Governance Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

How have measuring, mapping and valuation enhanced governance of ecosystem services?

In 2012 we sought to operationalize ecosystem services for governance, and asked in our Ecosystem Services paper (Primmer and Furman, 2012): “Do measuring, mapping and valuing integrate sector-specific knowledge systems?” Since our paper, much operationalization and innovation work has been done toward integration. In this paper, we analyze articles addressing governance of ecosystem services and measuring, mapping and valuation from 2013 to today. Our review shows that much of the research addressing governance does it in relatively distanced ways, suggesting analytical and operational tools and improvements, rather than analyzing governance in-depth. Yet, it is apparent that over the ten years, inventorying of ecosystem services has given way to meaningfully integrated assessments and trade-off analyses as well as to in-depth analyses of stakeholder perceptions and argumentation. Participatory approaches, stakeholder mapping and actors’ roles have been integrated with more technical mapping, grounding analyses in decision-making. Valuation has become routine, yet also more explorative and in-depth, feeding to specific decision-making situations and general policy discussions. Based on the still existing gaps, we suggest that while measuring, mapping and governance should continue to be integrated into governance processes, also the political and administrative processes driving governance need a strong message from the scientific community analyzing ecosystem services governance; so strong that it is on par with the alarming messages about the state and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Governance research has already produced the core message: Securing sustainability of ecosystem service provision, together with safeguarding ecosystem functions and the biodiversity that those functions rely on, requires knowledge integrating locally adapted tools and engaging transparent policy processes.

Urban planning failure in the protection of ecologically sensitive areas: factors that contribute to the ineffective management of ecological resources in Kumasi

The conventional literature on urban wetlands has, over the years, focused on the effects of urbanization on the encroachment of wetlands and ecosystem services. Nonetheless, little is known about how institutions respond to the encroachments along ecologically sensitive areas within the context of the global south. A comprehensive insight into the management strategies adopted by institutions in ecosystem services governance is essential for advancing the sustainability discourse in Ghana. Using the qualitative research approach, face-to-face interviews were conducted among relevant stakeholder institutions. The findings indicate that the strategies adopted by institutions in the management of ecologically sensitive areas are top-down in nature and this has been ineffective over the years. The paper recommends the need for community-based approaches for the management and protection of ecologically sensitive areas. The community-based approach can be adopted through the integration of local knowledge in promoting ecological sustainability.

Ecosystem governance of rural water ecosystem services under sustainable utilization

Abstract Water resources not only threaten the physical health of rural residents but also affect their drinking water needs, causing certain damage to the rural water ecosystem services (WES) and threatening the coordinated development of the natural ecological environment. In response to issues such as outdated personnel awareness, severe WES waste, and low resource utilization in current WES governance, this article optimized and monitored relevant governance methods for the rural WES environment to improve the sustainable utilization of WES. This article analyzed the main types of WES and studied the monitoring and governance methods of WES governance. This article used the projection pursuit model to evaluate the governance methods of WES comprehensively and proposed corresponding strategies for optimal utilization to improve the utilization rate of WES. The WES utilization rate and rural sewage treatment capacity after optimization measures were higher than those before optimization measures. The utilization rate of WES after the optimization strategy was 15.4% higher than before, and the rural pollution treatment capacity was 17.8% higher than before the optimization strategy. Improving investment in water pollution technology and environmental infrastructure in rural areas is important and positive in improving rural WES governance and sustainable utilization.

MARCHI: A serious game for participatory governance of ecosystem services in multiple-use protected areas

The management of multiple-use reserves is challenging due to trade-offs between the conservation of natural capital, the provision of different ecosystem services (ES) and the capture of its benefits, as well as a poor governance. In this context, the potential of serious games for simultaneous training of decision-makers and informing researchers is of special interest. Here we present MARCHI, a serious computer game inspired by a MAB Biosphere Reserve from Argentina, through which we evaluated player's preferences for investing annual budgets in different management instruments, and player's ability to feedback their investing decisions on the outcomes from previous games. The main objective for MARCHI players is to maximize the sustainable capture of benefits from natural capital under unpredictable changes in the rate of natural capital loss. Different social actors played the game in their simulated role of members of a management committee. Each game comprises 15 consecutive runs, and each run is an opportunity for players to allocate limited annual funds to Monitoring and Prospective, Control, Payment for ES (PES), Access to ES, and Land Use Planning. MARCHI was able to induce significant and relevant changes of initial preferences for conventional conservation instruments (Control) towards instruments that are little known and practically not applied in the country, such as the PES, or still poorly prioritized in the context of protected natural areas like the access to the ES. Mean Learning Index, an indicator of players ability to improve their game scores along successive games, was positive and significantly different from zero (18.29% ± SE = 4.46%). Final players' performance was not related to their allocation of time to reviewing tutorials, but to their time spent with a review screen after each game. This study illustrates the utility of serious games as a research-action tool for the participatory governance of ES.

Liangshan Bank, A hybrid model of payment for ecosystem services governance in rural development: The case of Baofu, China

This paper focuses on the operation of Value Realisation of Ecosystem Products and Services based on empirical research of the Liangshan Bank model in Baofu, China. It examines a new hybrid approach to ecosystem services governance to address the problems of idle rural land due to urbanisation. The study finds that operating this new model enhances governance efficiency by coordinating different institutional policies and reducing uncertainties and transaction costs through a mechanism which is guided by the government, dominated by the market and participated by communities. The model can increase rural villagers' income by using idle rural land as a market asset.The research outcomes show that the Liangshan Bank model, which provides a transparent trading platform for villagers and investors to effectively use rural land, protect the environment, and alleviate poverty, can exemplify other rural areas in China and developing countries. The paper highlights the academic debate on payment models for ecosystem services. It also offers an alternative model for governments and communities to achieve environmental protection, effective land use, and poverty alleviation in rural areas.

Exploring the ecosystem services bundles and influencing drivers at different scales in southern Jiangxi, China

Located in the hilly and mountainous central area of the national ecological security strategic pattern (described as “two ecological barriers and three green belts”), southern Jiangxi is an important ecological barrier in southeast China and a pilot area for the national mountains-rivers-forests-farmlands-lakes-grasslands restoration projects. In recent years, the rapid economic development of the southern Jiangxi region and the rapid changes in land use, agricultural intensification, and population urbanization have severely tested this ecosystem on which people depend for their survival. Currently, studies of ecosystems and their interactions from a single spatial perspective have sprung up, but only a few studies have comprehensively analyzed different spatial scales to facilitate the sustainable development of regional ecosystems. Multi-scale studies should be carried out to quantitatively understand the relationship between ecosystem services (ESs) and socio-natural drivers, in an attempt to find a suitable scale to assess regional ESs or to achieve complementary advantages by combining multi-scales so as to conduct hierarchical management of ESs. Therefore, to better understand the interplay between ESs and to achieve the goals of sustainable development, we quantitatively analyzed the evolutionary patterns, trade-offs, and synergies of ESs. In our analysis, we also looked at bundling ESs and their drivers for seven ecosystem services at the township and watershed scales for 2000–2020 in southern Jiangxi. Crop production, meat production, water yield, carbon storage, soil retention, habitat quality, and forest recreation services were specifically quantified, and redundancy analysis was used to explore the influence degree of precipitation, temperature, elevation, slope, GDP, and population density on ESs. The results showed that most ESs have increased in southern Jiangxi, indicating spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The scale effect of trade-off and synergy showed that the spatial variation was similar, but the amplitude of variation was different. Compared with the watershed scale, the overall bundle of ESs in southern Jiangxi is better identified and clustered at the township scale. In addition, Cluster 4 at the township scale and Cluster 3 at the watershed scale can comprehensively identify high-value areas of ecosystem services in the study area. The rapid growth of GDP and population density caused by rapid urbanization were the main driving factors of the difference in ESs between the two scales in southern Jiangxi. Our results provide recommendations for governance and restoration of regional ecosystem services and support for conducting a comprehensive analysis of spatio-temporal evolutionary mechanisms and interactions of ecosystem services at different scales.

Governance of interdependent ecosystem services and common-pool resources

Environmental governance is recognized as a key issue in many natural and social sciences. It is highly relevant for ecosystem services and common-pool resources as well. Both fields overlap yet have typically been studied separately. Therefore, this study aimed a) to examine the emerging body of literature that incorporates concepts from both fields of research and considers governance challenges, and b) to identify policy tools and recommendations presented for addressing those challenges. The analysis of thirty-nine selected peer-review papers revealed the multiplicity of interacting governance challenges with three major categories: environmental, socioeconomic, and problems of governance itself. Governance is impeded by institutional mismatches, exclusion of local actors, corruption, and perverse policies. The proposed policy recommendations most often suggest changes in institutional arrangements and increasing scientific understanding. Meeting human needs, and increasing social equity and justice were recognized broadly as integral for improving governance, yet correlations among governance problems and solutions appear elusive. These findings extend theoretical reasoning, while carrying practical implications for policy, governance and environmental stewardship. The analysis implies that policies to improve human conditions will be key for improved environmental governance, but more research is needed to learn which types of policy recommendations prove successful given diverse local contexts.

Ecosystem Services in Canadian City Planning

Sustainability plans offer insights into cities’ efforts to integrate sustainability but little on Ecosystem Services (ES) in sustainability and climate change planning. Integrating the Ecosystem Services Approach (ESA) in planning can help decision-makers understand the trade-offs between development scenarios and the human-nature relationship. This study surveyed Canada’s largest cities where threats to ES due to urbanization is the greatest. The survey explored the ES concept, frameworks, methods, applications in climate change planning and ES governance. It found that most cities recognize ES but had limited knowledge of ES frameworks and had challenges in ES valuation and mapping. The ESA was most promising in climate change planning to support climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The governance of ES appears to be partly responsible for its low and inconsistent uptake in planning. This study therefore recommends five policy and planning opportunities to help build climate resilient and sustainable cities.

Challenges in trade-off governance of ecosystem services: Evidence from the Loess Plateau in China

Trade-offs of ecosystem services (ESs) are valuable for decision-making when integrating growth, the achievement of human well-being, and the maintenance of ecosystem functions. Incorporating trade-offs of ESs into land-use decisions has become a major challenge for regional environmental governance, and a deeper understanding of the complex interaction patterns between ESs is a prerequisite for achieving sustainable management of social and ecological systems. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal dynamics and trade-off changes in eight ESs on the Loess Plateau during 2000–2015 using multi-source data and integrated explicit assessment methods, with the following results: 1) Grain production was widely distributed, raw material provision and net primary productivity (NPP) showed northwest to southeast stepwise growth, carbon sequestration and soil conservation were concentrated in high vegetation coverage areas in the southeast, oxygen production was similarly distributed to raw material provision, and recreational and cultural services were centered in urbanized areas. 2) There were significant synergies among raw material provision, oxygen production and NPP, with trade-offs existing mainly between water conservation and NPP, oxygen production, and raw material provision, all of which had consistently increasing correlation coefficients. 3) The number of trade-off service pairs increased, and the intensity of trade-offs strengthened where the pairs between grain production and oxygen production, recreation, and NPP changed from synergy to trade-off. It is recommended that the long-term impacts of urban land expansion, slope afforestation, and climatic factors such as precipitation and temperature on water conservation and other services be assessed in an integrated manner in ecosystem management and that appropriate, scientific response strategies be developed. This study provides theoretical and decision-making references for regulating the complex trade-offs of ESs in ecologically fragile regions worldwide.

Guiding the guides: Doing ‘Constructive Innovation Assessment’ as part of innovating forest ecosystem service governance

While participatory methods are not unknown in the ecosystem services community, there is unused potential in co-creating ecosystem service governance innovation. We argue that participatory methods in ecosystem service governance can be further improved and ingrained into the way of working by incorporating insights from innovation studies. In the InnoForESt project, which revolved around innovations in forest ecosystem services, the task of “Constructive Innovation Assessment” (CINA) was to systematically transfer strategic knowledge into six local innovation processes. We outline the core features of this approach and describe the experiences we made in accompanying the implementation of the approach in the six cases. As a core feature of CINA, realistic scenarios were developed in each innovation process, aiming to formulate contextualised innovation options. Because stakeholders are the linchpin of all efforts, they must be able and willing to do something with these options. The innovation work carried out during the project was designed in such a way that the scenarios were developed, stabilised, or modified and sometimes discarded in co-creation with the stakeholders at key points during intensive strategic workshops. Working with the CINA approach benefits from operable boundary objects and strives for achieving the quality of “convergence work”: the challenge of reaching agreement on something that can be collaborated upon, across different interests and with growing shared interest. CINA’s flexibility allowed each of the six processes to be tailored to the forest ecosystem governance of a region. Participation in the InnoForESt project was not limited to a series of workshops but encompassed various forms of communication and interaction between these workshops. For local innovation workers, participation in the InnoForESt project was also a practical challenge: to be self-confident and true to themselves and their own competences, while simultaneously remaining open to trying something new. For them, CINA was not only part of a broader process, but also a ‘method’. This method seemed unwieldy at first but gained momentum and attractiveness while engaging with it. The effort involved in introducing and supporting CINA is substantial. If one does not want to return to a simple, linear illusion of ‘controllable’ innovation, then it is worth investing in the support work with local partners which CINA provides. All sides learn from adopting CINA.

Mapping stakeholder networks for the co-production of multiple ecosystem services: A novel mixed-methods approach

Governance of ecosystem services (ES) requires an understanding of the complex dynamics of collaboration (and contestation) of multiple stakeholders and multiple ES. However, many studies consider only a few ES or stakeholder groups. In our work, we map the co-production of multiple ES by multiple stakeholders connected through ES governance networks. Through a unique combination of Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS), stakeholder focus groups, surveys, and social network analysis, we reveal insights on social-ecological fit of ES co-production across an area unified by a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation.By overlaying relationships between stakeholders, multiple ES, and ES co-production networks, our results reveal gaps and mismatches in the ES governance system. We identified mismatches between those ES most valued by the region’s inhabitants and those managed, governed and studied by relevant institutions and stakeholders. Cultural ES were the most highly appreciated by stakeholders, but social networks of cultural ES governance were the least densely connected, with highly influential stakeholders involved in cultural ES management (e.g., farmers), not well connected to the governance network. Thus, our findings point to a weakness in cultural ES governance and the need of incorporating cultural ES more clearly into natural resource management agendas.Our results show the importance of mapping what is being discussed by whom, and that mapping environmental governance networks alone does not necessarily provide sufficient resolution to understand co-production of different ES. We confirm the difficulties of governing ES when the ES providers and/or beneficiaries operate at different or distant scales, the scale of ecological processes does not match management (e.g., in some regulating and maintenance ES), or stakeholders which are important in affecting ES provision are not involved in governance, resulting in social-ecological misfit. Lastly, our work confirms the broad array of research methods needed to capture the complexity of governing multiple ES.

Private Governance of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Findings From Nordic Forest Companies

This study examines the role of business organizations in co-governing biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) using a phenomenon-based approach and bridging business management literature, ecosystem services literature and environmental governance literature. The empirical analysis includes twelve Nordic forest corporations considered market leaders in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Using content analysis of corporate sustainability reports and managerial interviews, we recorded 127 company-led measures addressing BES and we categorized them into seventeen types (e.g., land use planning and restoration, mobilization of financial resources for conservation, partner auditing, capacity building and consultation with stakeholders). For each BES measure, we also identified the BES issues being addressed (e.g., climate regulation, soil maintenance, cultural values); company motivation (i.e., compliance, strategic, profit-seeking); the stakeholders/beneficiaries involved (e.g., employees, forest owners, experts, local communities, public administration, NGOs); and the private governance instruments used for implementing the measure (i.e., regulatory, economic, information and rights-based instruments). The findings suggest that practices such as monetary valuation, biodiversity offsets and green bonds are emerging as profitable or strategically interesting options for Nordic forest companies. However, well-established practices, such as forest inventory, partner auditing and land sparing, continue to be the backbone of private BES governance among the leading companies examined. Although not directly motivated by compliance, private governance measures are largely nested in legislation. The contribution of this study includes reflections of relevance for both the scholarly and managerial realms. From a scholarly perspective, we further elaborate an understanding of BES management and governance from an organizational perspective. From a managerial perspective, we provide and discuss an overview of potential measures that forest companies can implement to address biodiversity and other socio-ecological issues at the land-use level.

Governance of Ecosystem Services: A Plea for a New Perspective on Ecosystem Services for Land-use Planners

Integrating the ecosystem services (ES) concept into land-use planning has been the focus of researchers in recent years. Forwarding this objective in order to foster human well-being, urban and regional planning became the focus of research efforts. Furthermore, governance research has been beneficial in studying the coupling of ecosystem services and planning processes. Thus, in this explorative case study we have analysed the governance of urban and regional planning in two case studies – Rostock and Munich – in order to gain insights about the role and value of ecosystem services among planning actors. We conducted semi-structured interviews to identify relevant parameters to facilitate integrational approaches of ecosystem services into decision-making in the context of cross-sectoral urban and regional planning. Based on our results, we argue for a change of the perspective of ES within planning practice. Instead of ecological or economic endeavours, the contribution of ES to human well-being should be in the centre of attention. Human well-being as an overarching aspiration may have the potential to shift ecosystem services from sectoral to cross-sectoral planning.

Collective action across boundaries: Collaborative network initiatives as boundary organizations to improve ecosystem services governance

In this study we explore the concept of boundary organizations in the context of collaborative network initiatives which aim to achieve collective action to improve ecosystem services governance at landscape scale. We are specifically interested to analyze how the boundary, which exists between actors with mainly economic interests, related to producing provisioning ecosystem services, and actors with mainly ecological interests, related to preserving regulating, cultural, or supporting ecosystem services, can be overcome for collective action. The analysis is based on empirical research conducted in a case study area from Eastern Germany, the Biosphere reserve Spreewald, where two collaborative governance approaches are compared: a citizen foundation and a water management board. For data collection we use face-to-face interviews based on the participatory Net-Map method. For data analysis we combine social network analysis and qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts. Results show that both governance networks display the typical structural and procedural characteristics of boundary organizations. We further discuss how single design characteristics can potentially affect ecosystem services provision as a collective benefit of the collaboration. Overall, the concept of boundary organizations provides a useful lens to study collaborative governance arrangements.

Governing Open Ocean and Fish Carbon: Perspectives and Opportunities

Marine life plays a vital role in the ocean’s biological pump by sequestering and mediating fluxes of carbon to the deep sea and sea floor. The roles that fish and other marine vertebrates play in the biological pump are increasingly attracting scientific and policy attention. In this paper, we investigated the interest in and possibilities for the international governance of open ocean and fish carbon ecosystem services. We used semi-structured interviews with representatives from environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs), policy makers, and policy experts, along with an exploratory review of grey and peer-reviewed literature to: 1) trace the pathway of important milestones, key actors, and their strategies to influence governance of ocean carbon, and, 2) investigate which frameworks might be used to govern open ocean and fish carbon. Strategies of key actors to direct attention to open ocean and fish carbon included collaborating with scientists, organising side events at climate and biodiversity negotiations and seminars to engage policy makers, as well as educational campaigns directed to the public and policy makers about the co-benefits of open ocean and fish carbon. While we found a strong focus of ENGO activities related to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, we also found strong opposition against active governance of open ocean and fish carbon by key Intergovernmental actors in this forum. Opposition stems from a lack of scientific information on how long open ocean and fish carbon is stored, difficulties in attributing carbon flows with individual countries mitigation actions, and fewer perceived co-benefits (e.g. coastal protection in the case of coastal blue carbon) for coastal communities. More viable routes for the future governance of open ocean and fish carbon may lie in international fisheries management and in current negotiations of a treaty for biodiversity conservation in the high seas.

Indigenous governance structures for maintaining an ecosystem service in an agro-pastoral community in the Indian Trans Himalaya

ABSTRACT The majority of the global terrestrial biodiversity occurs on indigenous lands, and biodiversity decline on these lands is relatively slower. Yet, robust understanding of indigenous governance systems for biodiversity and ecosystem services remains a key knowledge gap. We used the socio-ecological systems framework to study the governance of ecosystem services (ES) by an indigenous community in the Village of Kibber in the Trans-Himalayan Mountains of India. Focusing on plant-biomass removal from communal pastures, we identified the main factors shaping local governance using in-depth focal and deliberative group discussions with community members. Notwithstanding inequities of caste and gender, we found that Kibber had a well-functioning, complex, relatively democratic and inclusive system, with all households of the village involved in decision-making related to ES governance. Robust systems of information sharing, monitoring, conflict resolution, and self-organization played an important role. We found the role of institutional memory sustained by the oracle to be critical in maintaining governance structures. Our work underscores the potential resilience and importance of indigenous systems for the governance of ecosystem services.

Understanding dynamics of forest ecosystem services governance: A socio-ecological-technical-analytical framework

Little is known about the emergence and development of novel governance approaches for forest ecosystem services provision, what drives them, and how they can be fostered. Existing frameworks often deal with single aspects of resource management and thus fail to assess processes, multi-level influences, and interacting dimensions and factors in a system-based understanding. In this article, we introduce the conceptual foundation and an empirical application of an adapted Social-Ecological System framework with additional elements that builds on the idea of complex and interlinked social-ecological-technical-forestry-innovation systems that allows for the identification of key factors for revealing forest ecosystem services dynamics to understand the emergence and development of such governance innovations. The development and testing of the framework was based on six case studies for knowledge co-creation. To showcase its application, two governance innovations were examined: a voluntary carbon market payment scheme in Germany and a network approach for forest-pasture management in Italy. The application of the framework reveals required adaptations to improve innovation by systematically unpacking the system dimensions and identifying fostering and hindering factors and their interdependencies. We highlight the output of a sound system-based information basis that allows for purposeful innovation conditioning by policy makers, practitioners, and other related actors.

Reflections of stakeholders on the forest resources governance with power analysis in Turkey

Conflicts among stakeholders may arise during the provision of ecosystem services in a forest landscape. Forest policies, regulations and stakeholders’ behaviors have different effects on the governance and delivery of ecosystem services. The interests of actors for ecosystem services were mapped, potential conflicts between interest groups were identified and power resources of actors were examined. The potential effects of change and power shifts in forest governance on the power relations of actors were analyzed both at a typical management unit level in Turkey and national level with a combination of qualitative interviews, document analysis and participatory observations. Variations exist in the power relations between state, market, and non-industrial actors. However, not much variations were observed between case study results and national level results. State actors are commonly the most powerful ones to lead forest management due to ownership structure and historical legacy of management practices. However, an apparent shift is observed in power relationships from state actors towards others in forest governance. While conflicts exist, actors focusing on wood supply are still the more influential ones than the stakeholders involved in other ecosystem services. Overall, actors appreciate the design and implementation of ecosystem based forest management concept across the country with different preferences and priorities. Considerable emphasis may be channelled to the power relations of actors as multiple ecosystem services are demanded by various actors questioning the traditional perspective of forest management and governance structure.

Interactive governance of whale ecosystem services: governability assessment of three case studies in the Arctic

The social-ecological change in the Arctic is accelerated by the multifaceted effects of climate change and globalization. Among other things, this means changing human-ecosystem dynamics through altered availability, co-production, and governance of ecosystem services (ES). A group of species illustrative of this change are whales, migratory species that have played an important part in the culture and subsistence of Arctic communities for millennia. This study explores the changing human-nature interactions and whale ES governance by combining ES and interactive governance theories. A multi-method approach is applied to assess qualitatively the qualitative governability of whale ES in three Arctic coastal locations: Húsavík in Iceland, Andenes in Norway, and Disko Bay in Greenland. Based on a literature review, stakeholder mapping, observations, and analysis of 54 semi-structured stakeholder interviews, the study finds that whale ES governance involves multiple actors with differing preferences and values and that much of it happens outside of formal institutions, necessitating inclusive approaches to improve it. The study reveals some whale ES governance deficiencies and potentials, such as a mismatch between governance scales and a need for more formal governance practices based on scientific research and stakeholder inputs. Governance frameworks were present for provisioning whale ES related to whaling, but they were lacking for non-consumptive whale ES, such as whale watching. Addressing these issues can help to direct marine resource management toward sustainability by making it more inclusive, adaptive, and reflective of stakeholder needs and values. This goal could be advanced by applying the governance principles that view humans as an integral part of social-ecological systems, e.g., ecosystem stewardship and ecosystem-based management.

Private Governance of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Findings from Nordic Forest Companies

Private Governance of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Findings from Nordic Forest Companies