TEEB Manual for Cities

The TEEB Manual for Cities: Ecosystem Services in Urban Management3.4 Concluding remarksEcosystem services are essentialto cities. It has been shown throughresearch and through the practicalexamples provided in this manual,that incorporating ecosystem servicesinto city management is possible andextremely beneficial. Such a focus willreduce efforts and costs over the longterm,boost the local economy, andimprove the quality of life for all citizens.It is easy to begin the process of valuingecosystem services, for example, byidentifying an ecosystem service that hasnot previously been recognised, or bydrawing on studies from similar contexts.It is, however, important to considerthe larger context and the full range ofecosystem services across a spatial/geographic area, and not just examinean ecosystem service in isolation. Inmany cases, once a shift has been madein the way cities think about the localenvironment, the move to incorporatingthe ecosystem services concept willfollow easily.As mentioned throughout this manual,involving stakeholders (including thefinance and economic developmentdepartments) as key role players, at everystep of the process, is essential to build asense of awareness, understanding andownership.It is hoped that, above all, this manualwill inspire cities to start thinking abouthow a focus on ecosystem servicesand their valuation can be useful inthe local situation. This approachhas been demonstrated to be effectiveand valuable, and it can be easilyperformed even with limited resources –the fact of the matter is it is a long-terminvestment that will save resources intothe future.Incorporating ecosystem services into city management is possible and extremely beneficial.Stephen Granger37