Natural Environment Valuation Online (NEVO) Tool
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Tool Description
NEVO is a freely accessible online tool that allows users to select an area anywhere in England or Wales, from the scale of a county or catchment down to a 2km grid cell, and then view estimates of the value of that area for delivering a range of ecosystem services (agricultural production, timber production, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and sequestration, recreation, water quantity and water quality) and its value for biodiversity (estimated number of species present).
Users can explore the data, alter the land cover or market prices to see how that affects the ecosystem services both now and, in the future, (considering mid-range climate change projections from UKCP09), and optimise land cover to deliver services.
Running the Tool
Tool Inputs
All input data is provided internally by the tool – the user just must choose an area by clicking on the map or specify an alteration of the land cover to test
Resource Requirements
Access to the internet
time Requirements
After defining the area to be assessed by clicking on the map, web reports are generated in just a few seconds.
Skill Requirements
General computer literacy
How does it work?
The user can zoom into a map of England and Wales (based on OpenStreetMap) and select either a 2km grid cell, a local authority district, a county, a river catchment or sub-catchment, a national park, a region (e.g. East of England) or a whole country. The model displays the land cover for that area (split into woodland, agriculture, semi-natural, urban, and water) and uses underlying models to estimate the flows and monetary values of six ecosystem services. For example, for agriculture it estimates the area of different crops and grassland types, number of livestock, crop production, average annual farm profits, and the use of fertilizers and pesticides. The recreation model is based on the OrVAL tool. Users can step through the four decades from 2020-2030 to 2050-2060 using a slider, to see estimates of how values would change under climate change.
Using Tool Outputs
Tool Outputs
Maps; Quantitative data on ecosystem services; Tables / statistics / reports; Economic assessment.
How can the tool be used to inform decisions?
The Alter mode allows users to consider how the flow of ecosystem services would change if they were to alter the land use or agricultural prices in the area. The Optimise mode allows users to find the best locations to change land use to achieve a particular objective. Users can specify the type of land use change (from what, to what) and the total amount of hectares to be changed, as well as the overall objective, which can be to maximise quantity outputs (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions) or value outputs (e.g. timber and agricultural profits).
Limitations of Use
Limited flexibility for custom inputs; restricted to England and Wales; not suitable for fine-scale analysis and decision-making.
Validation
Based on peer-reviewed methods and national datasets; tested through policy applications and stakeholder engagement.
Case Studies
River Wey
Developer Organisation
Developed by the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy (LEEP) Institute at the University of Exeter with support from DEFRA and NERC.
