Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Challenges of Incorporating Cultural Ecosystem Services into Environmental Assessment

  • Perspective
  • Published:
AMBIO Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The ecosystem services concept is used to make explicit the diverse benefits ecosystems provide to people, with the goal of improving assessment and, ultimately, decision-making. Alongside material benefits such as natural resources (e.g., clean water, timber), this concept includes—through the ‘cultural’ category of ecosystem services—diverse non-material benefits that people obtain through interactions with ecosystems (e.g., spiritual inspiration, cultural identity, recreation). Despite the longstanding focus of ecosystem services research on measurement, most cultural ecosystem services have defined measurement and inclusion alongside other more ‘material’ services. This gap in measurement of cultural ecosystem services is a product of several perceived problems, some of which are not real problems and some of which can be mitigated or even solved without undue difficulty. Because of the fractured nature of the literature, these problems continue to plague the discussion of cultural services. In this paper we discuss several such problems, which although they have been addressed singly, have not been brought together in a single discussion. There is a need for a single, accessible treatment of the importance and feasibility of integrating cultural ecosystem services alongside others.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Basso, K.H. 1996. Wisdom sits in places: Landscape and language among the Western Apache. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, J. 2006. The nonmarket benefits of nature: What should be counted in green GDP? Discussion Paper, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, 20 pp.

  • Broome, J. 1997. Is incommensurability valgueness? In Incommensurability, incomparability, and practical reason, ed. R. Chang, 67–89. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G.M., and J.F. Shogren. 1998. Economics of the endangered species act. The Journal of Economic Perspectives 12: 3–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S.R., H.A. Mooney, J. Agard, D. Capistrano, R.S. DeFries, S. Diaz, T. Dietz, A.K. Duraiappah, et al. 2009. Science for managing ecosystem services: Beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106: 1305–1312.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K., T. Satterfield, and J. Goldstein. 2011a. Rethinking ecosystem services to better address and navigate cultural values. Ecological Economics 74: 8–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K., J. Goldstein, T. Satterfield, N. Hannahs, K. Kikiloi, R. Naidoo, N. Vadeboncoeur, and U. Woodside. 2011b. Cultural services and non-use values. In Natural capital: Theory & practice of mapping ecosystem services, ed. P. Kareiva, H. Tallis, T.H. Ricketts, G.C. Daily, and S. Polasky, 206–228. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K., A. Guerry, T. Satterfield, P. Balvanera, A. Bostrom, R. Chuenpagdee, S. Klain, M. Ruckelshaus, et al. 2012. Integrating ‘cultural’ and ‘social’ into ecosystem services: A framework for value-based ecosystem decision-making. BioScience 62: 744–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Church, A., J. Burgess, and N. Ravenscroft. 2011. Chapter 16: Cultural Services, U.N.E. Assessment, 633–692. Cambridge: UNEP-WCMC.

  • Colyvan, M., J. Justus, and H.M. Regan. 2010. The natural environment is valuable but not infinitely valuable. Conservation Letters 3: 224–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza, R., R. d’Arge, R. de Groot, S. Farberk, M. Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem, et al. 1997. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: 253–260.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daniel, T.C., A. Muhar, A. Arnberger, O. Aznar, J.W. Boyd, K. Chan, R. Costanza, T. Elmqvist, et al. 2012. Contributions of cultural services to the ecosystem services agenda. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109: 8812–8819.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • EPA Science Advisory Board. 2009. Valuing the protection of ecological systems and services: A report of the science advisory board. Washington, DC: USEP Agency.

  • Fishkin, J.S. 1995. The voice of the people: Public opinion and democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fu, B.J., C.H. Su, Y.P. Wei, I.R. Willett, Y.H. Lü, and G.H. Liu. 2011. Double counting in ecosystem services valuation: Causes and countermeasures. Ecological Research 26: 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fung, A. 2004. Empowered participation: Reinventing urban democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulder, L., and D. Kennedy. 1997. Valuing ecosystem services: Philosophical bases and empirical methods. In Nature’s services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems, ed. G.C. Daily, 23–48. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, R., S. Lichtenstein, and P. Slovic. 1993. Valuing environmental resources: A constructive approach. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 7: 177–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, J. 1986. Well being: Its meaning, measurement and moral importance. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handy, C. 1995. The empty raincoat: Making sense of the future. New York: Random House Business.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J.F., and R.D. Putnam. 2004. The social context of well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 359: 1435–1446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingold, T. 2000. The perception of the environment: Essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill. Hove: Psychology Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Koehler, E.M. 2007. Repatriation of Cultural Objects to Indigenous Peoples: A Comparative Analysis of US and Canadian Law. Int’l Law 41: 103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, M., and P. Kumar. 2008. Valuation of the ecosystem services: A psycho-cultural perspective. Ecological Economics 64: 808–819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K. 1993. Compass and gyroscope: Integrating science and politics for the environment. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahalia, B. 1994. Letter from a tribal village. Lokoyan Bulletin 11.

  • Marsden, S. 2002. Adawx, Spanaxnox, and the Geopolitics of the Tsimshian. BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly 135: 101–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Alier, J. 1995. The environment as a luxury good or “too poor to be green?”. Ecological Economics 13: 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Alier, J. 2002. The environmentalism of the poor: A study of ecological conflicts and valuation. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marvier, M., J. Grant, and P. Kareiva. 2006. Nature: Poorest may see it as their economic rival. Nature 443: 749–750.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A.H. 1943. A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review 50: 370–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meffe, G., L. Nielsen, R.L. Knight, and D. Schenborn. 2002. Ecosystem management: Adaptive, community-based conservation. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005a. Ecosystems and human well-being. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005b. A framework for assessment. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B. 2005. Sustainability: A philosophy of adaptive ecosystem management. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pejchar, L., and H.A. Mooney. 2009. Invasive species, ecosystem services and human well-being. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24: 497–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, J.B., and J.L. Flanders. 2002. Complexity management theory: Motivation for ideological rigidity and social conflict. Cortex 38: 429–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett, S.T.A., and M. Cadenasso. 2002. The ecosystem as a multidimensional concept: Meaning, model, and metaphor. Ecosystems 5: 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raz, J. 1986. The morality of freedom. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, M.S. 2008. Stakeholder participation for environmental management: A literature review. Biological Conservation 141: 2417–2431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rey Benayas, J.M., A.C. Newton, A. Diaz, and J.M. Bullock. 2009. Enhancement of biodiversity and ecosystem services by ecological restoration: A meta-analysis. Science 325: 1121–1124. doi:10.1126/science.1172460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, C.F. 2008. Becoming Tsimshian: The social life of names. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, R.D., and L.G. Chestnut. 1982. The value of visibility: Economic theory and applications for air pollution control. Cambridge: ABT Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryfe, D.M. 2002. The practice of deliberative democracy: A study of 16 deliberative organizations. Political Communication 19: 359–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sagoff, M. 1998. Aggregation and deliberation in valuing environmental public goods: A look beyond contingent pricing. Ecological Economics 24: 213–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahlins, M. 1999. Two or three things that I know about culture. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 5: 399–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahlins, M. 2011. What kinship is (part one). Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 17: 2–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schudson, M. 1997. Why conversation is not the soul of democracy. Critical Studies in Media Communication 14: 297–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H.A. 1978. Rationality as process and as product of thought. The American Economic Review 68: 1–16. doi:10.2307/1816653.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spash, C.L. 2007. Deliberative monetary valuation (DMV): Issues in combining economic and political processes to value environmental change. Ecological Economics 63: 690–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spash, C.L. 2008a. Deliberative monetary valuation and the evidence for a new value theory. Land Economics 84: 469.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spash, C.L. 2008b. How much is that ecosystem in the window? The one with the bio-diverse trail. Environmental Values 17: 259–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tallis, H., S.E. Lester, M. Ruckelshaus, M. Plummer, K. McLeod, A. Guerry, S. Andelman, M.R. Caldwell, et al. 2011. New metrics for managing and sustaining the ocean’s bounty. Marine Policy 36: 303–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, N.J. 2005. The Earth’s blanket: Traditional teachings for sustainable living. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, N.J., M.B. Ignace, and R. Ignace. 2000. Traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom of aboriginal peoples in British Columbia. Ecological Applications 10: 1275–1287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, C., B.S. Halpern, and C.V. Kappel. 2012. Ecosystem service tradeoff analysis reveals the value of marine spatial planning for multiple ocean uses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109: 4696–4701.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilderness Society for the Endangered Species Coalition. 1992. The Endangered Species Act: A commitment worth keeping. Washington, DC: Wilderness Society.

  • Wilson, M.A., and R.B. Howarth. 2002. Discourse-based valuation of ecosystem services: Establishing fair outcomes through group deliberation. Ecological Economics 41: 431–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., T.H. Ricketts, C. Kremen, K. Carney, and S.M. Swinton. 2007. Ecosystem services and dis-services to agriculture. Ecological Economics 64: 253–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), which supported the meetings of our Working Group on Cultural Ecosystem Services. We are also indebted for the reflection on this essay’s contents contributed by members of the NCEAS Working Group who are not authors on this paper: P. Balavanera, A. Bostrom, R. Chuenpagdee, G. Daily, M. Ruckelshaus, R. Russell, and G. Bratman. Finally, we thank two helpful anonymous reviewers for this journal.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Stanford University, Bldg. 90, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Debra Satz

  2. Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Rachelle K. Gould

  3. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Kai M. A. Chan, Terre Satterfield & Jordan Levine

  4. Natural Capital Project, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Anne Guerry

  5. School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Bryan Norton

  6. National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis, 735 State St., Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, USA

    Benjamin S. Halpern & Sarah Klain

  7. Kamehameha Schools, Land Assets Division, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA

    Ulalia Woodside & Neil Hannahs

  8. Duke Marine Lab, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    Xavier Basurto

Authors
  1. Debra Satz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rachelle K. Gould
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kai M. A. Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Anne Guerry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bryan Norton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Terre Satterfield
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Benjamin S. Halpern
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jordan Levine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Ulalia Woodside
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Neil Hannahs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Xavier Basurto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Sarah Klain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Debra Satz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Satz, D., Gould, R.K., Chan, K.M.A. et al. The Challenges of Incorporating Cultural Ecosystem Services into Environmental Assessment. AMBIO 42, 675–684 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0386-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0386-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation