of the Spanish economy from local environmental services and the increase of Ecological footprint of Spain, measured by means of eMergy-based indicators. In spite of the increase in number, area and associated budget of the natural protected areas and other conservation measures, the general sustainability of the nation is decreasing.
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Papers by Pedro L Lomas