Ecosystem Services Approach Research Articles

Applying Ecosystem Services to the Practice of Coastal Management: An Overview

In the coastal science and management community of practice, the concept of ecosystem services (ES) is an approach to valuation that is growing and developing, through practice, to mean different things to different people. It is for these reasons that The Coastal Society, in partnership with the Coastal Management Journal editorial board, developed a special edition of the journal with the theme “Applying Ecosystem Services to the Practice of Coastal Management – Understanding Values.” This special edition sought papers on ES research and practice that examined the mix of ecological and social science research, stakeholder engagement, and communication that occurred throughout these efforts. In this introductory essay, the special edition co-editors and colleagues explore common themes across these papers, which span a range of location, practices, and experiences. Themes include the use of the ES approach, methodologies developed and deployed, connecting ES with people and society, reflections on challenges experienced, and reflections on applications for decision-making and management. This paper concludes with reflections on work that is yet to be done, in ES research, training, and application, to improve methods of measuring and communicating the values of our coasts and thus better prepare managers for the complexities of 21st-century management challenges.

Looking to the future of land evaluation at farm scale

ABSTRACTLand evaluation has a long history of describing and quantifying the sustainable productive capacity of land, but there is a global recognition of the need for this discipline to evolve and recognise other services, beyond food production, provided by landscapes which contribute to human well-being, as well as account for impacts on receiving environments. In this paper, we explore if a natural capital ecosystem service approach could be added to the land evaluation and farm planning process to enable the quantification and valuation of all benefits obtained from farm landscapes. Bringing (i) ecological theory (that provides the relationship between stocks and processes and supports the premise that the manipulation of key stock attributes changes ecosystem function and service provision) together with (ii) land evaluation (a process embedded in geology, geomorphology and soil science, which in actual practice puts heavy emphasis on an agro-technical analysis) and (iii) farm planning (which has more of a focus on socio-economic constraints to the production system) enables more of the interactions between the intensity of a use and practice and the natural and built capital stocks, as they influence the provision of all services to be examined. Furthermore, the analysis of the farm businesses can be extended beyond production and associated financial analysis only, to an integrated analysis that includes other services. The proposed approach addresses a number of the limitations of the current approach to land evaluation and farm planning.

Evidence-based logic chains demonstrate multiple impacts of trace metals on ecosystem services

Trace metals can have far-reaching ecosystem impacts. In this study, we develop consistent and evidence-based logic chains to demonstrate the wider effects of trace metal contamination on a suite of ecosystem services. They demonstrate knock-on effects from an initial receptor that is sensitive to metal toxicity, along a cascade of impact, to final ecosystem services via alterations to multiple ecosystem processes. We developed logic chains to highlight two aspects of metal toxicity: for impacts of copper pollution in soil ecosystems, and for impacts of mercury in freshwaters. Each link of the chains is supported by published evidence, with an indication of the strength of the supporting science. Copper pollution to soils (134 unique chains) showed a complex network of pathways originating from direct effects on a range of invertebrate and microbial taxa and plants. In contrast, mercury pollution on freshwaters (63 unique chains) shows pathways that broadly follow the food web of this habitat, reflecting the potential for mercury bioaccumulation. Despite different pathways, there is considerable overlap in the final ecosystem services impacted by both of these metals and in both ecosystems. These included reduced human-use impacts (food, fishing), reduced human non-use impacts (amenity value) and positive or negative alterations to climate regulation (impacts on carbon sequestration). Other final ecosystem goods impacted include reduced crop production, animal production, flood regulation, drinking water quality and soil purification. Taking an ecosystem services approach demonstrates that consideration of only the direct effects of metal contamination of soils and water will considerably underestimate the total impacts of these pollutants. Construction of logic chains, evidenced by published literature, allows a robust assessment of potential impacts indicating primary, secondary and tertiary effects.

Taking an ecosystem services approach for a new national park system in China

The Chinese leadership has formally proposed that the national park system should initiate an institutional change of conservation management by reforming the governance system and management mechanism. The principle of “ecological protection first and public welfare a priority” indicates that both biodiversity and ecosystem services are essential. The “China national parks for people” project was, therefore, launched to practice an ecosystem services approach in national park planning so that scientists, practitioners and decision makers could communicate using a science-policy-practice interface (SPPI). By linking ecosystem services to the social demand of their beneficiaries through the economic definition, we set a conceptual framework for China national park construction that may also be applicable to other developing countries facing similar conservation challenges so that rural livelihood is not negligible regarding conservation. This study focuses on reducing trade-offs between ecosystem services that are important for local livelihood and that are, generally, public goods in a national park pilot. A technical route is proposed starting from the identification of beneficiaries through to regulating community behaviour using ecosystem services mapping, assessment and governance analyses. It is hypothesized that this approach will assist in national park zoning and land management, and this approach is designed to trigger increased discussion on benefit sharing in future national parks, e.g., the Wuyishan pilot, where this research was performed.

Using people's perceptions of ecosystem services to guide modeling and management efforts

Although ecosystem service (ES) approaches are showing promise in moving environmental decision-making processes toward better outcomes for ecosystems and people, ES modeling (i.e., tools that estimate the supply of nature's benefits given biophysical constraints) and valuation methods (i.e., tools to understand people's demand for nature's benefits) largely remain disconnected, preventing them from reaching their full potential to guide management efforts.Here, we show how knowledge of environmental perceptions explicitly links these two lines of research. We examined how a diverse community of people with varying degrees of dependencies on coastal and marine ecosystems in southern Chile perceived the importance of different ecosystem services (ESs), their states (e.g., doing well, needs improvement), and management options. Our analysis indicates that an understanding of people's perceptions may usefully guide ecosystem modeling and management efforts by helping to: (1) define which ESs to enter into models and tradeoff analyses (i.e., what matters most?), (2) guide where to focus management efforts (i.e., what matters yet needs improvement?), and, (3) anticipate potential support or controversy surrounding management interventions. Finally, we discuss the complexity inherent in defining which ESs matter most to people. We propose that future research address how to design ES approaches and assessments that are more inclusive to diverse world views and notions of human wellbeing.

Opportunities and limits to ecosystem services governance in developing countries and indigenous territories: The case of water supply in Southern Chile

Limited evidence exists on the a priori feasibility of implementing ecosystem services (ES) governance arrangements, to simultaneously ensure nature conservation, human wellbeing, and equity. Using a multiscale institutional approach, we explore rules, property rights, and stakeholders’ values and the extent to which such institutions may entail or prevent governance innovations around ES. We focus on water supply and a Southern municipality of Chile as an apt illustration. Results show that the concept of ES and ES mechanisms are exempt from formal norms (e.g., national laws). The formal institutional setting is generally weak with respect to nature conservation and a fragmented view prevails, where the management of land, water, forests and protected areas is separately handled by a myriad of agencies. The presence of highly concentrated water rights may impair benefits appropriability by ES beneficiaries, as long as any potential buyer can acquire water rights. Furthermore, incompatible values regarding nature create tensions across different stakeholders, particularly between hydroelectricity companies and indigenous communities. In this scenario of multiple rationalities, moving towards ES-based environmental governance seems problematic. In light of the evidence, it is clear that the ES approach does not necessarily fit in every local reality and seems to face obstacles, such as achieving equity and justice, particularly in contexts wherein local and indigenous knowledge systems have not been adequately considered by states within their institutional arrangements.

Ecological Footprint and Ecosystem Services Models: A Comparative Analysis of Environmental Carrying Capacity Calculation Approach in Indonesia

Calculation of environmental carrying capacity can be done by various approaches. The selection of an appropriate approach determines the success of determining and applying environmental carrying capacity. This study aimed to compare the ecological footprint approach and the ecosystem services approach for calculating environmental carrying capacity. It attempts to describe two relatively new models that require further explanation if they are used to calculate environmental carrying capacity. In their application, attention needs to be paid to their respective advantages and weaknesses. Conceptually, the ecological footprint model is more complete than the ecosystem services model, because it describes the supply and demand of resources, including supportive and assimilative capacity of the environment, and measurable output through a resource consumption threshold. However, this model also has weaknesses, such as not considering technological change and resources beneath the earth’s surface, as well as the requirement to provide trade data between regions for calculating at provincial and district level. The ecosystem services model also has advantages, such as being in line with strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of ecosystem services, using spatial analysis based on ecoregions, and a draft regulation on calculation guidelines formulated by the government. Meanwhile, weaknesses are that it only describes the supply of resources, that the assessment of the different types of ecosystem services by experts tends to be subjective, and that the output of the calculation lacks a resource consumption threshold.

Freshwater Ecosystem Services in Mining Regions: Modelling Options for Policy Development Support

The ecosystem services (ES) approach offers an integrated perspective of social-ecological systems, suitable for holistic assessments of mining impacts. Yet for ES models to be policy-relevant, methodological consensus in mining contexts is needed. We review articles assessing ES in mining areas focusing on freshwater components and policy support potential. Twenty-six articles were analysed concerning (i) methodological complexity (data types, number of parameters, processes and ecosystem–human integration level) and (ii) potential applicability for policy development (communication of uncertainties, scenario simulation, stakeholder participation and management recommendations). Articles illustrate mining impacts on ES through valuation exercises mostly. However, the lack of ground- and surface-water measurements, as well as insufficient representation of the connectivity among soil, water and humans, leave room for improvements. Inclusion of mining-specific environmental stressors models, increasing resolution of topographies, determination of baseline ES patterns and inclusion of multi-stakeholder perspectives are advantageous for policy support. We argue that achieving more holistic assessments exhorts practitioners to aim for high social-ecological connectivity using mechanistic models where possible and using inductive methods only where necessary. Due to data constraints, cause–effect networks might be the most feasible and best solution. Thus, a policy-oriented framework is proposed, in which data science is directed to environmental modelling for analysis of mining impacts on water ES.

The economic value of high nature value farming and the importance of the Common Agricultural Policy in sustaining income: The case study of the Natura 2000 Zarandul de Est (Romania)

This study assesses the economic value of land use changes in the Zarandul de Est (Romania) Natura 2000 site, applying the ecosystem services approach proposed by the TESSA toolkit. The aim is to provide support to decision-making in the context of high nature value farming, debating the contribution of public subsidies and agri-environmental schemes to farmers' income. Local and global agroforestry ecosystem services are compared under two different land use scenarios: 1) land abandonment followed by natural afforestation; 2) sustainable cattle grazing in semi-natural grasslands. The scenario analysis shows that an improved use of pasture land determines a relevant increase in net economic value. However, direct and rural agro-environmental payments applied to high value nature farming are necessary to provide viable financial support to farmers and achieve the economic impacts described by the ecosystem services approach. Under the 2007–2013 rules, Common Agricultural Policy payments show to be equal to 130% of the household income and able to cover the full cost of the average farm in Zarand, a figure similar to other European marginalised areas. This result suggests that public support, in the absence of a full implementation of payment for ecosystem services schemes, is necessary to limit socio-economic deprivation of European marginalised farming systems. However, without reaching smallholders (farmers holding <1ha) and commoners (farmers using common grassland) who are both currently excluded, the current state agricultural payments shows limited impacts in sustaining the resiliency of the Zarand socio-ecological system. As alternatives to CAP payments, income diversification strategies (e.g. ecotourism, incentives to re-wilding) are proposed as well as the required conditions under which they can be applied, and in what terms these strategies can sustain the strict requirements of halting biodiversity loss in Natura 2000 sites.

An exploration of the relationships between cultural ecosystem services, socio-cultural values and well-being

Although there is a growing literature on cultural ecosystem services, their relationship with well-being is still being explored. This paper reports on the application of a combination of deliberative and instrumental approaches to a coastal environment. The experience supports the ecosystem services approach and confirms the role of cultural services in providing for material as well as non-material benefits, but finds that the potential contribution to quality of life is often held-back by inadequate infrastructure provision compounded by human-induced environmental impacts and failures to mitigate these. The application revealed that stakeholders are knowledgeable on facilities and local impacts and are most comfortable when discussing the natural environment in these terms. We argue that, if stakeholders are introduced to the concept of ecosystem services, these insights can be combined with local knowledge to strengthen communities’ ability to work with the responsible authorities to achieve improved environment quality and management.

Large-scale river restoration pays off: A case study of ecosystem service valuation for the Emscher restoration generation project

Though the Ecosystem Service (ESS) approach is considered promising for integrated ecosystem management, its operationalisation is hampered by the lack of agreed evaluation instruments. To demonstrate the suitability of a structured ESS evaluation, we conducted a case study estimating the impact of the restoration of the Emscher River and its tributaries on the provision, use and benefit of ESS. The Emscher restoration is a large-scale project with immense temporal and financial efforts. To assess the values generated by this restoration, we applied an ESS evaluation framework and quantified the regulation and maintenance ESS ‘self-purification capacity’, ‘maintaining nursery populations and habitats’ and ‘flood protection’ as well as cultural ESS such as aesthetic, recreational, educational and existence values. Final ESS were monetized using economic methods, e.g. ‘damage costs avoided’, ‘contingent valuation’ and ‘benefit transfer’. We estimated a market value/direct economic impact of 21,441,572 € per year as a result of the restoration. Furthermore, a non-market value for people who care about the local environment of 109,121,217 € per year was determined, representing the benefit with ‘non-use value’ from the Emscher restoration. Our case study demonstrated the successful application of the structured evaluation framework in practice. Its implications and limitations are discussed.

Getting to ‘agreed’ post-mining land use – an ecosystem services approach

Mining companies are expected to ensure a positive legacy for communities and to engage them in defining post-mining land uses. This paper examined how an ecosystem service approach might be utilised to arrive at agreed post-mining land uses acceptable to communities and the mining company during mine closure planning. This was investigated in the context of a major bauxite mine in the Amazon region of Brazil. Data were gathered through document analysis, interviews with communities and a workshop with company staff. Using an ecosystem services approach enabled a focused rehabilitation goal on relevant services to be identified that would deliver social and ecological benefits alike. Company staff favourably viewed this approach as an opportunity to engage communities. Overall taking an ecosystem services approach provided a pathway for getting to an agreed post-mining land use as its inherent anthropic focus provides a way to include community perspectives.

Understanding citizen perceptions of the Eastern Hills of Bogota: a participatory place-based ecosystem service assessment

Integrated assessment of natural and human systems is regarded as a way to facilitate effective governance of complex environmental issues, and engagement of stakeholders is recognised as a key requirement of such an assessment. Place-based ecosystem service analysis is one framework for integrative research on understanding citizen values. By using the lens of place, participants can articulate values and perceptions. Advantages of this framework are particularly relevant in the urban setting, given that the population and functioning of cities create especially high pressure on ecosystems and biodiversity of the surrounding areas. This study reports on a place-based ecosystem service analysis study in Bogota, Colombia. It aimed to identify how urban citizens conceptualise the socio-ecological value of a nearby protected natural area, the Eastern Hills Protected Forest Area. The objective was to generate an integrated understanding of the services the Hills provide to Bogota. The study found that the services of fresh water and habitat provision, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, erosion control and climate and air quality were highly prioritised ecosystem services due to their fundamental importance for the maintenance of human life. The Hills also hold cultural value for Bogotans, such as a sense of belonging and identity, being the natural symbol of Bogota and inspiration for escapism. There is enthusiasm for greater stewardship and conservation of the Hills, and demand for a greater role in decision making. The place-based ecosystem service approach can be developed as a tool for developing an integrated understanding of citizen values for landscape management.

Quantifying the spatial correlations between landscape pattern and ecosystem service value: A case study in Ebinur Lake Basin, Xinjiang, China

Human activities and environmental degradation have resulted in landscape structure changes and can eventually affect the ecosystem service value (ESV) of its region. Nevertheless, research on the spatial correlations between ESVs and landscape pattern changes is lacking. Thus, 13 landscape metrics and nine ESV types in Ebinur Lake Basin were chosen and used to analyse their spatial correlations using multiple linear regression models in this study. The results revealed that eight out of the 13 landscape metrics showed direct spatial correlations with ESV type, and there were landscape metrics that were positively and negatively correlated with the different ESV types. The interspersion and juxtaposition index (IJI), patch richness (PR), and patch richness density (PRD) had no effects on the provision of ESVs. The results also showed that the land-use/land-cover classification types play a linking role, as changes in land-use/land-cover affect the provision of ESVs and the fragmentation of landscape patterns. At the same time, the total ESV of Ebinur Lake Basin was 21.21 × 109 CNY in 2014. Wood and grassland contributed the highest ESV in Ebinur Lake Basin, i.e., 16.29 × 109 CNY, followed by water bodies and farmland, i.e., 1.785 × 109 CNY and 1.239 × 109 CNY, respectively. The regression models that were obtained quantitatively assessed how the changes in landscape patterns have affected the provision of ESVs. These models greatly contribute to the application of the ecosystem service approach in research as well as in practice and provide a better understanding of landscape planning in Ebinur Lake Basin.

Reprint of: Environmental justice and ecosystem services: A disaggregated analysis of community access to forest benefits in Nepal

The concept of ecosystem services is influencing how environmental stakeholders pursue dual conservation and community development goals. While rapidly growing in popularity, the ecosystem services approach has been criticized for adopting a homogenous approach to communities and failing to consider social diversity and associated power structures influencing access to benefits. In this paper, we adopt an environmental justice lens to analyse access to ecosystem services in a case study of community forestry in Nepal. Using mixed methods, our disaggregated analysis shows that access to ecosystem services is differentiated by social characteristics such as caste, income and gender with uneven distributive outcomes and participation. High-income groups were able to disproportionately access the benefits despite the social equity provisions built into policy and institutional structures. Our study shows that some of the protections oriented at assisting disadvantaged groups were experienced as onerous and should be amended if they are to have beneficial outcomes. In highlighting entrenched inequities, we argue that the ecosystem services approach needs to make environmental justice more central to avoid further marginalising the marginalized, and have far and just outcomes. The current emphasis on aggregated analysis may contribute little to practically implementing programs that will contribute to sustainable socio-ecological wellbeing.

Getting into the water with the Ecosystem Services Approach: The DESSIN ESS evaluation framework

Driven by Europe’s pressing need to overcome its water quality and water scarcity challenges, the speed of innovation in the water sector is outpacing that of science. The methodologies available to assess the impact of innovative solutions to water-related challenges remain limited and highly theoretical, which sets boundaries on their application and usefulness to water practitioners. This hampers the uptake of new technologies and innovative management practices, thus foregoing potential gains in resource efficiency and nature protection, as well as wider benefits to society and the economy. To address this gap, the DESSIN project developed a framework to evaluate the changes in ecosystem services (ESS) associated with technical or management solutions implemented at the water body, sub-catchment or catchment level. The framework was developed with a specific focus on freshwater ecosystems to allow for a more detailed exploration of practical implementation issues. Its development, testing and validation was carried out by conducting ESS evaluations in three different urban case study settings. The framework builds upon existing classification systems for ESS (CICES and FEGS-CS) and incorporates the DPSIR adaptive management scheme as its main structural element. This enables compatibility with other international initiatives on ESS assessments and establishes a direct link to the EU Water Framework Directive, respectively. This work furthers research on practical implementation of the Ecosystem Services Approach, while pushing the discussion on how to promote more informed decision-making and support innovation uptake to address Europe’s current water-related challenges.

Policy Contestation over the Ecosystem Services Approach in Sweden

ABSTRACTEcosystem services (ES) is an important approach to biodiversity protection in political rhetoric and policy practice, but it is also highly contested. This paper analyzes the introduction of ES in Swedish environmental policy and how it is contested by key stakeholders and discusses its implications for biodiversity governance. The results show that although ES is widely accepted on an abstract and conceptual level, critical features and functions are highly contested. These primarily concern the valuation of nature, appropriateness of different policy instruments, and institutional structures. The paper concludes that while the controversy surrounding ES fills an important role by reinvigorating debate and stimulating reflections on biodiversity loss, it also illustrates how ES is used to further particular values and beliefs and to challenge traditional biodiversity-protecting strategies. Understanding these policy controversies is central to addressing the challenges of transforming the promises of ES into practical policies.

Capabilities, Identity, Aspirations and Ecosystem Services: An Integrated Framework

The capability approach and the ecosystem services approach have experienced a rapprochement in recent years, evidenced in particular by the publication of several papers in Ecological Economics. Our article advances this rapprochement by embedding the concepts of identity and aspirations. First, we argue that a further set of components should be integrated into the framework: the aspirations set. Second, we argue that a new component within this set i.e. a personal identity conversion factor, must be added to the capability approach so that an integrated analysis framework can be developed. This component derives from the personal identity capability and the aspirations window, both of which are related to cultural ecosystem services. Our analytical framework then highlights all the ambiguity associated with this conversion factor, which can either be a negative or a positive factor in environmental protection.

Heritage Planning in Practice and the Role of Cultural Ecosystem Services

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the role of cultural ecosystem services in heritage planning by examining daily working processes at the municipal and county planning levels. The focus was on the cultural ecosystem service dimensions of cultural heritage, place identity, and aesthetic and existential values. Cultural ecosystem service dimensions are currently inadequately represented in research and application of the ecosystem service concept. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with public officials with formal assignments directly related to heritage planning. The results show that cultural ecosystem services are indeed considered in the planning processes, even though the respondents did not actually use the ecosystem service approach. Despite institutional and methodological constraints, respondents were found to aim for a broad planning approach involving dimensions of the landscape such as historic time depth, human use of the landscape, place identity, landscape views, and a strong integration between culture and nature. Thus, the results indicate a potential for integration of cultural ecosystem service dimensions into the ecosystem service approach by utilizing existing knowledge and practices within heritage planning at the local and regional levels.

Ecosystem Services Analysis in Environmental Impact Assessments: Proposal and Application in a Mining Project

Considerando a inclusão da abordagem dos serviços ecossistêmicos na avaliação ambiental de empreendimentos, a partir de um estudo de caso em uma mineração de rocha fosfática, o presente estudo teve como objetivo responder a seguinte questão: quais impactos decorrentes da mineração mais interferem na oferta local de serviços ecossistêmicos? O método de análise utilizado foi fundamentado em um modelo de avaliação não monetária, com base nos padrões da atividade de mineração, bem como na capacidade das diferentes classes de uso e ocupação do solo em fornecer serviços ecossistêmicos. Dentre os 27 serviços potenciais a serem ofertados pela paisagem local, todos são afetados pelos impactos ambientais gerados pela mineração. A maior interferência ocorreu nos serviços diretamente relacionados ao bem-estar da população envolvida, que representam o provimento de recursos naturais e de informações e oportunidades, porém, no Estudo de Impacto Ambiental não estão descritas medidas mitigadoras ou programas sociais relacionados a estes serviços, o que demonstra que a abordagem empregada por este método de avaliação ambiental comumente utilizado não leva em consideração todos os aspectos relacionados ao bem-estar da população envolvida. Dentre os 32 impactos ambientais identificados, nove não interferiram no fornecimento de serviços ecossistêmicos e estes impactos estão relacionados a aspectos socioeconômicos, o que demonstra que o uso da abordagem de serviços ecossistêmicos na avaliação de impacto ambiental, com foco nos serviços potenciais ofertados localmente pela paisagem e sem levar em consideração a análise econômica da atividade, acaba por subdimensionar a interferência na esfera social e econômica. Recomenda-se inserir este método de análise na avaliação de impactos ambientais de empreendimentos e projetos, visto que esta ferramenta de avaliação baseada em serviços ecossistêmicos permite identificar conflitos e sinergias entre as atividades antrópicas e os ecossistemas, fornecendo subsídios para apontar medidas adicionais de mitigação de impactos e de compensação ambiental.