Valuing Ireland’s Blue Ecosystem Services (VIBES)
The European Union (EU) aims to protect, value and, where necessary, to restore nature both for biodiversity’s intrinsic value and for its contribution to human wellbeing and economic prosperity through ecosystem services. The main policy drivers in achieving these goals are the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and 2020 Biodiversity Strategy. Both policies recognise that trade-offs may have to be made and both require that member states value the benefits that nature contribute to societal wellbeing and incorporate these benefits known as ‘ecosystem services’ into policy making.