Ecosystem Services Framework Research Articles

The contribution of cultural ecosystem services to understanding the tourism–nature–wellbeing nexus

The benefits provided by natural resources and their relationship with human well-being have been explored through the literature in diverse ways. Most significant in these discussions is the role of nature in fostering psychological well-being by relieving the human mind of stress, restoring cognitive capabilities and promoting feelings of rejuvenation. Tourism and leisure experiences in natural areas provide a unique opportunity for people to engage with nature and to benefit from these engagements in such ways. This discussion paper argues that a more nuanced understanding of the tourism–nature–well-being nexus can be achieved by employing the concept of cultural ecosystem services to understand how benefits from nature arise for people and what they mean for them. Cultural services are defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2003) as the 'non-material benefits that people obtain from ecosystems' and important overlaps can be identified with the ingredients understood to be required for psychological well-being. It is argued here that by aligning these concepts more closely, a deeper appreciation is possible of the ways in which nature tourism interactions influence human well-being. The paper will draw on empirical evidence from the Jurassic Coast (UK) to illustrate how benefits arise in the context of tourism to a coastal setting and how a proposed cultural ecosystems framework helps to make sense of them. It argues also that cultural ecosystem services and psychological well-being play an important role in tourist motivation and satisfaction and as such, they should be more central in tourism management.Management implications: This paper provides original insights into how a cultural ecosystem services framework can help to make sense of the tourism–nature–wellbeing nexus. This perspective advocates an approach to environmental and tourism management which not only takes into account human impacts on natural resources but also how natural resources impact on human psychological well-being. This provides a novel lens through which to manage tourism activity such as by ensuring maximum opportunities for sustainable engagements with nature. Tourism management can also benefit from understanding the importance of these ‘non-material benefits of nature’ in tourist motivations, expectations, behaviours and levels of satisfaction.

Quantifying the multifunctionality of fjord and mountain agriculture by means of sociocultural and economic valuation of ecosystem services

The objective of this study was to define the value of the main market and nonmarket functions of fjord and mountain agroecosystems in Nordic countries by means of the ecosystem services framework. First, we used qualitative methods (interviews of farmers and other stakeholders in the area of study) to identify sociocultural perceptions of multifunctional agriculture. Next, we used survey-based stated-preference methods to rank and value in economic terms the most important functions (corresponding to the four types of ecosystem services) according to the local (residents of the study area) and the general (residents of a nearby area) populations. The sociocultural perceptions of multifunctionality among local stakeholders were similar, but differences in the relative importance of the functions reflected particular interests (agriculture compared with tourism). Both the local and the general populations attached great importance to the production and availability of quality foods. The general population showed very homogeneous preferences among ecosystem services, but local people rated them very differently. Local people ranked a more agricultural landscape very high. The total economic value of fjord and mountain agroecosystem was 850 € per person per year. The willingness to pay for the provision of ecosystem services under a policy scenario of further development of multifunctional agriculture clearly exceeded the current level of public support. The welfare loss that society would experience in a scenario of further abandonment of agriculture was even greater. We discuss the establishment of payments for ecosystem services for addressing the undersupply of nonmarket functions of agriculture.

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Lessons learned from an ecosystem-based management approach to restoration of a California estuary

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is the dominant paradigm, at least in theory, for coastal resource management. However, there are still relatively few case studies illustrating thorough application of principles of EBM by stakeholders and decision-makers. At Elkhorn Slough, a California estuary, we launched an EBM initiative in 2004. Stakeholders collaboratively developed and evaluated large-scale restoration alternatives designed to decrease two types of rapid habitat change occurring in the estuary, erosion of channels and dieback of salt marsh. In the end, decision-makers rejected large-scale alternatives altering the mouth of the estuary, and instead opted for small- to medium-scale restoration projects and recommended an added emphasis on reduction of nutrient-loading. We describe seven challenges encountered during the application of EBM principles: (1) interdisciplinary collaboration is difficult due to differences in professional culture and values, (2) roles and responsibilities of different participants are often not sufficiently clear, (3) implementing EBM is very costly in time and human resources, (4) an ecosystem services framework may not resonate with stakeholders already committed to biodiversity conservation, (5) conflicts arise from differences in desired restoration targets, (6) multiple geographic and jurisdictional scales cannot be simultaneously addressed, and (7) understanding of ecosystem drivers and processes may change rapidly. We recommend approaches to overcoming each of these challenges so that our experiences implementing EBM at one estuary can inform collaborative decision-making initiatives elsewhere.

EnviroAtlas: A new geospatial tool to foster ecosystem services science and resource management

In this article we present EnviroAtlas, a web-based, open access tool that seeks to meet a range of needs by bringing together environmental, economic and demographic data in an ecosystem services framework. Within EnviroAtlas, there are three primary types of geospatial data: research-derived ecosystem services indicator data in their native resolution, indicator data that have been summarized to standard reporting units, and reference data. Reporting units include watershed basins across the contiguous U.S. and Census block groups throughout featured urban areas. EnviroAtlas includes both current and future drivers of change, such as land use and climate, for addressing issues of adaptation, conservation, equity, and resiliency. In addition to geospatial data, EnviroAtlas includes geospatial and statistical tools, and resources that support research, education, and decision-making. With the development of EnviroAtlas, we facilitate the practice of ecosystem services science by providing a framework to track conditions across political boundaries and assess policies and regulations. EnviroAtlas is a robust research and educational resource, with consistent, systems-oriented information to support nationally, regionally, and locally focused decisions.

Provisioning ecosystem services supply and demand: The role of landscape management to reinforce supply and promote synergies with other ecosystem services

Currently, trade enables regions to have a higher provisioning ecosystem services (ES) demand than that provided by ecosystems in the same region. This practice leads to a supply and demand provisioning ES scale mismatch, which may affect the provision of other ES. To address such an issue from the sub-national scale, an ES approach implementation step to provide realistic, context-specific pathways toward sustainability is necessary. This paper provides a detailed quantitative assessment of ecosystem services over time in Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. The aim is to identify ways of balancing the local provisioning ecosystem service supply and demand and to enhance sustainable land use. We studied the ecological footprint evolution of the province for 11 years and its relation to ecosystem services. We determined that the replacement of the current forest plantations’ monocultures to a multifunctional landscape reinforces food security and enhances biodiversity and essential ES. This place-based ecosystem services assessment, which integrates ecological footprint calculations into an ecosystem service framework, demonstrated that provisioning ES-scale mismatches may be confronted locally by implementing sustainable landscape management strategies, including actions focusing on the supply and demand of ES. The current globalised economy promotes a global reduction in ecosystem integrity and ecosystem services. Reducing the ecological footprint at the local scale would contribute to the reduction of provisioning ecosystem services’ demand at the global scale. Thus, maximising a mosaic approach to land use locally would help improve the provision of ecosystem services and therefore also contribute to the global footprint reduction.

Ecosystem Services and the Value of Places

In the US Environmental Protection Agency, the World Wide Fund for Nature and many other environmental organisations, it is standard practice to evaluate particular woods, wetlands and other such places on the basis of the ‘ecosystem services’ they are thought to provide. I argue that this practice cannot account for one important way in which places are of value to human beings. When they play integral roles in our lives, particular places have a kind of value which cannot be adequately conceived in terms of service provision. Since it is in this respect limited, the ecosystem services framework can, I suggest, be criticised on grounds of justice.

Rethinking the area of protection "natural resources" in life cycle assessment.

Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) in classical life cycle assessment (LCA) aims at analyzing potential impacts of products and services typically on three so-called areas of protection (AoPs): Natural Environment, Human Health, and Natural Resources. This paper proposes an elaboration of the AoP Natural Resources. It starts with analyzing different perspectives on Natural Resources as they are somehow sandwiched in between the Natural Environment (their cradle) and the human-industrial environment (their application). Reflecting different viewpoints, five perspectives are developed with the suggestion to select three in function of classical LCA. They result in three safeguard subjects: the Asset of Natural Resources, their Provisioning Capacity, and their role in Global Functions. Whereas the Provisioning Capacity is fully in function of humans, the global functions go beyond provisioning as they include nonprovisioning functions for humans and regulating and maintenance services for the globe as a whole, following the ecosystem services framework. A fourth and fifth safeguard subject has been identified: recognizing the role Natural Resources for human welfare, either specifically as building block in supply chains of products and services as such, either with or without their functions beyond provisioning. But as these are far broader as they in principle should include characterization of mechanisms within the human industrial society, they are considered as subjects for an integrated sustainability assessment (LCSA: life cycle sustainability assessment), that is, incorporating social, economic and environmental issues.

Integrating socio-cultural perspectives into ecosystem service valuation: A review of concepts and methods

Ecosystem service research has long been dominated by a monetary interpretation of value, neglecting other social perspectives on the importance of ecosystems for human well-being. Emphasis has been put on individual utility and rational choice, which does not adequately capture the full spectrum of social values of ecosystem services. A socio-cultural approach to value ecosystem services is increasingly advocated and is gaining more attention in the ecosystem service research agenda. The current documentation of socio-cultural perspectives on ecosystem services is, however, characterized by a conflation of the concepts of “cultural ecosystem services” and “socio-cultural values” of ecosystem services. This paper reviews (i) the concept of socio-cultural values within the ecosystem service framework, (ii) the social and ecological factors that determine socio-cultural values, and (iii) the methods by which socio-cultural values can be assessed. The clarifications of the concept of socio-cultural valuation and the structured listing of the available methods facilitate a better integration of socio-cultural values into ecosystem service assessments and help researchers to choose methods from the available portfolio.

Linking governance and ecosystem services: The case of Isla Mayor (Andalusia, Spain)

The widespread use of the Ecosystem Services (ESs) Framework in research studies has highlighted the fundamental role ecosystems play in the provision of human well-being. However, the long-term maintenance of healthy and resilient ecosystems requires more attention to the role played by human systems and their management practices on ecosystem functions. In this paper, we aim at advancing the understanding of how governance configurations relate to ESs. We focus on identifying institutions and rules that have triggered transformation in the supply and demand of ESs. For our case study, we have chosen Isla Mayor's social–ecological system, a small southern Spanish municipality with an intensive rice cultivation tradition, territorially linked (adjacent) to the bigger marshland National Park in the EU: “Doñana”. Our empirical analysis points to an enhancement of, and increased interaction among different ESs: (1) paddies as suitable living and feeding space for birds, (2) provision of quality rice, (3) local-based tourism principally aimed at bird watching in paddies and gastronomy. These improvements come with a co-managed multi-level governance system facilitating within and cross-scale interactions and the development of bridging institutions. Particularly, the way in which local actors adapt to new governance structures and rules, developing their own paths, becomes an essential explanation for the development of – apparently – more sustainable practices.

Operationalising the ecosystem services approach in water planning: a case study of indigenous cultural values from the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia

Cultural ecosystem services (ES) are particularly challenging to value as well as to subsequently incorporate in scientific assessments and environmental management actions and programmes. In this paper, we apply a cultural ES typology to an Australian water resources case at a location of major indigenous cultural significance, the Brewarrina Aboriginal fish traps, and consider the potential implications for water planning. Data from qualitative interviews with indigenous custodians demonstrates diverse cultural values and associated benefits with respect to the fish traps themselves and to their connectivity with another key water site, an upstream lagoon. Supported by additional analyses of water planning legislation, flow requirements, and non-indigenous tourist values, we analyse the applicability of the typology and the implications for water planning. Key issues include: the distinction between values and benefits; whose values and which cultural ES benefits are identified and managed; the challenges of categorising indigenous aspirations within cultural ES frameworks; and the implications for water planning of indigenous perspectives on connectivity. Case studies of culturally specific minorities are useful for testing cultural ES frameworks because they posit conceptual and categorisation challenges. In addition, ‘culture’ is often of strategic and symbolic value for such minorities, representing the key means by which they gain access to, and traction within, natural resource planning and prioritisation processes.

Modelling Gardens as Social-ecological Systems Using Geodata: The Example of Watering and Landscaping of Urban Ecosystems

The paper discusses conceptual aspects of modelling gardens as urban social-ecological systems. These conceptual aspects build on previous research, and extend previous research into the nexus of urbanisation dynamics, through changing lifestyles, new aesthetics of urban nature, and the resulting landscape and garden design in urban residential areas that are causally related to changing urban water demand patterns. The focus of modelling gardens as social-ecological systems described here is on the ecological subsystem, and the links to the human subsystem, as formalized by the framework of urban ecosystem services. The paper presents and discusses theoretical and conceptual approaches to understanding and formalizing the spatial patterns of urban vegetated cooling as an ecosystem service, and to link this with an assessment of the potential water requirements to supply these services. Another link is through the impacts of gardens on urban biodiversity. Like parks, gardens are horticultural, ‘novel urban ecosystems’ that have potentially positive effects on urban biodiversity. This aspect is discussed here, but not explicitly included in the conceptual modelling approach. The pivotal role of geodata for modelling gardens as social-ecological systems is demonstrated in two respects: First, by describing the necessity to map relevant urban design features at high levels of detail, which can be achieved with object-oriented classification approaches applied to very high-resolution satellite imagery. Second, the framework concept of ecosystem services is discussed, reiterating why ecosystem services are spatially dependent. It is argued that the ecosystem services concept cannot be applied in a meaningful way if space and location as a framework for analysis, understanding, and presentation of results are neglected. The final section of the paper illustrates the use of the social-ecological systems and urban ecosystem services frameworks in conceptual modelling applied to the research question of understanding how garden management decisions contribute to thermally pleasant residential landscapes.

Improving ecosystem service frameworks to address wicked problems

Davies, K. K., K. T. Fisher, M. E. Dickson, S. F. Thrush, and R. Le Heron. 2015. Improving ecosystem service frameworks to address wicked problems. Ecology and Society 20(2): 37. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-07581-200237

Linking forest ecosystem services to corporate sustainability disclosure: A conceptual analysis

Despite the increasing awareness of corporate dependencies and impacts on ecosystems, and related business risks and opportunities, scientific and corporate-based information on these issues is lacking. In our paper we (1) summarise results of a literature review of the impacts and dependencies of plantation-based forestry on ecosystem services; (2) identify the existing and missing links between the corporate sustainability indicators and the ecosystem services framework; and (3) propose a set of possible ecosystem services indicators for corporate sustainability reporting. We particularly focus on the catalytic role of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators framework for integrating the ecosystem services approach into corporate sustainability reporting. Finally, we discuss how an ecosystem services approach could benefit future sustainability reporting practices in the context of the forest sector, especially in relation to existing gaps and challenges.

What are the local impacts of energy systems on marine ecosystem services: a systematic map protocol

Abstract Background Increasing concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG) and its impact on the climate has resulted in many international governments committing to reduce their GHG emissions. The UK, for example, has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Suggested ways of reaching such a target are to increase dependency on offshore wind, offshore gas and nuclear. It is not clear, however, how the construction, operation and decommissioning of these energy systems will impact marine ecosystem services, i.e. the services obtained by people from the natural environment such as food provisioning, climate regulation and cultural inspiration. Research on ecosystem service impacts associated with offshore energy technologies is still in its infancy. The objective of this review is to bolster the evidence base by firstly, recording and describing the impacts of energy technologies at the marine ecosystems and human level in a consistent and transparent way; secondly, to translate these ecosystem and human impacts into ecosystem service impacts by using a framework to ensure consistency and comparability. The output of this process will be an objective synthesis of ecosystem service impacts comprehensive enough to cover different types of energy under the same analysis and to assist in informing how the provision of ecosystem services will change under different energy provisioning scenarios. Methods Relevant studies will be sourced using publication databases and selected using a set of selection criteria including the identification of: (i) relevant subject populations such as marine and coastal species, marine habitat types and the general public; (ii) relevant exposure types including offshore wind farms, offshore oil and gas platforms and offshore structures connected with nuclear; (iii) relevant outcomes including changes in species structure and diversity; changes in benthic, demersal and pelagic habitats; and changes in cultural services. The impacts will be synthesised and described using a systematic map. To translate these findings into ecosystem service impacts, the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) and Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) frameworks are used and a detailed description of the steps taken provided to ensure transparency and replicability.

Social capital as an ecosystem service: Evidence from a locally managed marine area

Social capital is an important ecosystem service, yet we lack common understanding of how it fits, and can be operationalized, within the ecosystem services framework. We review the literature to clarify the role of social capital in this context, establishing it as a multidimensional concept and a fundamental constituent of human well-being that is both supported by, and affects, all categories of ecosystem services. We then draw on qualitative and quantitative data to assess and value social capital as an ecosystem service and explore its role in facilitating management goals in a Malagasy locally managed marine area. We find high levels of social capital, gauged by trust, community involvement, and social cohesion. Results of a choice experiment show positive utilities associated with high levels of social cohesion. Respondents also ranked social cohesion higher than some provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services. Qualitative data suggest social capital increased as a result of the community based management institution, and has facilitated the success of marine management measures. Our results offer insight into the ways in which social capital can both affect, and be affected by, the management of natural resources, and how it can be assessed and valued as an ecosystem service.

The strange case of cultural services: Limits of the ecosystem services paradigm

As interest in the concept of ecosystem services (ES) has grown, so has its scope. This paper considers some limitations of the ES paradigm by examining one category of ES: cultural services, including the environmental basis for esthetic, spiritual, and recreational experiences, cultural heritage, sense of place, and ways of life. It examines whether cultural ES can be assessed in terms of purely individual benefits or if social/collective considerations must be included; and whether the concept of ‘services’ even provides an appropriate framework for understanding such values. To pursue these questions I consider the recent literature on the assessment and valuation of ‘cultural services’ and assess the adequacy of this perspective against several examples from American Indian communities of the Pacific Northwest. Three characteristics of these situations from Indian Country are problematic for an ES framework: the social construction of environmental experience, the symbolic character of environmental knowledge, and the multidimensionality of environmental value. On the basis of this analysis, I propose a model of culturally reflexive stewardship as potentially a more productive and theoretically consistent framework for characterizing such socially constructed environmental values and practices.

Perception, acquisition and use of ecosystem services: Human behavior, and ecosystem management and policy implications

Ecosystem services, fundamental to livelihoods and well-being, are reshaping environmental management and policy. However, the behavioral dimensions of ecosystem services and the responses of ordinary people to the management of those services, is less well understood. The ecosystem services framework lends itself to understanding the relationship between ecosystems and human behavior. Ecosystem services, according to the psychological theory of motivational functionalism, are motivations—the personal and social processes that initiate, direct and sustain human action. Thus, how people perceive, acquire and use ecosystem services influences the initiation, direction, and intensity of their behaviors. Profound understanding of how people perceive, acquire and use ecosystem services can help influence behavioral compliance with management and policy prescriptions. We use focus group interviewing to illustrate how ecosystem services relate to human behavior. Results show that people perceive, acquire and use indirect benefits while acquiring direct ecosystem services. Understanding indirect benefits has implications for the constitution and regulation of human behavior through ecosystem management and policy. Perceived ecosystem benefits, expressed in people׳s own words and from their own frames of reference, can facilitate better valuation of ecosystem services and setting of prices, compliance with ecosystem management and policy directives, recruitment and retention of ecosystem stewards, development of use policies, enhancement of user experiences, and encouragement of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors.

Integrating integrated water management

The water cycle is a contiguous system interconnected with human activities. Management has tended to be fragmented across anthropocentrically defined disciplines, potentially generating unintended negative consequences. The ecosystem approach and the ecosystem services framework emphasise interlinked, albeit often overlooked, benefits that the natural environment provides for people. This enables recognition and avoidance of potential ‘negative externalities', identification of solutions optimising benefits across multiple services, and participation of wider constituencies of stakeholders. Systemic, outcome-based approaches are inherently economically efficient, yielding greater cumulative benefits for lower transaction costs by working with natural processes. The ecosystem approach establishes geographical and socio-economic contexts for management ecosystem service outcomes, providing a broader context in which to nest established water resource management methods. The ecosystem approach can also be applied at different scales and to diverse societal activities, internalising into them the value of natural processes. It is amenable to integration into catchment-scale considerations, yet does not present these activities as subsidiary to river basin planning. The addition of ecosystem services for options appraisal in pre-existing decision-support tools adapts them to better address multi-benefit goals. Shifts are required in the policy and economic environment, but engineers have an important role in promoting, applying and innovating multi-benefit solutions.

Ecosystem service implementation and governance challenges in urban green space planning—The case of Berlin, Germany

Urban landscape planners are increasingly becoming aware of the value of ecosystem services to the quality of life of city residents. However, the ecosystem service framework has not yet been integrated in spatial planning in a systematic way. In this paper, we assess how the ecosystem service framework is organized and implemented in the current urban green planning structure of the city of Berlin. Based on an analysis of strategic planning documents and expert interviews with local stakeholders, this work explores to what degree the ecosystem service framework is integrated in the planning system and identifies major challenges in urban green governance. As an output of the analysis of planning documents, it is identified that only very recently developed informal strategies explicitly relate to the ecosystem service framework although stakeholders are aware of the term. Identified main challenges in Berlin's urban green governance include (a) increasing development pressure from population growth and financial constraints on the municipal budget, (b) loss of expertise and (c) low awareness of green benefits among different actors through insufficient communication. The concept of ecosystem services, however, may provide a useful argument to promote the conservation of existing urban green spaces and to communicate the benefits that urban nature provides for citizens to all levels of green space governance.