From regional environmental planning to implementation: Paths and challenges of integrating ecosystem services

Abstract Planning and governance at the regional scale is a promising field for the application of the ecosystem service (ES) concept. The objective of this paper is to explore the potential implications of integrating the ES concept into regional planning and governance. We focus on two pathways of influence: (i) information on ES and their values as decision-support in planning and management, ii) the ES concept as a boundary object for facilitating cross-sectoral interaction and collaboration. A case study illustrates the effects of applying the ES concept in planning processes. The usefulness of the ES concept as a boundary object was derived from focus groups with scientists and practitioners. Integrating the ES information into planning, facilitates the consideration of trade-offs and multifunctionality in decision-making. Furthermore, it helps people to recognize how individuals or societies are affected, thus, improving preconditions for public participation. Additionally, ES can serve as a mutual reference level within the valuation and monitoring systems of different environmental disciplines. Challenges are found in assessing utilized ES and differentiating benefits for public and individuals. Employing economic valuation could supplement existing planning procedures, but carries risks. There is a need for research in the field of applicable assessment methods and standardizations.

[1]  Peter H. Verburg,et al.  Mapping recreation and aesthetic value of ecosystems in the Bilbao Metropolitan Greenbelt (northern Spain) to support landscape planning , 2013, Landscape Ecology.

[2]  Christina von Haaren,et al.  Integrating climate protection and mitigation functions with other landscape functions in rural areas: a landscape planning approach , 2012 .

[3]  Christina von Haaren,et al.  Integrating ecosystem services and environmental planning: limitations and synergies , 2011 .

[4]  Teeb.  The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: mainstreaming the economics of nature: a synthesis of the approach, conclusions and recommendations of TEEB , 2017 .

[5]  Garry D. Peterson,et al.  Ecosystem service bundles for analyzing tradeoffs in diverse landscapes , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[6]  Fergus L. Sinclair,et al.  Development and use of a typology of mapping tools to assess their fitness for supporting management of ecosystem service provision , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[7]  Katharina Helming,et al.  Assessing land use change impacts – a comparison of the SENSOR land use function approach with other frameworks , 2010 .

[8]  James Aronson,et al.  Integrating ecosystem services in landscape planning: requirements, approaches, and impacts , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[9]  Katharina Helming,et al.  Mainstreaming ecosystem services in European policy impact assessment , 2013 .

[10]  Dominic Moran,et al.  The Economic Value of Biodiversity. , 1995 .

[11]  E. Viglizzo,et al.  Tradeoffs between economic and ecosystem services in Argentina during 50 years of land-use change , 2012 .

[12]  G. Mace,et al.  Bringing Ecosystem Services into Economic Decision-Making: Land Use in the United Kingdom , 2013, Science.

[13]  A. Guerry,et al.  Using social media to quantify nature-based tourism and recreation , 2013, Scientific Reports.

[14]  A.P.E. van Oudenhoven,et al.  Framework for systematic indicator selection to assess effects of land management on ecosystem services , 2012 .

[15]  Thomas Bauler,et al.  Ecosystem Services in Belgian Environmental Policy Making: Expectations and Challenges Linked to the Conceptualization and Valuation of Ecosystem Services , 2013 .

[16]  Ralf Seppelt,et al.  Solutions for sustaining natural capital and ecosystem services , 2012 .

[17]  Rocco Scolozzi,et al.  Delphi-based change assessment in ecosystem service values to support strategic spatial planning in Italian landscapes. , 2012 .

[18]  A. Power.  Ecosystem services and agriculture: tradeoffs and synergies , 2010, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[19]  O. Bastian,et al.  Ecosystem properties, potentials and services – The EPPS conceptual framework and an urban application example , 2012 .

[20]  J. Hauck,et al.  What ecosystem services information do users want? Investigating interests and requirements among landscape and regional planners in Germany , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[21]  S. Pauleit,et al.  From Multifunctionality to Multiple Ecosystem Services? A Conceptual Framework for Multifunctionality in Green Infrastructure Planning for Urban Areas , 2014, AMBIO.

[22]  Ian Bache,et al.  Multi-Level Governance and the Study of the British State , 2004 .

[23]  E. Mckenzie,et al.  Understanding the Use of Ecosystem Service Knowledge in Decision Making: Lessons from International Experiences of Spatial Planning , 2014 .

[24]  Frank Othengrafen.  Uncovering the Unconscious Dimensions of Planning: Using Culture as a Tool to Analyse Spatial Planning Practices , 2012 .

[25]  M. Rode,et al.  Scale-Relevant Impacts of Biogas Crop Production: A Methodology to Assess Environmental Impacts and Farm Management Capacities , 2013 .

[26]  Richard M Cowling,et al.  Conservation Planning as a Transdisciplinary Process , 2010, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[27]  A. Markandya,et al.  Ecosystem Services and Their Monetary Value , 2013 .

[28]  John R. Taylor,et al.  Supplying urban ecosystem services through multifunctional green infrastructure in the United States , 2013, Landscape Ecology.

[29]  Claudia Pahl-Wostl,et al.  Requirements for adaptive governance of groundwater ecosystem services: insights from Sandveld (South Africa), Upper Guadiana (Spain) and Spree (Germany) , 2012, Regional Environmental Change.

[30]  Hiltrud Nieberg,et al.  Studie zur Vorbereitung einer effizienten und gut abgestimmten Klimaschutzpolitik für den Agrarsektor , 2012 .

[31]  E. Corbera,et al.  Payments for ecosystem services as commodity fetishism , 2010 .

[32]  C. Pahl-Wostl,et al.  From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins , 2012 .

[33]  E. Oteros‐Rozas,et al.  Assessing, mapping, and quantifying cultural ecosystem services at community level , 2013 .

[34]  David W. Cash,et al.  Knowledge systems for sustainable development , 2003, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[35]  Eeva Primmer,et al.  Operationalising ecosystem service approaches for governance: Do measuring, mapping and valuing integrate sector-specific knowledge systems? , 2012 .

[36]  C. Fürst,et al.  Assessment of the effects of forest land use strategies on the provision of ecosystem services at regional scale. , 2013, Journal of environmental management.

[37]  D. Lang,et al.  Ecosystem services as a boundary object for sustainability , 2014 .

[38]  Christian Albert,et al.  Optimizing environmental measures for landscape multifunctionality: effectiveness, efficiency and recommendations for agri-environmental programs. , 2015, Journal of environmental management.

[39]  S. L. Star,et al.  This is Not a Boundary Object: Reflections on the Origin of a Concept , 2010 .

[40]  Anders Branth Pedersen,et al.  How different institutional arrangements promote integrated river basin management. Evidence from the Baltic Sea Region , 2013 .

[41]  Grace B. Villamor,et al.  Ecosystem services for connecting actors – lessons from a symposium , 2015 .

[42]  B. Martín‐López,et al.  Incorporating ecosystem services into ecosystem-based management to deal with complexity: a participative mental model approach , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[43]  Hans Keune,et al.  Inclusive Ecosystem Services Valuation , 2013 .

[44]  Dietrich Henckel,et al.  The planning system and planning terms in Germany: a glossary , 2008 .

[45]  Y. Laurans,et al.  Use of ecosystem services economic valuation for decision making: questioning a literature blindspot. , 2013, Journal of environmental management.

[46]  C. Maksimovic,et al.  Collaborative modelling for active involvement of stakeholders in urban flood risk management , 2012 .

[47]  Christian Albert,et al.  Scaling Policy Conflicts in Ecosystem Services Governance: A Framework for Spatial Analysis , 2017 .

[48]  G. Daily,et al.  Notes from the field: Lessons learned from using ecosystem service approaches to inform real-world decisions , 2015 .

[49]  Franz Makeschin,et al.  Making use of the ecosystem services concept in regional planning—trade-offs from reducing water erosion , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[50]  Garry D. Peterson,et al.  Understanding relationships among multiple ecosystem services. , 2009, Ecology letters.

[51]  B. Burkhard,et al.  The Promise of the Ecosystem Services Concept for Planning and Decision-Making , 2013 .

[52]  Rieke Hansen,et al.  A comparative exploration of uptake and potential application of ecosystem services in urban planning , 2015 .

[53]  B. Bartkowski,et al.  Informing biodiversity policy: The role of economic valuation, deliberative institutions and deliberative monetary valuation , 2015 .

[54]  Claudia Pahl-Wostl,et al.  Adaptive Water Governance: Assessing the Institutional Prescriptions of Adaptive (Co-)Management from a Governance Perspective and Defining a Research Agenda , 2009 .

[55]  José M. Paruelo,et al.  Ecosystem service evaluation to support land-use policy , 2012 .

[56]  Leena Kopperoinen,et al.  Using expert knowledge in combining green infrastructure and ecosystem services in land use planning: an insight into a new place-based methodology , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[57]  Franz Makeschin,et al.  How to better consider sectoral planning information in regional planning: example afforestation and forest conversion , 2012 .

[58]  B. Grizzetti,et al.  Mapping ecosystem services for policy support and decision making in the European Union , 2012 .

[59]  P. Laterra,et al.  Spatial complexity and ecosystem services in rural landscapes , 2012 .

[60]  Wei Ran,et al.  The usage of rice straw as a major substrate for the production of surfactin by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens XZ-173 in solid-state fermentation. , 2013, Journal of environmental management.

[61]  Andrew A. Lovett,et al.  Applying ecosystem services indicators in landscape planning and management: The ES-in-Planning framework , 2016 .

[62]  R. D. Groot,et al.  Challenges in integrating the concept of ecosystem services and values in landscape planning, management and decision making , 2010 .

[63]  Heidi Wittmer,et al.  The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Local and Regional Policy and Management , 2012 .

[64]  Joachim H. Spangenberg,et al.  From explanation to application: introducing a practice-oriented ecosystem services evaluation (PRESET) model adapted to the context of landscape planning and management , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[65]  Antje Bruns.  Governance im Küstenraum : europäische Umweltpolitik im Wandel ; die Umsetzung des Integrierten Küstenzonenmanagements und der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie an der Westküste Schleswig-Holsteins , 2010 .

[66]  Ola Olsson,et al.  Optimizing agri-environment schemes for biodiversity, ecosystem services or both? , 2014 .

[67]  A.P.E. van Oudenhoven,et al.  UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Ecosystem Services as a Contested Concept: A Synthesis of Critique and Counter-arguments Schötter, , 2014 .