InVEST- Policy Tools



When are ecosystem service approaches likely to succeed?


How can ecosystem service modeling tools, like InVEST, be applied to policy and planning most effectively?


How can scenarios frame ecosystem service studies to be policy relevant?


These are some of the questions that the Natural Capital Project’s policy and finance program is helping to address. We work with experts in our partner sites and core partnership at The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and Stanford University, along with collaborators at Duke University, World Resources Institute, Resources for the Future, Princeton University, University of Montreal and others.

Drawing on experience applying ecosystem service approaches worldwide, we are developing policy tools that help governments, businesses, NGOs and the general public to mainstream ecosystem services into their decisions.


Ecosystem Services Screening Criteria


Together with The Nature Conservancy’s ecosystem services team, we have developed screening criteria to assess the viability of an ecosystem service approach for conservation. Screening can help to evaluate key strengths, weaknesses and information gaps that need to be addressed if an ecosystem services approach is taken forward.

>>Read more about the ecosystem services screening criteria


Applying InVEST to Existing Policy Contexts


We have developed short introductory materials to show potential InVEST users how Tier 1 of the InVEST tool can be applied to existing policy and planning processes, including mitigation and offset schemes, marine spatial planning, payments for watershed services, poverty reduction strategies, strategic environmental assessment, and voluntary carbon offsets. The guidance is based on The Natural Capital Project’s experiences developing and using InVEST in more than ten places around the world. Each issue indicates how and when InVEST is likely to be helpful for each stage of a specific policy or planning context, and when it may be inappropriate.

>>Read more about applying InVEST to existing policy contexts


Scenario Development


Together with partners, we are developing a primer on developing scenarios for ecosystem service analyses that support decision making. The primer will help users navigate the literature on scenario development, develop scenarios, and translate the storylines into ecosystem service analyses.

>>Read more about scenario development


The Science-Policy Interface: Applying Ecosystem Service Models to Decision-Making


Based on international experience, we are developing guidance on best practice applying ecosystem service information from modeling tools like InVEST to decision making, covering questions like:

    • How to apply ecosystem service information at different stages of the policy process?
    • How to scope for political enabling conditions when selecting sites for ecosystem service projects?
    • What are the implications of data quality and availability for the type and timing of policy impact?

For more information, contact Emily McKenzie