The OPEN IEEM Platform: Comprehensive tools for integrating natural capital and ecosystem services in evidence-based public policy and investment design

A lot has happened since the IEEM Team’s September 2019 blog post at the IDB introducing our ideas for the development of OPEN IEEM- a portal to provide access to tools and resources for integrating natural capital and ecosystem services (ES) into public policy and investment[1].

To briefly recount, we have focused intently on pushing the methodological frontiers of IEEM with the integration of feedbacks between the economy and changes in future ES supply- what we call the IEEM+ESM approach[2].

One of the challenges we and others have faced in implementing ES assessments for use in real-time decision making has been organizing and processing the data required to run ES models. To address this, we have developed ‘datapackets’ for 5 of the Natural Capital Project’s InVEST ES models[3] (sediment retention, water purification, water yield, carbon, and coastal vulnerability) which render them ‘plug-and-play’. These datapackets contain all data and parameters required to run the models[4]; the time and cost savings of this public good are enormous.

We developed case study contributions for the global Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity[5]. One of our studies for the first time quantified the economic costs of approaching an Amazon Tipping Point and the potential benefits of coordinated policy action to avert one[6]. Another study examined Costa Rica’s Decarbonization Plan with a focus on the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Sectors[7].

We have continued our collaborations with institutions of government in IEEM applications and capacity building, including contributions to the United Nations’ Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES)[8] project where we participated in a stakeholder-driven process lead by Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (SEMARNAT) and applied IEEM to assessing conservation and development strategies in Mexico.

All of these and other experiences contributed to shaping our thinking and the development of the now live OPEN IEEM Platform. Access the Platform HERE[9]. On the Platform, you will find use cases of IEEM for Policy Impact and the types of results and policy insights that IEEM application affords countries and decision makers. Our Building Capacity section offers an IEEM training program in both English and Spanish, taking the user from the basics of economy-wide modeling to the actual application of IEEM to public policy and investment analysis. Also check out our resources for the development of ES datapackets (coming soon) and our video tutorial series for the implementation of the IEEM-Enhanced Dyna-CLUE LULC change model. The IEEM Library provides links to IEEM publications including IDB publications, links to IEEM journal papers and IEEM blogs.

The real tour-de-force of OPEN IEEM is the Model & Data Repository. Through the IEEM Modeling and Data box, you can access IEEM models for over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), essentially for all the countries in the region that have the National Accounts data- supply and use tables- that are required to construct an economy-wide model such as IEEM. Two versions of IEEM are available, one which is implementable through an Excel interface with GAMS[10] working in the background and a second version that is directly implementable in GAMS.

Through the Land Use Land Cover Modeling and Data box, you can access the IEEM-Enhanced Dyna-CLUE model and review and work through an example application. Through the Ecosystem Services Modeling and Data box, you can access the ES modeling datapackets for all countries of the LAC region, as well as learn more about the InVEST ES suite of models developed by Stanford’s Natural Capital Project.

While it has been a while since our last post, we have been working hard to bring all of these resources to you. With these tools now openly available, they are rapidly deployable thus enhancing our ability to respond to decision making demands at a much-reduced cost. We also hope that the Platform inspires institutions of other regions of the world to invest strategically in similar developments to support policy design. The challenge of a more prosperous and equitable future is both local and global and it is through cooperation and forward thinking that we will achieve our shared goal of improving lives.

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[1] https://blogs.iadb.org/sostenibilidad/en/developing-tools-for-valuing-natural-capitals-contribution-to-economic-well-being-open-ieem/

[2] https://publications.iadb.org/en/value-biodiversity-economic-decision-making-applying-ieem-esm-approach-conservation-strategies

[3] https://naturalcapitalproject.stanford.edu/software/invest

[4] https://publications.iadb.org/en/integrated-economic-environmental-modeling-platform-ieem-platform-technical-guides-ecosystem

[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review

[6] https://publications.iadb.org/en/amazon-tipping-point-economic-and-environmental-fallout

[7] https://publications.iadb.org/en/decarbonization-costa-ricas-agriculture-forestry-and-other-land-uses-sectors-application-ieem-esm

[8] https://seea.un.org/home/Natural-Capital-Accounting-Project

[9] https://openieem.iadb.org/

[10] https://www.gams.com/

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