Ecosystem Services – Concept, Methods and Case Studies
Generally, growing economic use of nature involves a reduction of the regulatory and sociocultural
services rendered. One goal of the concept of ecosystem services is to better
demonstrate these contexts and move them into the public consciousness. It is therefore important
to recognise and improve the standing of the non-marketable services of nature by
improving the understanding for the systemic context and the dynamics between ecosystem
properties, functions and services, natural capital and their beneficial effects in various spatial
and temporal scales, and in connection with their multiple drivers. Valuating the services
provided by ecosystems and landscapes–i. e. assigning economic/monetary value to
them–is in accordance with the widespread tendency of our times. Often, the argument is
raised that ‘concrete’ arguments need to be developed to persuade political leaders, and to
gain broad acceptance by business and society at large. After all, monetary value and supposedly
‘hard’ figures are the language that is most easily understood, especially outside of
the conservationist community. However, can we and should we really reduce nature, in all
its complexity and its immeasurable significance for us human beings, to monetary values?
The reason and goal of the first comprehensive German-language discussion of this issue
in 2013 was to present the multiple relationships between economics, ecology and ethics in
a theoretically well-grounded manner, and to provide practical recommendations for the
analysis, evaluation, control and communication of ecosystem services. We seek to address
all those interested in building bridges and crossing borders between disciplines: both scientists
and practitioners in the administrative, volunteer and professional spheres, especially
those who deal with the environment, conservation and regional and land-use planning; experts
from the business community, activists in politics, students, and all those interested
in fundamental ecological, economic, ethical and environmentalist issues and issues which
affect ecosystems and landscapes.
VI Preface
After a very positive reception of the German book, the English translation has now been
completed. Springer-Spektrum as editor has initiated this project and made it possible; the
organisation and the cooperative effort were carried out in a notably pleasant atmosphere.
We would like to thank the numerous authors, from Dresden to Bonn and from Freiburg to
Greifswald, for their contributions, and also apologise to those of our colleagues working in
this and similar areas whom we were unable to accommodate for reasons of space. We hope
that the present treatment will spark a constructive discussion with them. The length of the
book was strictly limited, so that, in our view, while a number of very essential aspects of
this highly complex topic have been addressed, others unfortunately have not.
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