Assessing the coherence of ecosystem service consideration in environmental planning: insights from hydropower development policy in Nepal

Merina Lohani Sitoula, Melissa Neave and Brian Coffey

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2024, vol. 67, issue 13, 3075-3096

Abstract: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) 2030 rely on healthy ecosystems providing a multitude of benefits and services for a sustainable society. Many SDG goals are cross-cutting and attaining these is highly reliant on policy coherence. Coherent policy settings enhance the synergies between goals and minimise disproportionate trade-offs. However, research indicates policy coherence and its implications for achieving SDGs is a neglected topic in the global south, particularly the least developed countries (LDCs). Using the hydropower development policy in Nepal as a case, this article employs a refined coherence analysis framework to assess how coherently the concept of ecosystem services (ES) is considered in 20 policy documents. The findings reveal a lack of coherent consideration of the ES concept and implementation gaps. This improves knowledge about an understudied topic in the global south and provides a tool to evaluate policy coherence that can be applied across sectors and scales.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2023.2210748

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