Rudolf Groot - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Rudolf Groot

The world’s large and rapidly growing human population is exhausting the earth’s natural capital ... more The world’s large and rapidly growing human population is exhausting the earth’s natural capital at ever-faster rates, and yet appears mostly oblivious to the fact that these resources are limited. This is dangerous for our wellbeing and perhaps for our survival, as documented by numerous studies over many years. Why are we not moving instead towards sustainable levels of use? We argue here that this disconnection between our knowledge and our actions is largely caused by three “great divides”: an ideological divide between economists and ecologists; an economic development divide between the rich and the poor; and an information divide, which obstructs communications between scientists, public opinion, and policy-makers. These divides prevent our economies from responding effectively to urgent signals of environmental and ecological stress.
The restoration of natural capital (RNC) can be an important strategy in bridging all of these divides. RNC projects and programs make explicit the multiple and mutually-reinforcing linkages between environmental and economic wellbeing, while opening up a promising policy road in the search for a sustainable and desirable future for global society. The bridge-building capacity of RNC derives from its double focus: on the ecological restoration of degraded, over-exploited natural ecosystems, and on the full socio-economic and ecological interface between people and their environments.

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Journal of Environmental Management 130:135-145, Sep 26, 2013

The ecosystem services concept provides both an analytical and communicative tool to identify and... more The ecosystem services concept provides both an analytical and communicative tool to identify and quantify the link between human welfare and the environment, and thus to evaluate the ramifications of management interventions. Marine spatial planning (MSP) and Ecosystem-based Management (EBM) are a form of management intervention that has become increasingly popular and important globally. The ecosystem service concept is rarely applied in marine planning and management to date which we argue is due to the lack of a well-structured, systematic classification and assessment of marine ecosystem services. In this paper we not only develop such a typology but also provide guidance to select appropriate indicators for all relevant ecosystem services. We apply this marine-specific ecosystem service typology to MSP and EBM. We thus provide not only a novel theoretical construct but also show how the ecosystem services concept can be used in marine planning and management.

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Ecological Economics, 2013

ABSTRACT A major strength of the ecosystem services (ESS) concept is that it allows a succinct de... more ABSTRACT A major strength of the ecosystem services (ESS) concept is that it allows a succinct description of how human well-being depends on nature, showing that the neglect of such dependencies has negative consequences on human well-being and the economy. As ESS refer to human needs and interests, values are to be considered when dealing with the concept in practice. As a result we argue that in using the concept there is a need to be clear about what different dimensions of value are involved, and be aware of ethical issues that might be associated with the concept. A systematic analysis of the ethical implications associated to the ESS concept is still lacking. We address this deficiency by scrutinising value dimensions associated with the concept, and use this to explore the associated ethical implications. We then highlight how improved transparency in the use of the ESS concept can contribute to using its strengths without succumbing to possible drawbacks arising from ethical problems. These problems concern the dangers that some uses of the concept have in obscuring certain types of value, and in masking unevenness in the distribution of costs and benefits that can arise in the management of ESS.

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Ecological Indicators, Apr 5, 2012

From Tuesday to Thursday we will be in Salzau Castle. As this is a remote place and the public tr... more From Tuesday to Thursday we will be in Salzau Castle. As this is a remote place and the public transport is going there with extremely low frequencies, all participants without a car should use the joint transfer on Tuesday morning. Car drivers might help us by offering lifts for the colleagues.

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Interest in both the science and practice of ecosystem services is on the rise. Many studies have... more Interest in both the science and practice of ecosystem services is on the rise. Many studies have confirmed the economic value of investing in the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of ecosystem services. 1–5 This burgeoning world is now in need of institutions capable of managing the thousands of projects currently devoted to these issues. One such project can be found at the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve in South Africa. The Mega Reserve is a World Heritage site and nature reserve and includes private and ...

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Wetland management usually involves multiple stakeholders. This paper describes how the use of t... more Wetland management usually involves multiple stakeholders. This paper describes how the use of the ecosystem services (ES) concept can help to identify the main stakeholders associatedwith wetland conservation, using the Hula Wetland in the Sea of Galilee’s watershed as a case study. We conducted a stakeholder analysis based on semi-structured interviews. We focused on the management of two seminatural areas within the larger Hula Wetland area (Hula Nature Reserve and Agamon), in which different management regimes are used and which provide different bundles of ES to different stakeholders. Using the ES concept in the stakeholder analysis, we were able to present the Hula Wetland management in a comprehensive manner. The approach also revealed a lack of coordination between the managing organisations which might lead to competition favouring cultural services (in particular tourism) at the expense
of habitat services (i.e. biodiversity conservation) in the future. To test our method we also conducted a stakeholder analysis in the Camargue Wetland in France. The two wetlands have similar characteristics but are embedded in different institutional contexts. The Camargue Regional Park has a multi-stakeholder platform which could serve as an example for the Hula Wetland to improve its management and lead to better coordination and complementarity of ES provided by the two sub-sites. Our study showed that applying the ES concept helps to quickly identify relevant stakeholders and analyse wetland management in a more holistic way and to point towards sustainable solutions for conﬂicting stakeholder interests.

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Journal of Environmental Management 130:135-145, Sep 26, 2013

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Ecological Economics, 2013

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Ecological Indicators, Apr 5, 2012

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