Does the use of ecosystem services concepts aid in stakeholder participation and improve integrated understanding of the marine environment? A case study from the Firth of Forth, Scotland
Abstract
Brief summary of the publication, inlcuding points of specific note/interest (please note this is for non-scientists): Improving decision making and participation in coastal governance is an important goal for policy makers and coastl communities. The concept of ecosystem services provides a potential common language to explore social and ecological trade-offs, connections between ecological and human systems and the variety of benefits that society obtains from healthy functioning systems. While the literature on ecosystem services is expanding, there is limited experience in developing decision stakeholder driven approaches for practical implementation. Therefore what is needed is a process that encourages stakeholder perceptions of ecosystems services (ES) and their benefits to be shared and assist in informing the trade-offs that communities make when engaging in development decisions. The project Cooperative patticipatory assessment of the impact of renewable technology on ecosystem services: CORPORATES, brought together natural and social scientists, experts in law and policy and marine managers, with the aim of promoting more integrated decision making using ES concepts in marine management. CORPORATES developed a process to bring ES concepts into stakeholders' awareness, using a live issue of the co-location of wind farms, MPAs and fishing in the Firth of Forth Region in Scotland. This paper presents the results of the two workshops and outlines future applications that encourage nexus thinking on the multiple benefits provided by coastal systems."
Citation
Potts, T. & Tweddle, J. F. (2016). Does the use of ecosystem services concepts aid in stakeholder participation and improve integrated understanding of the marine environment? A case study from the Firth of Forth, Scotland. Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference, London, UK, 30 August - 2 September 2016.
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