Project R-7312

Urban ecosystem services: while plants do their job, do policies do theirs? (Research)

Despite our increased understanding of issues such as biodiversity loss and air pollution, trends are still negative, implying that new approaches are needed. Multi-actor governance refers to decision making processes by which the use of common goods and services are decided upon by a broad range of stakeholders and societal actors, operating with the state. The governance of ecosystem services faces various challenges due to the specificities of ecosystem services: there are still major gaps in scientific evidence regarding the use of nature-based solutions, ecosystem service actors are dispersed at multiple levels and across sectors, translation of research findings to policies is difficult, and policy objectives might conflict across sectors. The project aims to improve the governance of ecosystem services in urban areas. It starts by designing a management plan for urban green based on one service, being human health, using new scientific knowledge regarding bacteria-enhanced plant-based technologies that are capable of reducing and detoxifying PM. Next, it frames this management problem by adding the importance of other services based on stakeholder participation. The project ends by analyzing how knowledge from the previous steps can be translated to policy makers and what other aspects - besides scientific knowledge - play a role in policy establishment using a novel framework.

01 October 2016 - 13 January 2020