Ecosystem Management Research Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
Ecosystem Management Research Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 Apr 10;712:136350. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136350. Epub 2019 Dec 30.
Although the consideration of socio-economic demands with biodiversity conservation is now high on the environmental policy agenda, it is not yet standard practice in spatial planning. This is argued to be related, among others, to a lack of awareness among stakeholders and practitioners of the underpinning role of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity to support human well-being. Meanwhile, there is mounting critique on the absolute focus of biodiversity conservation on static properties such as species and habitats. The establishment of more ecologically sensible objectives that include ecosystem processes besides species and habitats is put forward as a more effective way of environmental conservation. Methodological approaches increasingly consider ecosystem processes. However, the processes that are included mostly relate to aspects of biodiversity such as dispersal and productivity, and rarely do they include abiotic mechanisms that underlie biodiversity. We here report on the development of a method that integrates two principles which we identify as key to advance the integration of ecosystem services with biodiversity conservation in planning practice: (1) consider the variety of ecosystem processes, biotic as well as abiotic, that support biodiversity and ecosystem services, and (2) link the ecosystem processes to biodiversity and to socio-economic benefits to identify the common ground between seemingly conflicting objectives. The methodology uses a stepwise approach and is based on an extensive review of available knowledge on ecosystem functioning, expert consultation and stakeholder involvement. We illustrate how the methodology supports the setting of strategic goals to accomplish a healthy coastal ecosystem in Belgium, and exemplify how this may affect spatial plans. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how including processes opens opportunities to align biodiversity and ecosystem services and how this increases chances to provide long-term benefits for biodiversity and human well-being. The paper may provide inspiration to advance current spatial planning approaches.
尽管考虑社会经济需求与生物多样性保护现在在环境政策议程中占据重要地位，但在空间规划中它还不是标准做法。这被认为与利益相关者和从业者对生态系统功能和生物多样性对支持人类福祉的基础作用缺乏认识等因素有关。与此同时，人们对生物多样性保护绝对关注物种和栖息地等静态属性的批评越来越多。有人提出，建立更具生态意义的目标，包括物种和栖息地以外的生态系统过程，是更有效的环境保护方法。方法学方法越来越多地考虑生态系统过程。然而，所包括的过程大多与生物多样性的方面有关，例如扩散和生产力，很少包括构成生物多样性基础的非生物机制。我们在此报告了一种方法的开发情况，该方法整合了我们确定的两个原则，这两个原则对于推进规划实践中生态系统服务与生物多样性保护的整合至关重要：（1）考虑支持生物多样性和生态系统服务的各种生态系统过程，包括生物和非生物过程；（2）将生态系统过程与生物多样性和社会经济效益联系起来，以确定看似相互冲突的目标之间的共同点。该方法学使用逐步方法，并基于对生态系统功能的现有知识的广泛审查、专家咨询和利益相关者参与。我们说明了该方法如何支持为比利时建立健康沿海生态系统设定战略目标，并举例说明了这将如何影响空间规划。本文的目的是展示包括过程如何为协调生物多样性和生态系统服务提供机会，以及如何增加为生物多样性和人类福祉提供长期利益的机会。本文可能为推进当前的空间规划方法提供启示。
