Friend or foe? Exploring the role of the ecosystem services concept in environmental governance
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Date
31/07/2021Author
Ainscough, Jacob
Metadata
Abstract
The ecosystem services (ES) concept has emerged as a major theme in
environmental research and governance in recent decades (Chaudhary et al., 2015;
Costanza et al., 2017). Proponents of the concept highlight its potential to alert
policy makers, businesses, and citizens to our dependence on the natural world. Yet
since its inception the concept has been plagued with criticisms of putting market
prices on, and ultimately commodifying, nature. This thesis aims to explore debates
and tensions within the ES concept through a series of conceptual discussions and
empirical investigations. What is revealed is that ES is neither a silver bullet, nor a
grave threat. It is a deeply ambiguous concept that takes multiple forms in the
different contexts in which it is applied. Through a case study in Scottish inshore
governance I show how the concept is shaped by existing institutions, norms, and
policy priorities. Rather than dismissing the concept then, what is important is
guiding its deployment to ensure it reflects the complex ways in which humans live
in, with, and from the non-human world. To this end, I identify guiding principles for
the ES concept including inter-and transdisciplinary working and of the
consideration of pluralistic environmental values. With these principles in mind, the
rest of the thesis is given over to methodological considerations. I first make the
case for a post-normal science framing in ES research. This post-normal approach
is then demonstrated through the application of a Deliberative Democratic Monetary
Valuation in the context of marine planning. This thesis is therefore both descriptive
and prescriptive, and ultimately intends to help guide the operationalisation of the
ES concept.