EcoBalance Tool — Balancing ecosystems, communities, and policy choices

EcoBalance Tool - Balancing ecosystems, communities, and policy choices

The EcoBalance Tool supports decision-making by evaluating the trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services under different land-use and management scenarios. It integrates scientific models with stakeholder priorities, covering provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services. Users can compare costs, benefits, and impacts of measures such as buffer strips, grassland management, or reduced tillage. Designed for both technical and participatory contexts, EcoBalance enables transparent assessment and dialogue, promoting solutions that align ecological health with socio-economic sustainability.

Within the ENGAGE project, we build upon the modelling and scenario results obtained from the OPTAIN project to identify, in close cooperation with stakeholders, new and improved land management strategies. Our focus is on the optimal combination and allocation of measures in line with new Norwegian regulations to enhance water retention in the soil and landscape, thereby reducing the risk of flooding and improving downstream water quality.

We intend to utilise the OPTAIN-developed Comola and ParetoPick-R tools to optimise measure implementation plans for the catchment, including nature-based solutions like buffer strips, reduced tillage, grassed waterways and sedimentation ponds.

For each water basin the project assessed water- and agriculture-related national policies setting various environmental and socio-economic objectives, and integrated concrete measures affecting land use and agriculture practices, to model the practical implications for the different stakeholders. Their possible implications are evaluated based on a wide range of environmental performance indicators related to water and nutrient retention and crop yield, as well as on socio-economic performance indicators, such as agricultural gross margin and implementation costs.

This online tool allows the user to visualise best-fit scenario maps based on user preferences for performance indicators and acceptable scenario achievements levels (target‑oriented options) and acceptable protection measure levels (implementation‑oriented options).