Number of communities benefitting from project actions

Find out how we monitor impact across our projects

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communities are benefiting from project actions

This KPI records the number of communities that are benefiting from project actions.

Using the UN System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA), there are three broad categories of ecosystem service: provisioning services (e.g. cash benefits from tourism, non-timber forest products); regulating and maintenance services (e.g. flood reduction, carbon storage, pollinators); and cultural services (e.g. volunteering, recreation, spiritual).

Cumulative number of communities benefitting

How this KPI is measured

This indicator is evidenced through surveys, news stories and photos.

The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme defines a community as a group of people living in one area such as a village or town that is within or in close proximity to the landscape or seascape. To be included the community must be benefitting from an ecosystem service which is supported or maintained by project interventions.

Why this is important

Nature is essential for human life. From the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the homes we live in and the energy we use, nature provides for our existence. Respecting social and cultural values and ensuring that projects are inclusive and delivering benefits to people is fundamental to delivering the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme’s vision.

Policy relevance

Among the Global Biodiversity Framework’s key elements are four goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. Target 11 is to restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people including ecosystem functions and services, such as the regulation of air, water, climate, soil health and pollination as well as protection from natural disasters, for example flooding and storm-surges, through nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches.

Project examples

Seagrass restoration benefits coastal communities in the Solent

In the Solent, the Priory Bay and Calshot communities are benefiting from active seagrass restoration. This is providing a range of ecosystem services including regulation and maintenance through the stabilisation of shorelines, improvement in water quality and the sequestration of carbon. Cultural services are supported through local volunteering opportunities. Provisioning services are strengthened through seagrass as an important nursery habitat for fish species.

Ecotourism boosting livelihoods in the Greater Côa Valley

In the Greater Côa Valley, Rewilding Portugal has purchased key sites to support natural grazing through the reintroduction of large herbivores, for example semi-wild horses. They have also established a Rewilding Centre. This is providing cultural services through increased tourism in two communities, Vilar Major and the Vale de Madeira. These communities are also benefiting from a reduction in wildfire risk.

Restoring rivers, supporting communities, and celebrating nature in Cumbria

The Cumbria Connect landscape is delivering a suite of ecosystem services. The communities of Bampton, Askham and Eamont Bridge are situated on the river Lowther and are benefiting from river restoration in the head waters at Wasdale which is slowing water flow and reducing flooding downstream. In Orton a local volunteer group is receiving support so that they can undertake conservation work on farms. In Shap they co-hosted the Shap Outdoor Festival, a celebration of nature and community, which over a month provided farmers markets, immersive walks and captivating talks for both locals and visitors.