Application of the ecosystem service concept for climate protection in Germany

Abstract

The implementation of the ecosystem services (ES) concept in planning and administration has gained momentum in Germany, so far the focus has been on landscape planning. We extend this research by exploring other legal domains such as urban planning and climate protection strategies and focus on climate protection and the use of renewable energies. This study analyzes all existing (n=13) climate protection laws and their drafts on federal state level in Germany, assessing their implicit and explicit use of the ES concept. 26 communal climate protection concepts on local level were also examined. Additionally, the sector of urban planning was considered through analysis of the climate protection amendment of the German Building Code (BauGB).Results show both biotic and abiotic ES to already be a significant part of other planning domains besides landscape planning. The sector of climate protection addresses mostly abiotic ES both implicitly and explicitly to implement and strengthen the use of renewable energies. Consequently, a specific category of ES related to renewable energies is introduced in this paper: REES (renewable energy ecosystem services). On the federal state level, REES are clearly highlighted with a strong strategic focus on mitigation and the promotion of renewable energies. In contrast, regulative ES in connection with adaptation measures were more frequently addressed on the local level. Still, REES were most frequently named when addressing measures, stakeholder and target groups. An enhanced incorporation of abiotic ES into classification systems seems necessary to enable a fair and balanced representation of biotic and abiotic services in evaluation studies or in the trade-off analysis of different land-use options.