Integration of ecosystem services in spatial planning: a survey on regional planners’ views (original) (raw)
Related papers
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.
Integrating Ecosystem Services (E.S.) in spatial planning: a literature review
Global NEST International Conference on Environmental Science & Technology
Integration of ES in spatial planning constitutes a critical issue in the context of establishing resilient and sustainable policies. In this paper, a literature review was performed, to evaluate the integration of ES in spatial planning practices through institutional and governmental planning documents. The results indicated that ES have been gradually capturing the interest of the planning scientific community. However, the number of publications concerned with this topic is still very limited and with no clear methodology on the issue of integrating the ES concept in spatial planning. This paper suggests that the integration methodology to be built should focus more on urban environments, and with the intention to achieve integration within areas defined by ecosystem boundaries rather than administrative ones.
2011
Despite the attention that research on ecosystem services has attracted in recent years, its use to support real-life decision-making processes is still very limited, especially at the planning level. Spatial planning results in actions that may affect the distribution and quality of a wide range of ecosystem services. Hence, spatial planning decisions would benefit from systematic considerations of their effects on ecosystem services. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) provides an excellent platform to this purpose.
Integrating ecosystem services and environmental planning: limitations and synergies
International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 2011
Environmental planning offers an important approach to dealing with the concept of ecosystem services (ESS) in practice. Nonetheless, spatial planning science has failed to connect with the international ESS discussion. Thus, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to make relevant environmental planning experience available to ESS researchers; second, to offer conceptual and methodological suggestions for future ESS assessments that consider key insights from European planning science. A systematic literature analysis was used to juxtapose several theoretical and methodological aspects of ESS assessment and environmental planning concepts in order to identify comparative benefits and potentials for an integration of the two approaches. To illustrate the limitations and potentials of the approaches, the example of German landscape planning is described. A better integration of the two approaches has the potential to (i) strengthen the spatial concreteness and scale relation of ESS on low tiers; (ii) foster accounting and monetary valuation in environmental planning, especially for applications on supra-regional scale; (iii) reflect on underlying values in the ESS approach and overcome a latent nature determinism; (iv) more clearly differentiate between public and private goods for better targeting implementation strategies; (v) help in developing context-dependent classification categories that can accommodate all implementation relevant services and relate services to beneficiaries; and (vi) frame communication and participation processes by reflecting their constitutional role in the political decision-making process.
Landscape Ecology
Context: The study of ecosystem services has extended its influence into spatial planning and landscape ecology, the integration of which can offer an opportunity to enhance the saliency, credibility, and legitimacy of landscape ecology in spatial planning issues. Objectives: This paper presents a conceptual framework suitable for spatial planning in human dominated environments supported by landscape ecological thinking. It seeks to facilitate the integration of ecosystem services into current practice, including landscape metrics as suitable indicators. Methods: A literature review supported the revision of existing open questions pertaining to ecosystem services as well as their integration into landscape ecology and spatial planning. A posterior reflection of the current state-of-the-art was then used as a basis for developing the spatial planning conceptual framework. Results and conclusion: The framework is articulated around four phases (characterisation, assessment, design, and monitoring) and three concepts (character, service, and value). It advocates integration of public participation, consideration of "landscape services", the inclusion of ecosystem disservices, and the use of landscape metrics for qualitative assessment of services. As a result, the framework looks to enhance spatial planning practice by providing: i) a better consideration of landscape configuration in the supply of services ii) the integration of anthropogenic services with ecosystem services; iii) the consideration of costs derived from ecosystems (e.g. disservices); and iv) an aid to the understanding of ecosystem services terminology for spatial planning professionals and decision makers.
Strategic Spatial Planning and the Ecosystem Services Concept - an Historical Exploration
Ecology and Society, 2013
This study examines how ecosystem services (ES) have been taken into account historically in strategic spatial plans in Melbourne and Stockholm through a comparative case study analysis of eight strategic spatial plans from 1929-2010. We investigated the types of ES taken into account, and how human-nature relations and the valuation and trade-off discussions regarding ES were framed. An ES coding protocol was developed that categorized and identified 39 ES drawing from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and other relevant literature. Only two of the 39 ES were addressed in every plan for both cities, namely freshwater and recreation. While the number of ES referred to in plans has generally increased over time, just under a third of ES in Melbourne and Stockholm were not addressed at all. References to individual ES showed little continuity over time. This variability reveals a timescale mismatch that has been overlooked in the ES literature with potential urban policy implications. Despite considerable variation in ES addressed across the plans, there is a striking similar pattern in the total numbers of ES addressed over time in both cities. Plans for both cities showed a spike in the late 60s/early 70s, followed by a significant decline in the late 70s/early 80s with the highest number of ES addressed in the most recent plans. Furthermore, our analysis shows that strategic spatial plans generally demonstrate awareness that urban populations are dependent on ecosystems and this framing is an important part of the policy discourse. While specific monetary values were not placed on any ES in the plans, resolution of land-use conflicts requiring tradeoffs between ES and equity of distribution of ES is a central feature of most of the examined plans. We argue that longitudinal policy document analysis represents a useful complement to any attempt to improve understanding of the implications of and opportunities for operationalizing an ES approach in urban practice.
Science of The Total Environment, 2020
Although the consideration of socioeconomic demands with biodiversity conservation is now high on the environmental policy agenda, it is not yet standard practice in spatial planning. This is argued to be related, amongst others, to a lack of awareness among stakeholders and practitioners of the underpinning role of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity to support human well-being. Meanwhile, there is mounting critique on the absolute focus of biodiversity conservation on static properties such as species and habitats. The establishment of more ecologically sensible objectives that include ecosystem processes besides species and habitats is put forward as a more effective way of environmental conservation. Methodological approaches increasingly consider ecosystem processes. However, the processes that are included mostly relate to aspects of biodiversity such as dispersal and productivity, and rarely do they include abiotic mechanisms that underlie biodiversity. We here report on the development of a method that integrates two principles which we identify as key to advance the integration of ecosystem services with biodiversity conservation in planning practice: (1) consider the variety of ecosystem processes, biotic as well as abiotic, that support biodiversity and ecosystem services, and (2) link the ecosystem processes to biodiversity and to socioeconomic benefits to identify the common ground between seemingly conflicting objectives. The methodology uses a stepwise approach and is based on an extensive review of available knowledge on ecosystem functioning, expert consultation and stakeholder involvement. We illustrate how the methodology supports the setting of strategic goals to accomplish a healthy coastal ecosystem in Belgium, and exemplify how this may affect spatial plans. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how including processes opens opportunities to align biodiversity and ecosystem services and how this increases chances to provide long-term benefits for biodiversity and human well-being. The paper may provide inspiration to advance current spatial planning approaches.