Divergence and conflicts in landscape planning across spatial scales in Slovakia: An opportunity for an ecosystem services-based approach?

Peter Bezák,Peter Mederly,Zita Izakovičová,Jana Špulerová,Christian Schleyer

doi:10.1080/21513732.2017.1305992

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper provides a detailed analysis of environment policy implementation in national, regional and local landscape planning in Slovakia. The policy and strategic documents are assessed from the perspective of the ecosystem services (ES) concept which integrates environmental and economic objectives of the landscape planning. This paper builds on three main empirical elements: (1) review of key national policies in respect to landscape planning, (2) review of key local and regional planning, strategic and assessment documents, (3) stakeholder interviews and focus groups. Our results indicate that spatial planning and assessment processes in Slovakia based on legislation and regulations for individual sectors are mainly contradictory in some cases, rather than encompassing integrated (landscape) planning procedures. The ES concept has not been considered in any planning tools across scales. These results were found to be similar with respective EU policies, in which the limited uptake of the ES concept was also observed. Finally, the paper presents recommendations which can enhance spatial planning processes in Slovakia; using an ES-inspired integrated framework for landscape assessment and decision-making. Such improvement of planning and decision-making procedures can be exploited in real-world solutions, and provide long-term benefits for human well-being while still retaining links to ecosystem functions and processes.EDITED BY Sandra Luque

Highlights

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2003) defines landscapes as areas of land that contain a mosaic of ecosystems, including human-dominated ecosystems
The multiple ecosystems that form landscapes provide a great variety of goods and services that constitute human well-being, and the links between natural ecosystems and community benefits and values in a particular landscape are expressed in the concept of ecosystem services (ES) (Liu & Opdam 2014)
Regulating and maintaining ES are relatively robust in their planning, they lack links to other ES; and this especially applies to links with provisioning services

Summary

Introduction

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2003) defines landscapes as areas of land that contain a mosaic of ecosystems, including human-dominated ecosystems. Mosaic constellations and ecosystem spatial interactions between forests, agricultural land, wetlands and human settlements considerably determine landscape character. The multiple ecosystems that form landscapes provide a great variety of goods and services that constitute human well-being, and the links between natural ecosystems and community benefits and values in a particular landscape are expressed in the concept of ecosystem services (ES) (Liu & Opdam 2014). Landscape planning processes are often independent of national policies and strategies while they have considerable direct decision-making power. They form an integrative approach to natural resource management in a particular region/landscape with very different regional ecosystem components, management forms and stakeholder interests

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion