Integrating Human and Ecosystem Health Through Ecosystem Services Frameworks

The pace and scale of environmental change is undermining the conditions for human health. Yet the environment and human health remain poorly integrated within research, policy and practice. The ecosystem services (ES) approach provides a way of promoting integration via the frameworks used to represent relationships between environment and society in simple visual forms. To assess this potential, we undertook a scoping review of ES frameworks and assessed how each represented seven key dimensions, including ecosystem and human health. Of the 84 ES frameworks identified, the majority did not include human health (62%) or include feedback mechanisms between ecosystems and human health (75%). While ecosystem drivers of human health are included in some ES frameworks, more comprehensive frameworks are required to drive forward research and policy on environmental change and human health. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10393-015-1041-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.


The relationship between natural processes and human needs
To highlight the importance of nature conservation for human well-being.
Links natural processes and components with human needs and activities through a two-way functional process, which emphasises their respective influence on each other. Types of natural and human-made capital stocks, good and service flows, and their interdependence To encourage maintenance of a total natural capital stock at or above the current level, which is needed to achieve 'strong sustainability'.
Illustrates the interdependence between natural capital (non-renewable and renewable), human capital and manufactured capital, with economic and ecosystem goods and service flows. To support the analysis and operationalization of the sustainable livelihoods approach.
Consists of several key features for livelihoods analysis: context, livelihood resources, institutional processes, livelihood strategies, and livelihood outcomes. The economy as a part of its life-supporting environment To encourage maintenance of biodiversity at a level that ensures ecosystem resilience, in order to provide for human consumption and existence. Also to stress the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to biodiversity.
The economic system sits within the ecological system, and receives ecosystem services, natural resources and energy from that ecological system. The economic system expels degraded energy, resources and pollution.
Framework for integrated assessment and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services To provide a standardised ecosystem services framework in order to improve assessment of goods and services.
Illustrates the relationship between ecosystem structure and process, ecosystem functions, ecosystem goods and services, different values to society, and decisionmaking processes. To help show how sustainability standards can be derived, and to enable policy makers to determine and reduce the 'sustainability gap' and thus move towards environmental sustainability.
Illustrates the relationship between influences (e.g. social, economic etc.) and natural capital (both its elements and functions), with 'functions for people', which in turn affects human welfare. Consists of an ecological and a social subsystem, which affect 'human actors', which in turn affect the subsystems through four types of institution (resourceharvest, hazard-reduction, resource-conservation and ecological-externality producing). To help stakeholders to implement effective on-the-ground management that will lead to ecological resilience and safeguarding of ES.
Consists of three project phases (assessment, planning and management) in relation to spatial scale, status of the socio-ecological system and level of stakeholder collaboration. Three types of assessment are depicted -social, biophysical and valuation. To support a diagnostic approach for evaluating stability and change in ES using principles of computational thinking and services-orientated architecture.
Links ecosystem services with consumer and provider behaviour, through four pathways: service viability, service execution context, service interactions and service outcomes. Multi-scale relationship between governance and ecosystem services To provide guidance for matching the scales of ecosystem governance to those of ecosystem dynamics, and to aid integration of social and ecological disciplines.
Depicts multi-scale linkages (local, regional, global) between governance and ecosystems, with emphasis on local feedbacks between local ecosystems and services, local governance, and community and individual wellbeing. Possible spatial relationships between service production areas and service benefit areas Could be used to inform where management interventions should be concentrated.
Depicts four scenarios of service production/benefit areas, including service provision and benefit occurring in the same area, and services providing benefits omni-directionally to the surrounding landscape. To demonstrate how natural capital fits within the ecosystem services framework and how it can be evaluated through integrated valuation and process-based models. Overall context of the research relates to soil natural capital.
Depicts the relationship between ecosystem natural capital, ecosystem services and valuation, and regional decision-making, with particular reference to valuation/modelling tools. Three spatial scales (regional, national and international) are depicted as interacting, in terms of information transfer. To categorise ES (through a participatory process) to provide structure for the quantification of management priorities. To build transdisciplinary knowledge of social-ecological systems and contribute to the development and testing of theory within these disciplines.
Consists of a social template (human behaviour and human outcomes) and a biophysical template (community structure and ecosystem function), linked together through ecosystem services and by pulse and press events ('press' referring to extensive, pervasive, and subtle change, and 'pulse' referring to sudden events). The systems are influenced by external drivers such as climate and globalisation. To aid the assessment of the effects of environmental change on ecosystem services provision.
Based on a Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, and thus comprised of each of these components. The 'state' component includes the supporting system as well as ecosystem services beneficiaries and providers. A stepwise implementation strategy for the conceptual framework is also shown. Efficiency framework for an ecosystem services approach to sustainability To provide a conceptual basis for assessing the components of socialecological systems and the links between them, based around magnitudes and efficiencies of conversion between states.
Consists of three broad sub-systems: ecosystem functions, ecosystem services, and social development and well-being. These systems interact with each other (e.g. through impacts, consumption, and trade-offs), representing a transfer of state (e.g. from ecosystem functions to ecosystem services). Within each subsystem feedback loops and mechanisms (e.g. governance, incentives etc.) are depicted. The DPSIR framework and the ecosystem services and societal benefits set within an overall framework of The Ecosystem Approach To integrate the DPSIR framework with ecosystem services and societal benefits to help support decision-making in environmental management (with particular reference to the marine environment).
Consists of two frameworks sitting within an overall ecological approach: (i) the DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State Change-Impact-Response) approach, which can 'protect the natural system & benefits for society', and (ii) ES and social benefits, which consists of biota-ecological structure, physico-chemical, and biota-ecological functioning, which interact and deliver benefits for society. To support the assessment of ecological management goals and interlinkages with poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods, in the context of wetland management.
Consists of several components-central being the ecosystem settings (comprised of 'capitals' and 'ecological character'), which sits within institutions and freedoms. This is linked to livelihood outcomes, via livelihood strategies. The ecosystem settings are also affected by the vulnerability context (drivers of change To aid the transition between conceptual frameworks/ theory, to practical integration of ES into decision-making, through translating a conceptual framework into a practical toolkit.
Consists of four key components: the resource, the resource users, public infrastructure, and public infrastructure providers. The components are linked by four steps -Step 1 -ES supply and demand assessment; Step 2 -future estuary roles identification; Step 3 -enterprise opportunity identification; Step 4enterprise risk assessment. Estuarine example used but easily generalised. Adapted from a social Framework for characterizing ES that might be affected by management or planning.
To facilitate the incorporation of diverse values associated with ecological and socioecological change, in order to aid decision-making, management and planning.
Five steps to aid ES management and planning are illustrated: 1-obtain consent, 2-determine the decision context, 3-determine the socio-ecological context, 4determine the ES, benefits and values, and 5-influence diagrams and scenarios. Firm-level ecosystem service valuation framework To incentivise firms to incorporate environmental considerations into project development or management decisions, thus encouraging more sustainable management and development.
Depicts the relationship between four assessment/ valuation stages to be undertaken by a firm: (i) determine lifecycle inventory, (ii) assess ecosystem functions, (iii) perform functional substitutability and (iv) determine economic value. This is followed by decision analysis. Adapted from Comello & Lepech The EPPS framework aims to provide an improved approach for ES assessment, and for linking ecosystem services and potentials to management practice -this extended version adds additional aspects such as benefits/values, beneficiaries and management, as well as spatial and temporal aspects.
Consists of five inter-related pillars -properties, potentials, services, benefits/values and users/beneficiaries. These sit within three overlapping levels-physical, intermediate and socio-economic. The use and management of ES impact upon the five pillars. The temporal aspect of assessment (time scale, driving forces, changes and scenarios) is illustrated through a number of processes, and spatial aspects (spatial scales, dimensions, patterns) are also depicted. The type of evidence/assessment (factual/valuation) is also shown. To provide guidance for a participatory/ deliberative approach to ecosystem services valuation through involvement of different stakeholder groups.
Comprised of three main stages within the overall 'policy formation and assessment process': 1) set the scene, 2) deepen understanding and 3) articulate values. This leads to decision-implementation. Set within marine/ coastal context, but the framework is not itself habitat specific.  Evolution, The direct and indirect (cultural) pathways from biodiversity to human health To illustrate the link between biodiversity change with human cultural values, well-being, and health, which may be important for biodiversity conservation and public health.
Illustrates the direct effects of biodiversity on human health (e.g. the regulation of the emergence and transmission of disease and pollution control) and also the indirect effects of biodiversity on human health via cultural pathways -biodiversity loss affects the provision of cultural goods, which reduces their value and, consequently negatively impacts upon human well-being and health. A multi-scale conceptual framework on nature, the productive base of societies and human well-being To address the mis-matches and the multiple spatial scales of ES provision, to improve the understanding and assessment of key inter-linkages between nature and human well-being.
Consists of an interlinking social and ecological system at multiple scales. Both systems feed into the productive base and are affected by institutions and governance. The productive base contributes to human well-being, via human, productive and natural capital, the latter via ES provision. Human well-being also affects the productive base and nature's systems. To highlight the difference between the full potential of ecosystems to provide final services and the current use of itand thus provide information for more sustainable land management. Framework to analyse and quantify ecosystem service flows To aid the analysis of the spatial connections between ES provisioning and benefiting areas, which is often lacking in ES assessments.
Consists of three overlapping circles. In the centre is P -representing ES provisioning areas. This sits within a larger circle -F, the flow area where ES can be potentially delivered from P. Two smaller ES 'benefiting' areas are also shown, which are spatial units in which ES are needed or readily used/ consumed.