Institutional challenges in putting ecosystem service knowledge in practice

The promise that ecosystem service assessments will contribute to better decision-making is not yet proven. We analyse how knowledge on ecosystem services is actually used to inform land and water management in 22 case studies covering different social-ecological systems in European and Latin American countries. None of the case studies reported instrumental use of knowledge in a sense that ecosystem service knowledge would have served as an impartial arbiter between policy options. Yet, in most cases, there was some evidence of conceptual learning as a result of close interaction between researchers, practitioners and stakeholders. We observed several factors that constrained knowledge uptake, including competing interests and political agendas, scientific disputes, professional norms and competencies, and lack of vertical and horizontal integration. Ecosystem knowledge played a small role particularly in those planning and policy-making situations where it challenged established interests and the current distribution of benefits from ecosystems. The factors that facilitated knowledge use included application of transparent participatory methods, social capital, policy champions and clear synergies between ecosystem services and human well-being. The results are aligned with previous studies which have emphasized the importance of building local capacity, ownership and trust for the long-term success of ecosystem service research.

SAARIKOSKI Heli;  PRIMMER Eeva;  SAARELA Sanna-Riikka;  ANTUNES Paula;  ASZALÓS Réka;  BARÓ Francesc;  BERRY Pam;  GARCIA BLANKO Gemma;  GOMEZ-BAGGETHUN Erik;  CARVALHO Laurence;  DICK Jan;  DUNFORD Robert;  HANZU Mihail;  HARRISON Paula;  IZAKOVICOVA Zita;  KERTÉSZ Miklós;  KOPPEROINEN Leena;  KÖHLER Berit;  LANGEMEYER Johannes;  LAPOLA David;  LIQUETE GARCIA Maria Del Camino;  LUQUE Sandra;  MEDERLY Peter;  NIEMELÄ Jari;  PALOMO Igniacio;  MARTINEZ PASTUR Guillermo;  LUIS PERI Pablo;  PREDA Elena;  PRIESS Jorg;  SANTOS Rui;  SCHLEYER Christian;  TURKELBOOM Francis;  VADINEANU Angheluta;  VERHEYDEN Wim;  VIKSTRÖM Suvi;  YOUNG Juliette; 

2018-01-05

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

JRC108275

2212-0416,   

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041617300141?via%3Dihub,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC108275,   

10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.07.019,