TY - JOUR

T1 - An environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services

AU - Loos, Jacqueline

AU - Benra, Felipe

AU - Berbés-Blázquez, Marta

AU - Bremer, Leah L.

AU - Chan, Kai M.A.

AU - Egoh, Benis

AU - Felipe-Lucia, Maria

AU - Geneletti, Davide

AU - Keeler, Bonnie

AU - Locatelli, Bruno

AU - Loft, Lasse

AU - Schröter, Barbara

AU - Schröter, Matthias

AU - Winkler, Klara J.

N1 - We are grateful for the Duke-Nicholas Institute as well as the formation of the ESP partnership on ES and EJ, which sparked our discussions around bridging the gap between research and practice and how to link ES with equity considerations. JL was funded through a Junior Professorship for Research into the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources by the Robert-Bosch Foundation. FB was funded by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) through the scholarship program Becas Chile-Doctorado Acuerdo Bilateral DAAD convocatoria 2017 No 62170002 and by ANID Chile through FONDECYT Grant No 1190207. FB acknowledges the support of iDiv funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG-FZT 118, 202548816). Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2023/3/1

Y1 - 2023/3/1

N2 - Mainstreaming of ecosystem service approaches has been proposed as one path toward sustainable development. Meanwhile, critics of ecosystem services question if the approach can account for the multiple values of ecosystems to diverse groups of people, or for aspects of inter- and intra-generational justice. In particular, an ecosystem service approach often overlooks power dimensions and capabilities that are core to environmental justice. This article addresses the need for greater guidance on incorporating justice into ecosystem services research and practice. We point to the importance of deep engagement with stakeholders and rights holders to disentangle contextual factors that moderate justice outcomes on ecosystem service attribution and appropriation in socio-political interventions. Such a holistic perspective enables the integration of values and knowledge plurality for enhancing justice in ecosystem services research. This broadened perspective paves a way for transformative ecosystem service assessments, management, and research, which can help inform and design governance structures that nourish human agency to sustainably identify, manage, and enjoy ecosystem services for human wellbeing.

AB - Mainstreaming of ecosystem service approaches has been proposed as one path toward sustainable development. Meanwhile, critics of ecosystem services question if the approach can account for the multiple values of ecosystems to diverse groups of people, or for aspects of inter- and intra-generational justice. In particular, an ecosystem service approach often overlooks power dimensions and capabilities that are core to environmental justice. This article addresses the need for greater guidance on incorporating justice into ecosystem services research and practice. We point to the importance of deep engagement with stakeholders and rights holders to disentangle contextual factors that moderate justice outcomes on ecosystem service attribution and appropriation in socio-political interventions. Such a holistic perspective enables the integration of values and knowledge plurality for enhancing justice in ecosystem services research. This broadened perspective paves a way for transformative ecosystem service assessments, management, and research, which can help inform and design governance structures that nourish human agency to sustainably identify, manage, and enjoy ecosystem services for human wellbeing.

KW - Environmental management

KW - Equity

KW - Pluralism

KW - Recognition

KW - Relational values

KW - Biology

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85143979499&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/0755a7a1-4336-3b99-9235-a0fb9cc34a85/

U2 - 10.1007/s13280-022-01812-1

DO - 10.1007/s13280-022-01812-1

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 36520411

AN - SCOPUS:85143979499

VL - 52

SP - 477

EP - 488

JO - Ambio

JF - Ambio

SN - 0044-7447

IS - 3

ER -