Nature Assessments for Futures Thinking

This working group, part of the inaugural SNAPP Innovation Hub, aims to map how nature in the U.S. and on tribal lands improves our economy, health, and culture. By quantifying the value of nature and natural resources, the group will produce the first national assessment of ecosystem services.

It will also investigate how this information can meaningfully impact local conservation decision-making to help ensure continued prosperity for both people and public lands and waters. 

OUR APPROACH: This working group brings together experts in ecology, economics, social science, and policy to conduct a national assessment of ecosystem services and explore how these assessments can influence perceptions of nature and inform conservation decisions. We are using two complementary approaches — quantitative and qualitative — to integrate the best available data and insights.

The team will aggregate datasets, develop maps, and synthesize narratives that make the connections between nature and people’s wellbeing clear and actionable. We will also engage with potential users to evaluate how to make nature assessments easier to understand, access and use to address local conservation issues. This multi-faceted effort aims to strengthen conservation, enhance ecosystem services, and promote sustainable human-nature relationships well into the future.