Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Ecosystem Services refer to the values humans derive from nature, including climate regulation, clean air, biodiversity, and many other contributions to human health and wellbeing. Over the last few decades, there have been increasing numbers of studies related to ecosystem services (ES) in Environmental Planning and Sustainability Governance. While ES are often mentioned in policy documents, much less focus has been placed on the communication and interpretation of ES in planning discourse.

This research aims to investigate how ecosystem services were presented in environmental and planning policy documents for Uppsala Municipality and Region Uppsala. It identifies the most common framing of ecosystem services and what environmental problems, solutions, or actors are included in those framings. This study examines which values and perspectives of ecosystem services (e.g., social, cultural, emotional, relational) are featured and underrepresented.

The results of the study are based on a qualitative frame analysis of six municipal and regional policies. A frame analysis approach was employed using framing theory to provide insight into how Ecosystem Services were communicated through descriptions of environmental problems, suggested sustainability actions, and assigned responsibility. Coding was done with relevant text, groupings were formed based on categories, and common frames were identified.

Four Ecosystem Service Frames were identified as being the most common among all policy documents analyzed. These included Technocratic/Managerial, Economic/Growth-Oriented, Ecological Protection, and Social/Participatory. The Technocratic/Managerial Frame was the most prominent, communicating Ecosystem Services as environmental functions that can be planned or managed. The Economic/growth-oriented frame positioned ecosystem services as a new opportunity for innovation, competitiveness, and regional growth. The Ecological Protection Framework dealt with biodiversity conservation, climate change, and ecological sustainability. The Social/Participatory Frame was present but significantly less developed than the other three frames.

It was also observed that Ecosystem Services were communicated almost exclusively through Technical/Ecological/Economic perspectives; Cultural, Emotional, Relational, and Place-Based values of Nature received very little attention. Similarly, issues of Environmental Justice/Citizen Agency/Local Ecological Knowledge received very little mention in the Policy Discourse.

These results show that Ecosystem Services are not portrayed neutrally. Instead, the policy documents create specific conceptions of nature/sustainability/environmental governance by focusing on specific values/perspectives while ignoring others. This study contributes to research about Ecosystem Services and Environmental Planning by demonstrating how policy language affects how nature is valued and included in Sustainable Governance practices.