Soil Protection Technical Committee (TCB), P.O. Box 30947, 2500 GX The Hague, The Netherlands.
Sci Total Environ. 2014 Jul 1;485-486:798-803. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.03.098. Epub 2014 Apr 13.
The ecosystem services concept seems to get foothold in environmental policy and management in Europe and, for instance, The Netherlands. With respect to groundwater management there is a challenge to incorporate this concept in such a way that it contributes to the sustainability of decisions. Groundwater is of vital importance to societies, which is reflected in the presented overview of groundwater related ecosystem services. Classifications of these services vary depending on the purpose of the listing (valuation, protection, mapping et cetera). Though the scientific basis is developing, the knowledge-availability still can be a critical factor in decision making based upon ecosystem services. The examples in this article illustrate that awareness of the value of groundwater can result in balanced decisions with respect to the use of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services concept contributes to this awareness and enhances the visibility of the groundwater functions in the decision making process. The success of the ecosystem services concept and its contribution to sustainable groundwater management will, however, largely depend on other aspects than the concept itself. Local and actual circumstances, policy ambitions and knowledge availability will play an important role. Solutions can be considered more sustainable when more of the key elements for sustainable groundwater management, as defined in this article, are fully used and the presented guidelines for long term use of ecosystem services are respected.
生态系统服务的概念似乎在欧洲的环境政策和管理中站稳了脚跟，例如在荷兰。就地下水管理而言，需要以一种有助于决策可持续性的方式将这一概念纳入其中，这是一个挑战。地下水对社会至关重要，这反映在本文所介绍的与地下水相关的生态系统服务概述中。这些服务的分类取决于列表的目的（评估、保护、绘图等）。尽管科学基础正在发展，但基于生态系统服务的决策中，知识的可用性仍然可能是一个关键因素。本文中的例子表明，对地下水价值的认识可以导致在利用生态系统服务方面做出平衡的决策。生态系统服务的概念有助于提高这种认识，并增强地下水功能在决策过程中的可见度。然而，生态系统服务概念的成功及其对可持续地下水管理的贡献在很大程度上取决于概念本身以外的其他方面。当地和实际情况、政策目标和知识可用性将发挥重要作用。当本文所定义的可持续地下水管理的关键要素得到更充分的利用，并尊重生态系统服务的长期使用指南时，解决方案可以被认为更加可持续。
