Ecosystem services – an integrative instrument for sustainable living environments in practice?
Description of the project
Urban landscapes consist of a mosaic of buildings, greenery, water and other spaces and the interaction between living environments, manmade structures and humans is a challenge for sustainable transitions. An integrated view of the landscape puts high demands on cooperation across sectoral boundaries. The ecosystem service approach is an integrative instrument for sustainable landscape development which lately has, because of an EU directive, been introduced at local and regional planning levels. Limitations to the implementation in practice has been reported by previous research and thus in this transdisciplinary research project we will investigate if, how and when the ecosystem services approach operate as an integrative instrument when planning sustainable living environments. We will investigate how the concept of ecosystem services has been transferred into practice from the international and EU policy directive using an institutional logics perspective. We will also investigate the interface between conventional conservation planning and the emerging ecosystem services approach through a critical heritage perspective.
The project will increase the knowledge of how ecosystemservices as a new concept influences local authorities’ work. We also want to show how new forms of collaborationcan contribute to integration between nature and culture in the management of landscapes that promote socialand environmental sustainability.
Results and effects
The results are not published yet.
Focal points:
- The project will contribute to strengthening ecosystem services. Our BR has served as a living laboratory during the project to investigate if, how and when ecosystem services operate as an integrative instrument. (1)
- Within this project our biosphere reserve has served as platform for the research. The project has closely been connected to education at University of Gothenburg, involving the department of Conservation which is an interdisciplinary environment with staff from different disciplines ranging from chemistry to art history. (3)
- Through the project our biosphere reserve has demonstrated sustainable practices in land use, agriculture, forestry, and other human activities. (2)
- An integrated view of the landscape puts high demands on cooperation across sectoral boundaries. The ecosystem service approach is an integrative instrument for sustainable landscape development which lately has, because of an EU directive, been introduced at local and regional planning levels. Aligning local policies with national and global goals is not necessarily easy. Perspectives and rationale may defer significantly since it is in the local communities that the consequences of climate changes and loss of biodiversity becomes tangible and hence, pose a threat to culture, use of natural resources etc. (5)