Abstract
Governing forest ecosystem services as a forest socio-ecological system is an evolving concept in the face of different environmental and social challenges. Therefore, different modes of ecosystem governance such as hierarchical, scientific–technical, and adaptive–collaborative governance have been developed. Although each form of governance offers important features, no one form on its own is sufficient to attain sustainable environmental governance (SEG). Thus, the blending of important features of each mode of governance could contribute to SEG, through a combination of both hierarchical and collaborative governance systems supported by scientifically and technically aided knowledge. This should be further reinforced by the broad engagement of stakeholders to ensure the improved well-being of both ecosystems and humans. Some form of governance and forest management measures, including sustainable forest management, forest certification, and payment for ecosystem services mechanisms, are also contributing to that end. While issues around commodification and putting a price on nature are still contested due to the complex relationship between different services, if these limitations are taken into account, the governance of forest ecosystem services will serve as a means of effective environmental governance and the sustainable management of forest resources. Therefore, forest ecosystem services governance has a promising future for SEG, provided limitations are tackled with due care in future governance endeavors.
Highlights
Governance of forest ecosystem services (FES), which leads to benefits for human well-being derived from forest ecosystems [1], is gaining traction these days as a critical component of contemporary environmental governance [2,3]
Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) is a concept based on the premise of Payment for ecosystem services (PES), which can be applied on a broader scale from local to regional levels [77]
Governance of FES could be a viable option for sustainable environmental governance (SEG) in the face of different environmental and social challenges
Summary
Governance of forest ecosystem services (FES), which leads to benefits for human well-being derived from forest ecosystems [1], is gaining traction these days as a critical component of contemporary environmental governance [2,3]. The forest socio-ecological system is an integrated approach based on the concept of humans in nature, emphasizing the entwined relationships between social and ecological systems [7,16] It replaces the nature–culture dichotomy and regards delineation between them as arbitrary and artificial [17], in concordance with the principle of ecological solidarity as an interdependence between nature and society [18]. The foresight principles place the care of future generations as the main priority, rather than discounting it in favor of short-term fiscal advantages and/or comforts [20] Both the principles of ecological solidarity and the foresight principles might work as a foundation for sustainable environmental governance (SEG). It will examine two forest ecosystem governance frameworks and their practical examples, as compared with SEG, and end with a brief conclusion
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