scale to taking an integrated approach that develops a cost-efficient, sustainable and whole economy in which green infrastructure is an asset with recognized significant value.
In evaluating investments, these four guiding principles should be considered: 1. Sustainability. Ecosystems can be managed sustainably to produce economic benefit to current and future generations – or mismanaged at great cost. 2. Justice. Fair distribution of public and private gains from natural, built, human, social, and financial goods and services ensures maximum benefit for lowest public investment. 3. Efficiency. Careful decision-making regarding how and where resources are moved or invested is necessary to produce different suites of goods and services.
While this report provides a valuation of ecosystem services in the Puyallup River Watershed and a whole view of the economy, it is only a first step. There is also a need to further develop goals, policies, and measures that support discussions about the tradeoffs in public and private investments that ultimately shape the regional economy for the generations to come. Recommended next steps include:
4. Good Governance. The creation and maintenance of institutions and groups, policy instruments, systems, markets and measures are necessary for prudent decision-making.
1. Map and value potential flood risk reduction scenarios. Analysis would consider floodplains along the Puyallup River and their value relative to land prices. Scenario studies could also include valuations of ecosystem services beyond flood risk reduction that would be enhanced by restoring the natural flows of the river.
Next Steps
2. Ecosystem service mapping of service beneficiaries and provisioners. Hydrological models and GIS data can depict locations of specific ecosystem services on the landscape, such as flood risk reduction or salmon habitat, and who benefits from those services. Mapping can also show impairments to ecosystem services, such as features on the landscape that impact salmon habitat.
The quantification of tradeoffs among ecosystem services and their interactions with the economy and human well-being should now be a high priority in local decision-making. This report can be used to begin incorporating ecosystem services concepts into agency goals, metrics, indicators, assessment and general operations. Ecosystem service values could also be considered when developing budgets, program plans, and grant applications; examining policies and accounting practices; reporting and aligning to Puget Sound health indicators; and developing review and permitting processes in rural areas. Puyallup River Watershed decision-makers have the opportunity to shift from addressing challenges at a single-issue
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3. Funding mechanism review. After modeling the flow of ecosystem service benefits and impairments across the landscape, funding mechanisms can be designed for green infrastructure investments. These investments typically reduce tax spending on solutions designed to address a single problem such as flood risk reduction, because they invest in a suite of ecosystem services for maximum economic returns.
The Puyallup River Watershed: An Ecological Economic Characterization