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Abstract
The concept of ecosystem services (ES), first introduced in 1970’s, gained mainstream attention in 2005, when the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment formally proposed a definition for it. In spite of this attention, many aspects about the ES concept have remained controversial to date, i.e., their classification, value, generation, link to human well-being, and supportive role as management tool. This review explores the knowledge status of ecosystem services, focusing on those services generated in coastal and marine environments (CMES). A knowledge gap and an underdevelopment of tools to assess CMES is evident in the literature, especially when compared to the progress done in the assessment of land ES. Possible explanations reside on the yet small proportion that the research done on CMES represents for the ecosystem service framework (ESF), in part due to the intrinsic challenges of researching the marine environment, also due to the limited availability of spatial data on marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, the ES concept is getting more attention toward policy-makers and stakeholders, leading to the implementation of an ecosystem services approach (ESA) to the management and protection of CMES. Six lessons are rescued from the literature to improve the ESA: (1) integration of the ESA in a science-policy process; (2) more simplicity for the CMES prediction models; (3) move toward empowering of stakeholders; (4) integration of the value pluralism of CMES with less focus on money; (5) the link of ES to Human Well-being must not been forgotten; and (6) communication of results and social literacy are key.
Highlights
Since the start of the twenty first century it has become clearer to scientists and decision-makers that nature is, and will be, affected by our activities (Costanza et al, 1997; Daily, 1997; Rockström et al, 2013; Rockström, 2015; Steffen et al, 2015)
With a fast-growing body of literature on this topic, this section will be explored from a different perspective, drawing attention over what has been recognized as key lessons (Ruckelshaus et al, 2015; Beaumont et al, 2017; Drakou et al, 2017) to generate better knowledge that can be used on the implementation of policies and the process of decision-making regarding the marine environment
This review summarizes the current knowledge status of coastal and marine environments (CMES), their emerging position into the ecosystem services (ES) concept, the development of their research agenda into the ecosystem service framework (ESF), and its integration into policy and management through the ecosystem services approach (ESA)
Summary
Since the start of the twenty first century it has become clearer to scientists and decision-makers that nature is, and will be, affected by our activities (Costanza et al, 1997; Daily, 1997; Rockström et al, 2013; Rockström, 2015; Steffen et al, 2015). Even though ESA has been highly recommended by a group of scientists (Daily et al, 2009; Maes et al, 2012; Costanza et al, 2017), other authors (Egoh et al, 2007; Koschke et al, 2012; Laurans et al, 2013; Stocker, 2015) agree on the inappropriate or inconsistent application of the ESA for supporting management and policy, especially when used to manage CMES It is impressive that in less than 20 years since its mainstreaming by the MEA (2005), the ES concept has expanded and dominated most of the conservation agenda (Muradian, 2017), in part due to the decline of the previous dominant paradigm, and due to its seemingly simple message: to pay attention to the importance of human reliance on nature. With a fast-growing body of literature on this topic, this section will be explored from a different perspective, drawing attention over what has been recognized as key lessons (Ruckelshaus et al, 2015; Beaumont et al, 2017; Drakou et al, 2017) to generate better knowledge that can be used on the implementation of policies and the process of decision-making regarding the marine environment
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