Introduction
Inequity is one of the pivotal social challenges of our epoch, with far-reaching ramifications for human well-being. It often results from unfair procedural and distributive justice systems and infiltrates many domains of social life, including income distribution, gender, education and the risks of environmental hazards or unequal access to natural capital and ecosystem services among and within countries and socio-economic groups. Inequity is also a multidimensional concept of ethical concern, used synonymously with fairness and justice. Because of the multiplicity of approaches and dimensions, clear methodologies of how to explore and assess levels of inequity are not fully developed yet. The outputs of this WG are expected to contribute significant advances into policy and management.
Objectives
This Thematic Working Group will aim to:
- Explore the linkages between ecosystem services and equity outcomes in its four dimensions (distributive, procedural, contextual and recognition).
- Establishing clear methodologies for the research on Equity, including the distribution of ecosystem services among different groups of stakeholders and on how inequity might hinder the access to those ecosystem services.
- Bridge the gaps between different disciplinary backgrounds, as well as learn from different contexts (e.g. urban and rural studies).
- Reflect on the justice implications of doing ecosystem service research (e.g. how different methodological choices might produce (in)equal ecosystem service outcomes or hide existing inequities).
Lead team
- Felipe Benra, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Faculty of Sustainability, Socio-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Johannes Langemeyer, Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici Z (ICTA-ICP); Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM)
- Brenda Maria Zoderer, Institute of Landscape Development, Conservation and Recreation Planning, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
Access here the extended list of members
->Registered members of working group 20
If you want to become member of the thematic working group plaease contact the leading team!
Activities planned
- Collaborative paper publication
- Participation in international conferences
- Organize trainings about dissemination / outreach / participatory methods
For more information about activities and outputs of this working group click on the following link:
Special Issue!
The lead team has organized a special issue entitled “Equity and Justice in ES research”. We welcome three main contribution types detailed below:
Type of contributions
This Special Issue invites research articles, reviews and conceptual contributions addressing equity and justice in ecosystem services research, addressing questions related to:
Novel understandings of ecosystem services equity and justice
· What social-ecological drivers and mechanisms underpin different forms of (in)equities and (in)justices?
· At which spatial and temporal scales do (in)equities and (in)justices in ecosystem services co-production and distribution occur?
· What role do historical legacies play for the (in)equitable and (un)fair co-production and distribution of ecosystem services and their benefits?
· What role do individuals’ varying (and changing) values, needs, preferences and capabilities play in shaping opportunities to equally benefit from ecosystem services and cope with the burdens of ecosystem service production?
· What normative interpretations of an equitable and fair distribution of ecosystem services are prominent in different local communities, ecosystem services research?
Novel epistemological and methodological aspects to assess ecosystem services equity and justice
· Are novel approaches in ecosystem services quantification and assessment needed to purposefully pursue equity and justice in ecosystem service research and practice?
· What novel empirical methods are required to quantify and spatially localise (in)equities and (in)justices in an integrative manner across multiple dimensions of equity and justice?
Ontology and conceptual advances in ecosystem services equity and justice
· What are strengths and weaknesses of the ecosystem services framework in making issues of equity and justice explicit?
· Do we need to rethinking the ontologies, values, and ethics implicit in current framings and assessments of ecosystem services in order to better reveal and overcome (in)equities and (in)justices?
· How do equity and justice dimensions align with the ecosystem service cascade model and current ecosystem service accounting systems?
Manuscript submission information:
Submission Deadline: Sep 30, 2023