ERC are working on on a contract to demonstrate how arts-based approaches can be used to assess Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) and how these can best be combined with economic data and communicated to decision makers. The work is contracted by Cefas and falls under Seascape II which informs the marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) programme funded by Defra, and will contribute to the UK government’s policy and decision making for marine and coastal environments.

The work is focussed on the East Inshore Marine area, which covers 6,000 square kilometres of sea and stretches from mean high water springs to 12 nautical miles offshore along the coastline between Flamborough Head and Felixstowe. 

Firstly we will apply an arts-based data collection method to assess the benefits provided by cultural ecosystem services in the East Inshore Marine Plan area that cover. Working with Wild Pear we will produce qualitative data on the value of Cultural Ecosystem Services through art-based activies with local communities. We will evaluate the process and determine the success and weaknesses of the approaches and any best practice that can be learned.

We will also determine how best to embed Cultural Ecosystem Services and their value into marine decision-making. It will provide guidance on how to combine and communicate qualitative value using evidence collected through arts-based approaches with quantitative values with evidence collected through economic methods. This work package will use the outcomes and outputs of the data collection undertaken for work package 1 and review other existing work, with the objective of better understanding the broad range of influencing factors on sense of place and how this can be influenced by the benefits of Cultural Ecosystem Services. The output will be a guidance report on how to combine and communicate qualitative evidence collected through arts-based approaches with quantitative evidence collected through economic methods.

Watch this space to see how the art events unfold!