Interregional flows of ecosystem services: Concepts, typology and four cases

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February 21, 2018 - Matthias Schröter, Thomas Koellner, Rob Alkemade, Sebastian Arnhold, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Karl-Heinz Erb, Karin Frank, Thomas Kastner, Meidad Kissinger, <liuji@msu.edu>, Laura López-Hoffman, Joachim Maes, Alexandra Marques, Berta Martín-López

Journal or Book Title: Ecosystem Services

Volume/Issue: Online

Year Published: 2018

Conserving and managing global natural capital requires an understanding of the complexity of flows of ecosystem services across geographic boundaries. Failing to understand and to incorporate these flows into national and international ecosystem assessments leads to incomplete and potentially skewed conclusions, impairing society’s ability to identify sustainable management and policy choices. In this paper, we synthesize existing knowledge and develop a conceptual framework for analyzing interregional ecosystem service flows. We synthesize the types of such flows, the characteristics of sending and receiving socio-ecological systems, and the impacts of ecosystem service flows on interregional sustainability. Using four cases (trade of certified coffee, migration of northern pintails, flood protection in the Danube watershed, and information on giant pandas), we test the conceptual framework and show how an enhanced understanding of interregional telecouplings in socio-ecological systems can inform ecosystem service-based decision making and governance with respect to sustainability goals.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.02.003

Type of Publication: Journal Article

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