The ICCM Journal | Summer 2021 | V89 No. 2
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the opportunities and challenges of UK cemeteries as ecosystem service providers through afforestation National restrictions as a consequence of Covid-19 have resulted in a society-wide, appreciation for urban greenspaces. The heightened value of greenspaces, often scant in urban settings (evident from the aerial image of London below) comes at a globally critical time to take action to protect, enhance and increase areas where ecosystems can deliver important services. All sectors responsible for land management have an opportunity to enhance and benefit from providing these services.
What are Payments for Ecosystem Services? Ecosystem Services (ES) are “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems”9. These services can be categorised further, seen in Figure.2. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) can broadly be defined as; a voluntary transaction for the provision of an ES11. E.g. in Figure.3, the ‘service provider’ is the forest owner who manages the forest to ensure it provides regulating services e.g. stormwater runoff reduction, the ‘service users’ are the neighbouring homeowners who make a payment to the forest owner to maintain the service. In addition to reduced flood risk there may be other benefits, such as an increase in house values; energy savings from the shading effect of trees and health benefits from a reduction in air pollution.
Figure 1. A 2012 aerial image of London, showing the lack of green space within the city1.
Cemeteries are often overlooked within the urban greenspace matrix and could play a much greater role in achieving national environmental goals. This article will give a brief environmental and policy background; present Payments for Ecosystem Services; relating these concepts to opportunities available to cemetery managers via afforestation and will subsequently touch on challenges which could form a barrier. Environmental and policy background The UK’s average temperatures have increased by nearly 1 °C since the 1980s, we are also experiencing an unprecedented loss in UK species, with 41% having decreased in number since 19702. This is due to pressures on the natural world, including intensification of agriculture, urbanisation and climate change2. Despite these trends, there is growing awareness around the benefits we gain from natural spaces and increasing efforts to curtail environmental damage, such as national targets for emission reductions and woodland creation schemes2. There are also local level initiatives with many local authorities having declared a Climate Emergency3 and implementing Tree Strategies4. This is coupled with a growing market for climate conscious options, e.g. growing demand for natural and woodland burial grounds5,6,7. The UK aims to increase woodland cover to 19% by 2050, urban areas, including cemeteries, hold great potential to increase tree cover, while also providing social benefits8.
Figure 2. The four categories of Ecosystem Services, including some examples of each10
Figure 3. The Ecosystem Services from forested landscapes, these include reducing stormwater runoff; providing shade to homes (which in turn reduces the energy costs and emissions associated with cooling); reduce air pollution; sequester carbon and increasing the market value of surrounding homes12
