UK national ecosystem assessment follow-on: work package report 8: robust response options: what response options might be used to improve policy and practice for the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services?

This study has analysed the suite of response options available to decision makers in terms of their robustness to present and future change. To achieve this it developed a stress-testing approach to assess the consequences for natural capital and resultant ecosystem services when response options are evaluated against major drivers of change. The UK NEA scenarios were used to contextualise future drivers of socioeconomic change, with additional compound effects due to climate change. After testing the current suite of response options, implications are considered for future policy design. The role of complementary initiatives can be enhanced by reference to conceptual frameworks (4Es; 4 Is) that link to human behaviours and motives for action.