Integrating Ecosystem Services into Planning Practice: Situation, Challenges and Inspirations

Linrun Qiu, Yuxiang Dong and Hai Liu
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Linrun Qiu: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Geo-Simulation, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Yuxiang Dong: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Geo-Simulation, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Hai Liu: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: Ecosystem services (ES)-related decision-making is important to promote sustainable conservation and urban development. However, there is limited information regarding the use of ES research in a planning context. We explored this gap between ES research and planning practice by evaluating whether and to what extent the ES concept is explicitly used in planning and decision-making processes. This paper selected 101 pieces of target literature, reviewed their research status and characteristics, discussed the motivation and interests, and summarized the research content. In particular, we discussed the contributions that demonstrated the significance of incorporating ES into planning and achieved beneficial results. A series of abstract strategic methods and quantitative methodological approaches were used for subsequent reference research. The ES concept existed earlier than the perception in early-stage planning documents, while its practical application was superficial, with insufficient depth, which was a challenge worthy of attention. To identify the research paradigm in previous planning related to ES, we found that ES analyses for planning were largely theory-inspired, rather than practice-inspired, and used the Schön–Stokes model of the wicked and tame to theorize problems in socio-ecological systems. Our study highlighted that Pasteur’s paradigm may be an essential and useful research style for maintaining and improving ES in socio-ecological practice.

Keywords: ecosystem services; planning; socio-ecological practice; ES methods; decision-making; Pasteur’s paradigm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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