A Framework for the Analysis of Governance Structures Applying to Groundwater Resources and the Requirements for the Sustainable Management of Associated Ecosystem Services

The ecosystem approach—as endorsed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) in 2000—is a strategy for holistic, sustainable, and equitable natural resource management, to be implemented via the 12 Malawi Principles. These principles describe the need to manage nature in terms of dynamic ecosystems, while fully engaging with local peoples. It is an ambitious concept. Today, the term is common throughout the research and policy literature on environmental management. However, multiple meanings have been attached to the term, resulting in confusion. We reviewed references to the ecosystem approach from 1957 to 2012 and identified 3 primary uses: as an alternative to ecosystem management or ecosystem-based management; in reference to an integrated and equitable approach to resource management as per the CBD; and as a term signifying a focus on understanding and valuing ecosystem services. Although uses of this term and its variants may overlap in meaning, typically, they do not entirely reflect the ethos of the ecosystem approach as defined by the CBD. For example, there is presently an increasing emphasis on ecosystem services, but focusing on these alone does not promote decentralization of management or use of all forms of knowledge, both of which are integral to the CBD’s concept. We highlight that the Malawi Principles are at risk of being forgotten. To better understand these principles, more effort to implement them is required. Such efforts should be evaluated, ideally with comparative approaches, before allowing the CBD’s concept of holistic and socially engaged management to be abandoned or superseded. It is possible that attempts to implement all 12 principles together will face many challenges, but they may also offer a unique way to promote holistic and equitable governance of natural resources. Therefore, we believe that the CBD’s concept of the ecosystem approach demands more attention.La Necesidad de Desenredar Conceptos Clave del Argot Ambiente-EstrategiaResumenLa estrategia ambiental – como es promocionada por la Convención Biológica sobre Diversidad en 2000 – es una estrategia para un manejo holístico, sustentable y equitativo de recursos naturales, que habrá de implementarse por vía de los 12 Principios de Malawi. Estos principios describen la necesidad de manejar la naturaleza en términos de ecosistemas dinámicos, mientras se compromete totalmente con las personas locales. Es un concepto ambicioso. Hoy en día, el término es común en la investigación y la literatura de políticas sobre el manejo ambiente. Sin embargo, se han relacionado múltiples significados con el término, lo que resulta en confusión. Revisamos referencias a la estrategia ambiental de 1957 a 2012 e identificamos tres usos principales: como una alternativa para manejo ambiental o basado en ecosistemas; en referencia a una estrategia integrada y equitativa para el manejo de recursos según la CBD; y como un término que indica un enfoque en el entendimiento y la valuación de los servicios ambientales. Aunque los usos de este término y sus variantes pueden traslaparse en su significado, típicamente no reflejan en su totalidad los valores de la estrategia ambiental como fue definida por la CBD. Por ejemplo, actualmente hay un énfasis creciente en los servicios ambientales, pero enfocarse solamente en estos no promueve la descentralización del manejo o el uso de todas las formas de conocimiento, siendo ambas integrales para el concepto de la CBD. Resaltamos que los Principios de Malawi están en riesgo de ser olvidados. Para entender mejor estos principios, se requiere de más esfuerzo para implementarlos. Dichos esfuerzos deben ser evaluados, idóneamente con estrategias comparativas, antes de permitir que el concepto de la CBD de manejo holístico y comprometido socialmente sea abandonado o reemplazado. Es posible que los intentos por implementar los 12 principios juntos enfrentarán muchos obstáculos, pero también pueden ofrecer una forma única de promover el gobierno holístico y equitativo de los recursos naturales. Así, creemos que el concepto de estrategia ambiental de la CBD exige mayor atención.

Ecosystem services and ethics

The ecosystem services (ES) concept refers to benefits that humanity receives from nature. Investigating how this concept has been embraced within urban planning is important when assessing the awareness of human dependence on natural functions and the potential for the ES concept to increase this awareness. We analyzed planning documents from three small and three large municipalities in southern Sweden to see how explicitly the ES concept was addressed and which individual services were mentioned. We found that five of the municipalities mentioned the ES concept explicitly and the remaining municipality addressed it implicitly. Comprehensive and green plans referred to the ES concept more explicitly than did plans that focused on a single issue. We used 23 individual ES as a reference; each was mentioned in at least one document, but those concerning habitat and recreation were mentioned most frequently. Individual ES were generally described at an elaborate level. No major differences were identified between large and small municipalities except that large ones mentioned more individual ES. Our study demonstrates that municipalities in southern Sweden have started to integrate the ES concept into their planning documents. However, there is great potential to increase and concretize the awareness of ES. (Less)

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

As global consumption increases, there is a growing emphasis on the production of food and the use of other resources necessary for life. Consequently, many ecosystems are stressed because their ability to produce market goods is favoured over other critical functions and services that ecosystems provide such as energy transfer, water regulation, nutrient filtering, and carbon sequestration. Capturing these benefits using ecosystem services thinking offers decision makers a methodology for considering the multiple benefits that ecosystems provide. However, gaps in our understanding of how we can make the ecosystem services concept operational remain. Recognising the relationship between natural capital stocks and the provision of ecosystem processes and services is a crucial step in operationalising ecosystem services thinking. I advance this concept by identifying that attributes of natural capital are not uniform in their amenability to change. Hence, the central tenet of this thesis is that management actions targeted at manageable attributes of natural capital stocks is effective for influencing provision of ecosystem services and benefits. I test how management practices influence natural capital stocks that contribute to the provision of required ecosystem services, using a ‘provider group’ approach. Provider groups are sets of species which exhibit attributes which contribute to ecosystem services and benefits. The traditionally farmed grassland system in the Southeastern Carpathians, Romania, is a good example of a multifunctional landscape providing provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services and thus a useful case study to test this approach. I assigned grassland plant species to provider groups (quality fodder, medical and aromatic compounds, honey, pollen, nitrogen fixation, and conservation concern) based on their characteristics and tested the impact of management practices (abandonment of hay meadows, grazing, and mowing) on species diversity and abundance within each group. Over three quarters (77%) of the 210 unique species sampled during this study contributed to at least one provider group and over a third (36%) contributed to more than one group. I found that different management practices favour certain provider groups over others, and thus supply of certain ecosystem services over others. A more nuanced understanding of the influence of management practices on natural capital stocks can better inform agricultural and conservation policies targeted at sustaining multifunctional landscapes. Incorporation of social data, particularly that describing human behaviour and decision making, is critical to embed the ecosystem services concept into natural resource management policy and practice. Riparian management is a common policy option for mitigating the externalities of land use. A riparian management programme has been running in Taranaki Region, New Zealand for over 20 years providing a useful case study to elicit farmers perceptions and experiences of the pros and cons of planting riparian margins. I found the views of dairy farmers farming the Taranaki ring plain to be varied. Farmers with planted margins reported experiencing many on and off-farm benefits from multi-tier riparian plantings including production, environmental, and social values. This group of farmers identified 32 aspects of riparian vegetation across nine categories, 65% of which were positive aspects and 35% of which were negative aspects. Farmers who had fenced but not planted their riparian margins also believe benefits for water quality, animal safety, and farm management can be achieved from fenced grass strip riparian margins but were less convinced about additional benefits from planting. This group of farmers identified 15 aspects of riparian vegetation across four categories, all of which (100%) were negative aspects. Recognising that farmer’s perceptions and/or experiences vary can help inform how best to structure and deliver policies for sustaining provision of multiple ecosystem services and benefits. Biodiversity offsetting represents a critical application of the ecosystem services concept as trading biodiversity also inherently trades the associated ecosystem service values. Further, trading biodiversity in an offset exchange embodies the manipulation of natural capital stocks, in both the removal of species and habitats and in their replacement or enhancement elsewhere. Currencies used to evaluate offset proposals can either aggregate (combine measures of biodiversity attributes into a composite unit) or disaggregate (individually account for each measured biodiversity attribute of interest). I developed a disaggregated accounting model that balances like-for-like biodiversity trades using a suite of area by condition currencies to individually calculate the net present biodiversity value (NPBV) by which to evaluate no net loss for each biodiversity attribute inputted into the model. The model improves on more aggregated models by enabling increased transparency of biodiversity offsetting proposals, and thus improved decision making processes. This thesis provides an increased understanding of the relationship between management actions and ecosystem services and associated benefits at local scales, and a collection of tools and methods to support decision making targeted at sustaining multifunctional landscapes. Overall, this research illustrates that a natural capital focussed ecosystem services approach provides an opportunity to shift land management towards practices that sustain rather than deplete the natural capacity of ecosystems.

Despite its recency as a research area, ecosystem service research has developed over the last decade into a significant area of science. In this paper we review recent advances and challenges in ecosystem service research. Our review finds that (i) Ecosystem services are ubiquitous in biosphere. But they are treated differently among scientific communities. In order for the concept of ecosystem services to make a large and meaningful contribution to conservation and human well-being, it needs to be clearly defined and put into a framework so that it is both fit for a given research purpose and operational for management decisions. In addition, there is not one classification scheme for all purposes. Ecosystem services should be classified based upon both the characteristics of ecosystem services of interest and a context for which the concept of ecosystem services is being mobilized. (ii) As sources of human well-being, ecosystem services have several key ecological and economic characteristics such as complexity, spatial scales, public-private goods aspect and benefit dependence. Understanding these characteristics is a prerequisite for measuring, modeling, valuing and managing ecosystem services. (iii) Human demands for ecosystem services and the supply and use of them are three necessary linkages between ecosystems and human well-being. They are of great importance to such vital issues as ecological conservation and social equity. In most cases, integrated studies involving multi-disciplines, multi-sectors and multi-districts on those three linkages should be carried out to support sound ecosystem service management decisions. And (iv) ecosystem services have multiple value attributes including utilitarian values and non-utilitarian values. In the processes of making decisions concerning the use of ecosystem services, all kinds of values are usually played out on a common and not always level playing field. They intersect and interact in various ways, and may complement or counter-balance each other in assisting decisions. A multi-criteria valuation system should be developed and used to estimate the value of ecosystem services.

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes For examples and specifications of such processes, see Sophocleous (2003 Sophocleous M 2003 Environmental implications of intensive groundwater use with special regards to streams and wetlands Llaman R Custudio E Intensive Use of Groundwater: Challenges and Opportunities 93 112 Lisse A. A. Balkema [Google Scholar]) and Koussis et al. (2003 Koussis AD Kontronarou A Destouni G Prieto C 2003 Intensive groundwater development in coastal zones and small islands Llaman R Custudio E Intensive Use of Groundwater: Challenges and Opportunities 133 155 Lisse A. A. Balkema [Google Scholar]). A discussion of the various forms of property rights is beyond the scope of this paper. For reviews of the definitions of different forms of property rights and their functioning, see Bromley (1991 Bromley D 1991 Environment and Economy: Property Rights and Public Policy Oxford Blackwell [Google Scholar]) and Berkes (1996 Berkes F 1996 Social systems, ecological systems and property rights Hanna S Folke C Maler K-G Rights to Nature: Ecological, Economic, Cultural and political Principles of Institutions for the Environment 87 107 New York & London W.W. (Norton & Co. [Google Scholar]). One way to enhance efficiency under such a system is to allow trading in rights (Garrido & Livingston, 2003 Garrido A Livingston ML 2003 Economic and financial perspectives on intensive groundwater use Llaman R Custudio E Intensive Use of Groundwater: Challenges and Opportunities 207 225 Lisse A. A. Balkema [Google Scholar]). But trading in water rights has been quite limited, and in some cases it can lead to excessive abstractions from aquifers, if the externalities of pumpage are not internalized in the market (Winpenny, 1994). On the importance of such entrepreneurship and of ‘policy windows’ in setting agendas and implementing policies, as well as for definitions of these terms, see Kingdon (1984 Kingdon J 1984 Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies New York HarperCollins [Google Scholar]). For expositions on the reasons that policy outcomes tend to favour interest groups, and particularly small cohesive ones, see Grossman & Helpman (1996 Grossman, GM and Helpman, E. 1996. Electoral competition and special interest politics. Review of Economic Studies, 63: 265–286. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Coate & Morris (1995 Coate, S and Morris, S. 1995. On the form of transfers to special interests. Journal of Political Economy, 103: 1210–1235. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Lohmann (1998 Lohmann, S. 1998. An information rationale for the power of special interests. American Political Science Review, 92: 809–827. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). For the theoretical substantiation of this statement, see Lohmann (1998 Lohmann, S. 1998. An information rationale for the power of special interests. American Political Science Review, 92: 809–827. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). For a more comprehensive account of water resource management in Israel, see Arlosoroff (2001 Arlosoroff S 2001 Water resource management in Israel Feitelson E Haddad M Management of Shared Groundwater Resources: The Israeli–Palestinian Case with an International Perspective 57 74 Dordrecht Kluwer [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Most of this responsibility, though not for pricing, was shifted in 1996 to the newly formed Ministry of National Infrastructure. The survey was administered by mail and had a response rate of slightly over 50%. This impasse was overcome for wastewater recycling in 1993 when planners and environmentalists incorporated wastewater treatment as a precondition for residential development in the national plan for immigration absorption and development, thereby forcing housing interests to finance wastewater recycling. This flexibility is available in Israel as all main reservoirs are interconnected via the national Water Carrier. This change in position has been explained in a theoretical political economy model, largely structured on the Israeli case, by Rausser & Zusman (1991 Rausser G Zusman P 1991 Organizational failure and the political economy of water resource management Dinar A Zilberman D The Economics and Management of Water And Drainage in Agriculture 735 758 Boston, MA Kluwer [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). These will also include, in addition to farmers, urban users, industry, the Nature and Parks authority, the tourism health and environmental ministries, as well as environmental NGOs.

Several case studies investigated the role of ecosystem services in participatory planning processes. However, no systematic study exists that cuts across a large number of empirical cases to identify the implications of using ecosystem services in participatory planning. This study explores the potential of the ecosystem services concept to act as a boundary concept (“new Esperanto”) to facilitate the integration of actors’ perceptions and objectives into planning goals. We analyzed eleven case studies to explore how the ecosystem services concept has been operationalized to support participatory planning processes, and to identify lessons from successful applications. We characterized the case studies according to contextual and methodological criteria. Each case study was assessed through a codified score card method in order to detect success or failure criteria in using the ecosystem services concept in participatory planning. We compared the case study criteria with the results of the balanced score card method. We identified several positive effects of applying the ecosystem services concept in participatory planning, including the facilitation of knowledge sharing and consideration of local experiences, the support towards a shared vision, and the increased awareness among local actors concerning their role as ecosystem services suppliers or beneficiaries. Among the drawbacks, we identified the risk of overemphasizing specific ecosystem goods or services during the process. We conclude by providing some recommendations to enhance future practice related to issues such as communication, use of local knowledge and integration of ecosystem services in existing legal instruments.

<p>In the last decades, the concept of ecosystem services has become important to nature conservation. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005) demonstrated the importance of ecosystems for human well-being and identified the services that ecosystems provide to society. Nevertheless, geodiversity (abiotic nature) as an indispensable component of ecosystems was underestimated (Gray 2011). Based on this, the concepts of "abiotic ecosystem services" or “geosystem services” were defined and discussed (Gordon, Barron 2012, Gray 2013, Van Ree, van Beukering 2016).</p><p>The role of geodiversity in ecosystem services has been already recognized, but in specific cases with problems and ambiguities (Brilha et al. 2018, Gray 2018). Practical applications combining geodiversity research and the concept of abiotic ecosystem services are still rather scarce, but it is evident that the wider use of this concept can provide a framework for (geo)conservation activities, sustainable use of resources or educational and tourist activities. The application of the abiotic ecosystem services concept can also enable better communication with policymakers and facilitate the “infiltration” of geodiversity’s importance into care plans for protected sites, regional strategic documents or legislation and policies (Brilha et al. 2018, Schrodt et al. 2019).</p><p>Abiotic ecosystem services are already included in the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (European Environmental Agency 2018). Nevertheless, there are still several methodological questions regarding the possible practical application.</p><p>The case study is focused on the assessment of abiotic ecosystem services at Stránská skála Rock in Brno (Czech Republic). It is a site protected by law (National Natural Monument since 1978) and currently, a new care plan is prepared. The ecosystem services concept is used to assess the abiotic components of the site (limestone outcrops, abandoned quarries, cave systems). Two approaches are applied (Gray 2013 and European Environmental Agency 2018) and their suitability or ambiguities are discussed. Based on the application of the concepts, the value of geodiversity can be fully recognized and the management of the site thus can be more effective.</p><p> </p><p>

Intense efforts have focused on ecosystem conservation and restoration (ECR) over the past decades, promoting considerable advances in science and practice in this field. However, the applications of the ecosystem services (ESs) concept are rarely considered in the literature when assessing the success and targets of ECR. The ECR literature was systematically reviewed to analyse the relevance of the ES concept in ECR research published from 2007 to 2019 and to assess how the ES concept is integrated into freshwater ECR. In general, the number of publications focusing on ECR and ESs shows a temporal increase (from 12 to 101 publications, 685 in total). The proportion of publications considering ESs as freshwater ECR targets increased from 33 to 70% until 2019, while the proportion of publications that prioritized ecosystem processes and functions as the target declined from 33 to 16%. Despite the clear upward trend, most studies have focused only on the conceptual framework. In addition, the idea of using market‐based approaches for ESs has spread quickly, but it has still not been broadly accepted. The number of academic researchers who have contributed to this research field varies substantially across different countries. A country's economic conditions and the extent of freshwater withdrawal can affect efforts devoted to studies on freshwater ECR and ESs. Some ecosystems, such as rivers and wetlands, have attracted much more attention than others. Although most studies have discussed ESs in general, the provisioning and regulation of ESs are mainly considered in studies that differentiate specific ES categories. Current limitations in applying the ES concept in ECR across different studies suggest that further collaboration is needed among ecologists, practitioners, stakeholders and policy‐makers to develop a broad mix of approaches for the best and widest use of the ES concept in protecting and enhancing freshwater ecosystems.

Typology and indicators of ecosystem services for marine spatial planning and management

ABSTRACTDuring the past decade the concept of ecosystem services (ES) – the benefits that nature provides to humans – has increasingly been embraced as a promising avenue towards sustainable resource management. Initially pitched to incentive-based biodiversity conservation, the ES concept is now being applied to a diversity of environmental resources in a multitude of policy, planning and management contexts. In the context of water planning, the ES concept is increasingly rivalling the Integrated Water Resource Management paradigm. Despite the omnipresence of the ES language, significant challenges remain in terms of ES implementation and governance. This paper reports on lessons learnt from the collaborative development of an ES Framework within the context of statutory water allocation planning in Australia. The Framework consists of seven components, three of which match key planning steps in existing Australian statutory water planning guidelines. Central to the Framework is a benefits table for water planning. The benefits table is based on the ‘ES cascade’ model, a metaphor which makes clear distinctions between ecosystem processes, functions, services, benefits, values and beneficiaries. The benefits table is intended for bidirectional use, confronting demands of water system beneficiaries with the biophysical mechanisms that render the services. The Framework is innovative in three ways. First, it was jointly designed with Australia's national water agency (the National Water Commission), based on statutory guidelines for water planning and management. Second, it addresses a statutory requirement for water planning processes to better consider public benefits from aquatic systems, thus providing a direct incentive for water planners to engage with the Framework. Third, the Framework emphasizes the need for comprehensive, a-priori analysis of ES beneficiaries. Comprehensive evaluation of the ES Framework will be required to document successful applications and share lessons learnt amongst the water planning and ES research communities.

生态系统服务作为生态系统评估的核心领域,是生态学的研究热点。生态系统提供服务的形式与能力受人类活动强烈影响,反之,生态系统服务的变化又影响着人类相关决策的制定。不同生态系统服务之间很难甚至不可能同时达到利益最大化,即存在着不同程度此消彼长的竞争关系。此外,不同生态系统服务之间也可能形成相互促进或抑制的协同作用。探讨不同生态系统服务的相互关系(竞争与协同作用),有利于揭示不同尺度利益相关方与生态系统服务之间的作用与反馈机制,避免生态系统服务的重复估算;同时可为制定与实施生态补偿、提高人类福祉提供科学依据,优化生态系统服务管理。综合研究了近期国外生态系统服务竞争关系与协同作用的相关文献,在简述当前生态系统服务研究若干问题的基础上,以生态系统服务竞争与协同为视角,厘清了生态系统服务竞争与协同的基本内涵,总结了生态系统服务竞争与协同的主要类型,探讨了生态系统服务竞争与协同的空间与时间尺度效应;介绍并总结了生态系统服务竞争与协同两种主要研究方法(生态-经济综合模型方法、基于土地利用的情景分析法)的特点与适应范围。;Being the core of ecosystem assessment, studies on ecosystem services have been becoming a focus in the field of ecology. The formation and provisioning capacity of ecosystem services are tremendously affected by human activities. Conversely, the magnitudes of ecosystem service changes also influence the preferences of human being's daily decision-making. Investigation into the dynamics of the trade-offs and synergistic relationships of regional ecosystem services will shed light on interactions and feedbacks between ecosystem services and the stakeholders at different spatial and temporal scales, and avoid double-counting issue in ecosystem services assessment. In addition, information and progress on trade-offs and synergies in the delivery of ecosystem services will provide scientific basis for designing and implementing eco-compensation schemes and optimize the management behavior of ecosystem services, and finally improve human well-being associated with trade-offs and synergies among different ecosystem services.<br>It is revealed from this review that in the last decades, the valuation of ecosystem services has been received lots of attentions in the decision-making and scientific research communities. However, the double-counting issue during the valuation process usually leads to insufficient or biased guidance in the management of ecosystem services. Since ecosystem service is benefit that human receives from the natural ecosystems, the stakeholders' demand for ecosystem services from different spatial and temporal scales often causes competitions and conflicts among ecosystem's various goods and services. The interactions between human being and ecosystem services often give rise to trade-offs and synergies which in turn directly affect human welfare.<br>With regard to the terminologies, trade-offs between ecosystem services refers to the enhancement of one ecosystem service locally in a short term is at the cost of other ecosystem services locally or at a large spatial scale (e.g., globally) in the future. It can be simplified as the win-lose mode. The term synergies means the synchronous changes between two or among many different ecosystem services, including the win-win mode and the lose-lose mode. The trade-offs and synergistic relationships exist not only within different categories of provisioning services, but also among different ecosystem services and like provision services, regulation services, cultural services, and supporting services. Findings from about 12 literatures has shown specific examples of such kind of trade-offs and synergistic relations, for instance, among provisioning services, between regulating services and cultural services, between provisioning services and supporting services, among regulating services, and between provisioning services and regulating services. The spatial scale of trade-offs and synergies contain various scales, for instance, from ecological scale to institutional scale. The temporal scale could be short-term to long-term based.<br>This paper indicates that so far, trade-offs and synergies analysis of ecosystem services is still at its early stage. However, we identified and summarized two research approaches which have already been commonly used for the analysis of ecosystem services' trade-offs: (1) the Integrated Ecological-Economic Model: it is a traditional approach which is often used to quantify trade-offs. The Model consists of several ecological and economic models. The ecological models are mostly used to analyze the magnitudes of the changes of ecosystem services, while the economic models to evaluate the impacts of the change on human welfare. Since land use and land cover change serves as a direct driving factor of the ecosystem services' trade-offs and synergies, it will become even more extensive due to intensification of interactions between the two in the future. (2) Scenarios Analysis based on Landuse is attracting more and more attention in scientific literature. Remote sensing data and management policies of ecosystem services provide strong data basis for the scenarios formulation and analysis. It could provide more objective and spatially-explicit information on the trade-offs and synergies for optimizing ecosystem services management.

The ecosystem services (ES) concept initially gathered momentum amongst the Australian scientific community in the late 1990s. This article seeks to investigate if the earlier Australian ES research efforts and findings have been adopted and utilised by Australian resource managers, highlighting factors that may have enabled or prevented this adoption. Combining a literature review, interviews and observations from Australian regional planning, we offer a snapshot of resource managers' experiences in engaging with the ES concept. Although based on a small pilot, our results suggest that thinking about biodiversity and ecosystems as providers of economic value has broadly found its way into Australian natural resource management (NRM) practice, but that the ‘language’ of ES is not necessarily found new, clear or practicable. Interviewees mentioned the lack of an ‘ES toolbox’, combined with clear national and regional policy drivers, as a major barrier to their broader adoption of the ES concept. For the ES concept to be used meaningfully and effectively at regional and local scales, a concerted effort at the nexus of NRM research, policy and practice will be required to further embed ES thinking in participatory planning processes. We argue that a well-facilitated process of group learning and reasoning about nature's values that is grounded in local knowledge and experience may ultimately better approximate the ‘true’ value of a region's natural capital than traditional positivist approaches aimed at comprehensive quantification and valuation of ES.

Linking Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning and Services, and Ecological Resilience