Overview

InVEST is a suite of software models used to map and value the goods and services from nature that sustain and fulfill human life. The toolkit can aid decision makers to assess quantified tradeoffs associated with alternative management choices and to identify areas where investment in natural capital can enhance human development and conservation.

Some of the models within InVEST can be applied for coastal-marine ecosystem assessment, planning and management. Click here to download the latest version of InVEST..

Diagram showing potential linkages across InVEST models. We consider a linkage to be when outputs of one model are used as inputs to another.
Risk posed to habitats by human uses, climate change and other stressors can alter ecosystem structure and function. The InVEST Habitat Risk Assessment uses literature review and expert elicitation to map and measure direct effects to habitats and changes in the distribution of ecosystem services.
InVEST Marine Water Quality and Habitat Risk Assessment are supporting service models that enable users to map, measure and value final ecosystem services (e.g., coastal protection, fisheries production, tourism and recreation).
Human activities in the coastal zone such as recreation/tourism and fisheries underpin the economies of many coastal communities but also pose risk to habitats that offer important benefits to people.

Marine InVEST

Use the expand [+] button to learn more about InVEST models and tools for coastal and marine spatial planning.
Names of tools in italics indicate supporting service models or tools to facilitate ecosystem service analyses.

• Habitat Risk Assessment

Purpose	Evaluates risks posed to multiple habitats in terms of exposure to human activities and the habitat-specific consequence of that exposure for delivery of environmental services
Links	Video \| Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Barbados \| Belize \| Mozambique \| Vancouver Island
Publications	Arkema, Katie K., et al. "Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.24 (2015): 7390-7395. doi:10.1073/pnas.1406483112 Arkema, Katie K., et al. "Assessing habitat risk from human activities to inform coastal and marine spatial planning: a demonstration in Belize." Environmental Research Letters 9.11 (2014): 114016. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114016 Guerry, Anne D., et al. "Modeling benefits from nature: using ecosystem services to inform coastal and marine spatial planning." International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management 8.1-2 (2012): 107-121. doi:10.1080/21513732.2011.647835

• Marine Water Quality

Purpose	Assesses how management and human activities influence the water quality and structure of coastal and estuarine ecosystems
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Vancouver Island
Publications	Guerry, Anne D., et al. "Modeling benefits from nature: using ecosystem services to inform coastal and marine spatial planning." International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management 8.1-2 (2012): 107-121. doi:10.1080/21513732.2011.647835

• Coastal Vulnerability

Purpose	Uses geophysical and natural habitat characteristics of coastal landscapes to compare their exposure to erosion and flooding in severe weather
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Barbados \| Belize \| California \| Mozambique \| New England \| Vancouver Island
Publications	Arkema, Katie K., et al. "Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms." Nature Climate Change (2013). doi:10.1038/nclimate1944 Langridge, Suzanne M., et al. "Key lessons for incorporating natural infrastructure into regional climate adaptation planning." Ocean & Coastal Management 95 (2014): 189-197. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.03.019

• Overlap Analysis

Purpose	Estimates the relative importance of regions for human use; outputs can help decision-makers weigh potential conflicts among spatially-explicit management options that involve new activities or new infrastructure
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Belize \| New England \| Vancouver Island
Publications	Kim, Choong-Ki, et al. "Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses." PloS one 7.11 (2012): e47598. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047598 Griffin, R., et al. "Incorporating the visibility of coastal energy infrastructure into multi-criteria siting decisions." Marine Policy, 62, 218-223. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2015.09.024

• Coastal Blue Carbon

Purpose	Estimates the current amount of carbon stored in coastal-marine ecosystems and values the amount of sequestered carbon over time
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Belize
Publications	None

• Coastal Protection

Purpose	Quantifies the protective services provided by nearshore habitats in terms of avoided erosion and flood mitigation
Links	Video \| Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Barbados \| Belize \| California \| Vancouver Island
Publications	Arkema, Katie K., et al. "Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.24 (2015): 7390-7395. doi:10.1073/pnas.1406483112 Guannel, Greg, et al. "Integrated modeling framework to quantify the coastal protection services supplied by vegetation." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans (2014). doi: 10.1002/2014JC009821

• Finfish Aquaculture

Purpose	Estimates the weight and economic value of Atlantic salmon grown in netpen aquaculture facilities
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Vancouver Island
Publications	None

• Offshore Wind Energy

Purpose	Measures the electricity generation potential of wind over ocean and large lake surfaces
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	New England
Publications	Griffin, R., et al. "Incorporating the visibility of coastal energy infrastructure into multi-criteria siting decisions." Marine Policy, 62, 218-223. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2015.09.024

• Recreation and Tourism

Purpose	Predicts the spread of person-days of recreation, based on the locations of natural habitats and other features that factor into people’s decisions about where to recreate
Links	Video \| Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Barbados \| Belize \| California \| Mozambique \| New England \| Vancouver Island
Publications	Arkema, Katie K., et al. "Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.24 (2015): 7390-7395. doi:10.1073/pnas.1406483112 Wood, Spencer A., et al. "Using social media to quantify nature-based tourism and recreation." Scientific reports 3 (2013). doi:10.1038/srep02976

• Scenic Quality

Purpose	Employs viewshed analysis to estimate the visibility of features or objects such as coastal development, clear-cuts or aquaculture facilities
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	Barbados \| California \| New England \| Vancouver Island
Publications	Griffin, R., et al. "Incorporating the visibility of coastal energy infrastructure into multi-criteria siting decisions." Marine Policy, 62, 218-223. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2015.09.024 Verutes, Gregory M., et al. "Exploring scenarios of light pollution from coastal development reaching sea turtle nesting beaches near Cabo Pulmo, Mexico." Global Ecology and Conservation (2014): 170-180. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2014.09.001

• Wave Energy

Purpose	Measures and values the electricity generation potential of ocean waves
Links	Summary \| Documentation
Use-Cases	California \| Vancouver Island
Publications	Kim, Choong-Ki, et al. "Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses." PloS one 7.11 (2012): e47598. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047598

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