5.4.5.2 Golfe Normand-Breton: InVEST

The results showed that, as expected, the near shore areas exhibit higher risk values, which means that these habitats are more exposed to pressures unlike the habitats in the offshore areas.

InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) is a suite of software models used to map and value the goods and services, which has been developed by the Natural Capital Project at the Stanford University.

The InVEST habitat risk assessment (HRA) model was applied as part of the initial diagnosis of the ecosystem services delivered by the Golfe Normand-Breton [Cabral et al., 2014]. This model allows users to assess the risk posed to coastal and marine habitats by human activities and the potential consequences of exposure for the delivery of environmental services and biodiversity.

The likelihood of exposure of the habitat to the stressor and the consequence of this exposure was done using expert knowledge by assigning a rating to a set of criteria for each attribute.

Figure: Cumulative habitat risk in the Golfe Normand-Breton