Ecosystem service implementation and governance challenges in urban green space planning—The case of Berlin, Germany

Abstract

Urban landscape planners are increasingly becoming aware of the value of ecosystem services to the quality of life of city residents. However, the ecosystem service framework has not yet been integrated in spatial planning in a systematic way. In this paper, we assess how the ecosystem service framework is organized and implemented in the current urban green planning structure of the city of Berlin. Based on an analysis of strategic planning documents and expert interviews with local stakeholders, this work explores to what degree the ecosystem service framework is integrated in the planning system and identifies major challenges in urban green governance. As an output of the analysis of planning documents, it is identified that only very recently developed informal strategies explicitly relate to the ecosystem service framework although stakeholders are aware of the term. Identified main challenges in Berlin's urban green governance include (a) increasing development pressure from population growth and financial constraints on the municipal budget, (b) loss of expertise and (c) low awareness of green benefits among different actors through insufficient communication. The concept of ecosystem services, however, may provide a useful argument to promote the conservation of existing urban green spaces and to communicate the benefits that urban nature provides for citizens to all levels of green space governance.