The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) co-implemented, Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (IWEco) Project is a five-year, regional project that seeks to address water, land and biodiversity resource management as well as climate change. IWEco’s objective is to contribute to the preservation of Caribbean ecosystems that are of global significance and to the sustainability of livelihoods through the application of existing proven technologies and approaches best suited for small island developing states. One such technology is the Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services (ESV) approach to quantify environmental benefits.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) rely heavily on the natural environment for food and employment (via e.g., tourism, recreation, agriculture, fisheries). The concept of Ecosystem Services (ES), and the Economic Valuation (EV) of these ES, aims at shrinking the information and knowledge gap by trying to provide numbers that reflect the “true value” of ecosystems and natural resources which are usually regarded as free and taken for granted. EV assesses both the immediate economic benefits of ecosystems, such as raw materials, food, and clean water (provisioning services), as well as the benefits that are often difficult to evaluate in monetary terms, such as landscape beauty, optional use for future generations, and existence of biodiversity (optional values and non-use values).
ESV has the potential to turn the tide by making the economic case for investment in ecosystem protection. It is particularly useful in helping decision makers to allocate scarce resources amongst competing societal demands. Ecosystem services are crucial for the well-being of people, but their contribution to economic systems is difficult to quantify in monetary terms. Economic valuation is a tool for valuing ecosystems and their services in monetary terms. It quantifies the benefits provided by ecosystems and the impact of ecosystem changes on the well-being of people. Economic values are essential to consider when making choices and strategic decisions about the present and future use of ecosystems.
In partnership with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and GEF IW:LEARN, the IWEco Project aims to support technical capacity building at the National and Regional levels by introducing ESV in a two phased approach.
Phase One
Phase One will deliver training on the application of the guidelines for the implementation of an economic valuation in the context of IWEco participating countries, all of which are Small Island Developing States. This training took place online on 15 September 2020 as part of the Project’s Partners’ Webinar Series. Its primary objectives were to:
The IWEco Project has partnered with UNIDO and GEF IW:LEARN for this training. GEF IW: LEARN supports technical capacity building for projects in the GEF international waters portfolio. Under IW:LEARN’s Component 4: Launch Programmatic Tools to Improve Portfolio Performance and Sustain Project Interventions, UNIDO is responsible for executing the subcomponent to build capacity in economic valuation of natural resources into the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis/Strategic Action Programme (TDA/SAP) process and targeted learning.
Phase Two
In Phase Two, IWEco will partner with the executing agency of the Jamaica National Project, the National Environmental Protection Agency, and other supporting institutions, organizations and stakeholder groups involved with the management of the Negril Great Morass on an economic valuation of the Negril Great Morass.
Both Phase One and Two will be based on the methodology and training materials as described in the "GEF Guidance Documents to Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services in IW Projects", developed under the GEF International Waters: Learning Exchange And Resources Network - Subcomponent 4.1 Systematic consideration of the economic valuation of natural resources into the TDA/SAP process (to be found at: www.iwlearn.net/valuation)
According to Jan Betlem, IWEco’s Regional Project Coordinator:
“ESV can help the case for investment in ecosystem protection. It can highlight the benefits and costs of a particular policy, measure or action in monetary terms. IWEco hopes that the training provided in Phase One will improve understanding and application of this valuable tool; and that Phase Two, focusing on the unique ecosystem of the Negril Great morass, will illustrate the approach in action and encourage its wider use to inform decisions throughout the Caribbean.”
View the EV Webinar presentation online.
About IWEco
The Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (IWEco) project is a five-year regional initiative contributing to the preservation of ecosystems of global significance through improved fresh and coastal water resources management, sustainable land management and sustainable forest management across 10 Caribbean nations (Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago).
For more information on IWEco, contact Jan Betlem (jan.betlem@un.org) or Donna Sue Spencer (donna.spencer@un.org). Additionally, please access the project website and the dedicated project page on iwlearn.net.
© 2026 IW:LEARN
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