Ecosystem Service Mapping: A Management-Oriented Approach to Support Environmental Planning Process (original) (raw)
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Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping
Scientific Reports, 2016
A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The ...
2015
The last decades have seen a growing interest of scientists and policy makers on the assessment of ecosystem services. Among assessment tools, participative mapping of ecosystem services appears as an interesting though still not much explored tool for protected areas planning and management. In this article we evaluate the potential of these methodologies to assess the supply of ES by different land uses in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park (SAVCNP), located in the SW corner of Portugal. Through this work, developed with key stakeholders from the area, we identified the most relevant ecosystem services, their trends and underlying drivers. Building on this data, we undertook a collaborative mapping exercise to identify hotspots for ten different ecosystem services. These processes provided valuable information that together with scientific based data will support decision making for conservation in territorial planning, namely through the Municipal and Park’s ...
Environmental Impact …, 2013
Biodiversity, soil, water, air, climate, landscape and other components are typically analyzed in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) when looking for the effects of a given project on the biological and ecological components of the environment. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) tends to follow the same general pattern, when looking for the environmental effects of plans and programs. In both cases, ecosystem services are often not explicitly considered. We developed a framework to analyze environmental assessment (EA) practice and infer about ecosystem services based on existing evidence from EIA and SEA reports and supporting information. Our framework addresses the relations between ecosystem services and the environmental factors assessed in EIA and SEA, considering the relevant conceptual frameworks such as the ES cascade model and the DPSIR framework applied to ES provision. We base our proposals on results from a preliminary meta-analysis of recent EIA and SEA reports from several types of plans and projects in Portugal, in which implicit assessments of ES were clearly predominant. We discuss the implications of those results and the opportunities to infer about ecosystem services, and conclude on the need for more dedicated and explicit efforts to ecosystem services assessment in EIA and SEA.
Integration of ecosystem services in spatial planning: a survey on regional planners’ views
Landscape Ecology, 2014
Spatial plans shape land-use changes, which in turn are main drivers of anthropogenic ecosystem alterations, therefore influencing the ecosystem services (ES) delivered by a given territory. However, integration of the ES concept in policies and plans is reported as poor in literature. The main goal of this research is to gain insight on the views and perceptions of Portuguese regional spatial planners regarding the ES concept and its integration in spatial plans. For that we designed and administered a questionnaire survey aimed at practitioners and decision-makers from Portuguese regional spatial planning authorities. The survey focused on issues such as the level of awareness and knowledge of the ES concept among planners, the perceived level of current ES integration in regional spatial plans and corresponding strategic environmental assessments, the main factors that either facilitate or obstruct that integration, or the level of importance given to ES integration in the planning process. Findings show that planners know the ES concept, they consider it as important to be integrated in spatial planning and, interestingly, that it is already rather integrated in existing plans. They believe that planning teams and authorities have skilled human resources for ES integration. However, they revealed a low knowledge on the main initiatives intended to push ecosystem services into the political agenda, like for example the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The questionnaire used can be easily transferred into other spatial planning contexts to draw, e.g. a broader European picture on ES integration in spatial planning.
The concept and establishment of Ecological Networks (EN) have been seen as a solution towards nature conservation strategies targeting biodiversity and ecological connectivity. Within this, the EN assumed a holistic view of land-use planning and biodiversity conservation as the core of the wider Green Infrastructure (GI) framework. The EN is considered a spatial concept recognized as a system of landscape structures or ecosystems, and a strategically connected fundamental infrastructure of abiotic and biotic systems, underlying the provision of multiple functions valuable to society. This concept moves beyond traditional approaches of "nature protection and preservation", (re)focusing on the ecosystemic approach and the "continuum naturale", emphasising the quality or potentiality of physical components, allowing the articulation with the nature conservation and at-risk areas. Portugal has long had legislation in place meant to protect the natural resources. Although the environmental policies are sectoral and unarticulated, and the environmental data is dispersed and absent. In addition, this study shows that the existing protected areas in Portugal, namely Natura 2000 and classified protected areas, are insufficient to ensure landscape ecological balance and avoid fragmentation. The main goal is to develop a methodology to map a National Ecological Network (NEN) for mainland Portugal, establish the theoretical framework of the EN/GI, by identifying and mapping the most valuable and sensitive areas that guarantee the ecosystem functioning through a multi-level ecological evaluation criteria that integrate the physical and biological systems. The Portuguese NEN map, with a 25 m spatial resolution, integrates in a single tool the Portuguese environmental policies more effectively, in order to facilitate its understanding and application into planning. Regarding the EN mapping method, it was used a GIS-based model made up of a sequence of analyses and evaluations that are driven by a GIS supported assessment of several indices/models used for each EN component. These NEN components were studied individually and collectively and the results, hierarchized in two levels, show that most of the ecological components do not overlap. The NEN1 has high biodiversity and ecological value, which means they are more vulnerable to anthropogenic activity. NEN1 covers a total of 67 % of the mainland, yet as of 2018, only 25 % is protected in nature conservation areas. Priority of action must be given to NEN1 in order to avoid/decrease landscape fragmentation, environmental risks, and natural disaster prevention. This paper contributes to the understanding of the NEN importance as an ecologically based tool towards a more sustainable landscape planning, and the basis of the development plans at national, regional and local levels in an integrated manner, instead of a compilation of disassociated often-contradictory planning tools. The benefits of a Portuguese NEN into a GI development and part of a (broader) nature base solutions by increasing the ecosystems quality and become less dependent on economic and social activities, helping in the restoration of degraded ecosystems and environmental risk prevention. Moreover, it represents the first attempt to map Portuguese EN, and addresses the lack of mapping and the inconsistent EN criteria. It is available online at http://epic-webgis-portugal.isa.ulisboa.pt.
Land Use Policy, 2018
Spatial planning is a key policy instrument for decision-making which drives future changes to land systems, and subsequently to the quality, quantity and spatial distribution of ecosystem services (ES). Supply and demand of ES vary from local to regional and global scales affecting a wide range of stakeholders. Therefore, a strategic analysis of the potential impacts is highly relevant. Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is considered a suitable instrument for analyzing these impacts as well as for integrating ES during the planning process given its focus on sustainability and environmental aspects at strategic levels. However, an essential task consists of testing the applicability of the SEA-ES framework in real-world spatial planning. The objective of this research is to explore how ES have been considered in the development of spatial plans at different scales by considering a sample of SEA reports. We focused on a case study in Chile, where we conducted a content analysis of different stages of the SEA process at regional, inter-municipal and municipal planning scales. Our results demonstrate that ES were always present across each SEA stage and planning scale. Additionally, we suggest a relation between specific ES and the scope and focus of the different spatial planning instruments. Although ES are clearly necessary for achieving a number of development objectives and dealing with a range of environmental problems, a critical aspect is the lack of an explicit consideration which might decrease the potential advantages offered by the integrated framework SEA-ES.
The promise of the ecosystem services concept for planning and decision making
Gaia Okologische Perspektiven in Natur Geistes Und Wirtschaftswissenschaften, 2013
Spatial planning is often affected by conflicting sectoral interests. Frequently, this results in unsustainable management practices. Integrating the concept of ecosystem services into planning and decision-making can facilitate communica tion among decision-makers from sectors like landscape and urban planning, agriculture or water management. The concept accounts for a broad spectrum of quantitative and qualitative data from local to international level, thus revealing the benefits humans derive from ecosystem goods and functions. We propose that the concept of ecosystem services can complement existing policy instruments that focus solely on a specific task or sectoral interest.
Marine Policy, 2021
Marine or maritime spatial planning (MSP) works across borders and sectors to ensure human activities at sea take place in an efficient and sustainable way. The ecosystem service (ES) concept links ecosystem functioning to human wellbeing and has emerged as a potential framework supporting MSP, as it can be used to link different sectorial and environmental policies. However, due to the complexity of the marine realm, mapping and assessment of ES is still in its infancy and there remains a need to develop and agree upon the appropriate progress in ES development to support MSP. This contribution highlights research needs and recommendations to advance the operationalization of the ES concept into MSP. We apply a mixed method approach combining literature research and expert knowledge derived from 14 case studies, to address current status and prospects of ES application in MSP. We present nine main needs dealing with (i) improvement and adaptation of existing ES frameworks and classifications to the marine realm and (ii) definition of an indicator pool; (iii) methodological and technical developments to support data availability and accessibility; (iv) advances in mapping and modelling methods; (v) improvements in assessment and valuation approaches; (vi) further use of scenario and trade-off analysis; (vii) taking advantage of supporting Information Technologies (IT); (viii) improvements in communication and engagement with stakeholders; and (ix) further work for the integration of ES knowledge into policies and for supporting management and MSP. The manuscript concludes with a set of recommendations to foster the operationalization of the ES concept into MSP.
Land
The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 was a driving force behind spatially explicit quantifications of Ecosystem Services (ES) in Europe. In Portugal, the MAES initiative (ptMAES–Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services) was conducted in 2014 to address Target 2 (Action 5) of the Strategy, namely mapping and assessing ecosystems, ecosystems’ condition (EC), and ES. In this study covering the NUTS II Alentejo region, EC was assessed and mapped based on four indicators (soil organic matter, plant and bird diversity, and ecological value of plant communities) and five ES were assessed and mapped (soil protection, carbon sequestration, and fiber/crop/livestock production). Assessments were performed under a multi-tiered approach, ranging from spatialization of statistical data to analytical modeling, based on the most detailed land-use/land-cover cartography available. In this paper, we detail the methodological and analytical framework applied in ptMAES and present its ma...