Introduction to Part IV: Societal Responses

Abstract

This part of The Atlas of Ecosystem Services focuses on the types of societal responses to addressing drivers and risks to ecosystems, as well as on societal demand and dependence on ecosystem services (Fig. 47.1). Society is affected by changes in ecosystem services provision that occur because of drivers affecting ecosystems and because of trade-offs between different ecosystem services. This has implications for human wellbeing and values [1, 2]. In response to these implications, different forms of land management can be triggered which either affect ecosystem properties [3] or target the management of different drivers [4]. In this context, the search for suitable governance options is considered one of the most pressing research challenges in the field of ecosystem services [5]. While work in this field has often aimed for providing additional arguments for conservation and hence decision-making [6], there have been few examples of how such information actually feeds in decision-making processes leading to societal responses to ecosystem service risks. Providing policy-relevant ecosystem service information tailored for decision-making processes has so far not been a focus in ecosystem service research [7, 8].