1. Introduction & Objectives
The concept of ecosystem services can provide a useful instrument for more integrated and sustainable planning and management and provide a powerful argument for investing more in restoration of degraded ecosystems. Despite the growing knowledge base, and heightened awareness of political and socio-economic relevance of ecosystem services, actual mainstreaming and implementation of ecosystem services in practical planning and decision-making is still in its infancy. Knowledge and practical knowhow are needed concerning how information about ecosystem services can be structurally included in existing planning and management tools. Studies are needed as to which information needs and requirements planners and decision-makers have concerning the possible integration of ecosystem services information, and which impact such information might have on planning processes and decisions.
Objective: The objective of this working group is to understand further the potentials and implications of integrating the ecosystem services concept in land planning, management, governance and decision-making. It will synthesize theory and review case studies of ecosystem services integration in practice in order to extract lessons learned for wider application. It will consider various approaches to land and regional governance (eg. IWM, ICZM, EBM, CBEM, etc.), as well as concepts for ecosystem restoration. Eight primary research areas for the thematic working group have been proposed (Fig. 1).
2. Lead Team & Members
- Christian Albert (Chair), Ruhr University Bochum
- Christine Fürst, Martin Luther universität Halle-Wittenberg (co-Chair)
- Christina von Haaren, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
- Davide Geneletti, University of Trento, UNDP, Free University of Bozen
- Anne Boehnke Henrichs, Wageningen UR, The Netherlands
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3. More Information
For more information about activities and outputs of this working group click on the following link: