An operational model for mainstreaming ecosystem services for implementation

Research on ecosystem services has grown markedly in recent years. However, few studies are embedded in a social process designed to ensure effective management of ecosystem services. Most research has focused only on biophysical and valuation assessments of putative services. As a mission-oriented discipline, ecosystem service research should be user-inspired and user-useful, which will require that researchers respond to stakeholder needs from the outset and collaborate with them in strategy development and implementation. Here we provide a pragmatic operational model for achieving the safeguarding of ecosystem services. The model comprises three phases: assessment, planning, and management. Outcomes of…

• NR
  National Research Foundation
• NM
  Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
• CO
  Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India
• NM
  Nelson Mandela University