The culturality of ecosystem services. Emphasizing process and transformation

Abstract

The concept of ecosystem services was formulated to create a market- and value-based foundation for sustainable natural resource use — by land users as well as by planners. The concise definition, measurement and especially valuation of nature’s services is challenging, as values are notoriously fluid and there are dimensions of value other than the biophysically or economically measurable. However, the so-called “cultural ecosystem services”, which are intended as a way to integrate these immaterial aspects of valuation, pose challenges. It is not clear what they are, to what degree they impact on valuations, or to whom these valuations are most relevant; nor how to integrate them into existing value classifications. Focusing on services as fixed outcomes, rather than processes, prevents the concept from remaining open to local actors’ dynamic changes in valuation. Additionally, they are often classified as a Eurocentric residual category for e.g. esthetic and recreational experiences nature provides. Building on anthropological theories and own cases from Angola, Namibia and Botswana, we suggest a definition of culture as a processual activity of meaning-making. By illustratively outlining the locality and culturality of land users’ valuation we argue in favor of subjecting universalizing perspectives of ecosystem service valuation to new scrutiny.