Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Climate Risk Assessment at an Urban Scale: The Case of Valencia

Due to global change and the rising frequency of climate-related hazards, ecosystem services have gained recognition for their potential to reduce disaster risk. Ecosystem services assessment has become an important framework for research, support for policy and decision makers and land use planning. However, there is no commonly accepted approach for integrating ecosystem services into the risk assessment equation in practice. As part of the Horizon Europe funded project RescueME, a customisable framework was developed to incorporate the role of ecosystem services into vulnerability maps, thereby considering both socio-economic and ecological components for a holistic understanding of urban risk. The proposed framework was then tested, through the use of InVEST models, to assess multiple hazards in Valencia, Spain, with a focus on urban vulnerability to heat waves and flooding. The results highlighted a robust synergy between ecosystem services in mitigating heat waves and floods. Further, the integration of socioeconomic data into the model revealed patterns of environmental injustice, with foreigners being disproportionately affected by reduced access to ecosystem services thus resulting in greater vulnerability to the considered climate hazards. The developed model provides actionable insights for decision-support tools and urban land-use planning strategies, emphasizing equitable access to ecosystem services and enhancing urban resilience.