Application of the ecosystem services concept in environmental policy—A systematic empirical analysis of national level policy documents in Poland

Abstract

We explore the occurrence of the ecosystem services (ES) concept in public policies in Poland by providing a systematic content analysis of national environmental policies. A detailed analysis of the legal acts, national strategies, and decrees using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services codes, which embraces a full range of ES, shows that the ES concept is reflected in the investigated documents. However, it is mainly depicted in an indirect, latent form. We further explore the ES concept occurrence in the Polish legislation with in-depth interviews of experts. From the interviews we identify two general groups of barriers to the ES concept implementation in environmental policy: (a) a limited understanding and acknowledgement of the concept among individuals involved in policy making; and (b) sectoral divisions within environmental governance that hinder the spread of the concept. Analysis reveals that the concept of services for society provided by nature had already been perceived in Polish national environmental policies before the emergence of the ES concept and the implementation of the EU biodiversity policy. However, the concept is referred to mostly in a latent form, before and after its emergence.