Sustainable Spatial Planning Based on Ecosystem Services, Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions

Dear Colleagues,

The conceptual category of ecosystem service (ES) was pioneered in the 1970s by articles that identified connections between the life quality of human settlements and the social and economic positive effects of ecosystems. Thenceforward, several studies have identified ESs as important public goods and, as a consequence, the concept of ES has progressively gained relevance as regards the ecological, economic and spatial planning scientific and technical profiles.

A significant general research question is to consider ESs as value-generating resources and to assess their use within the implementation of public policies. From this standpoint, ESs can be associated to the benefits that human settlements, either directly or indirectly, enjoy from nature, and to the support offered by the natural environment to the enhancement of the life quality of human societies. At the outset of the 21^st century, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment defined a taxonomy of ESs by stating that ESs “[A]re the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such as regulation of floods, drought, land degradation, and disease; supporting services such as soil formation and nutrient cycling; and cultural services such as recreational, spiritual, religious and other nonmaterial benefits”. Thereafter, a number of classifications have been proposed by several international bodies and discussed in many studies. Outstanding comprehensive scientific and technical issues in the spatial planning debate can be identified by the analysis and assessment of trade-offs between the protection of nature and economic growth, and between the provisions of different kinds of ESs.

The conceptual category of green infrastructure (GI) is strictly related to ES. According to the European Commission, a GI is “[A] strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ESs. It incorporates green spaces (or blue if aquatic ecosystems are concerned) and other physical features in terrestrial (including coastal) and marine areas. On land, GI is present in rural and urban settings”, and, “The work done over the last 25 years to establish and consolidate the network means that the backbone of the European Union’s GI is already in place. It is a reservoir of biodiversity that can be drawn upon to repopulate and revitalize degraded environments and catalyze the development of GI. This will also help reduce the fragmentation of the ecosystems, improving the connectivity between sites in the Natura 2000 network and thus achieving the objectives of Article 10 of the Habitats Directive”. (SWD(2013) 155 final). This indicates that, according to the European Commission, environmental conservation and improvement are closely connected to the quality of GI as a provider of ESs, and that public policies should give priority to the management, enhancement and monitoring of GI as an ecological network that not only supplies multiple ESs, but also implements their spatial connectivity.

The conceptual category of Nature-based solutions (NBSs) is strictly linked to ES. NBSs are policy measures which build on nature and natural resources, designed and implemented to recover and improve ecosystems’ quality, and to support human societies in order to increase their resilience to climate change. NBSs are generally aimed at decreasing water run-offs, land-surface and air temperature in highly urbanized areas, and at generating positive impacts on environmental, economic and social spatial contexts. NBSs identify a conceptual framework which embeds a number of methodologies addressing many spatial issues. Important among these are the approaches based on the selection and management of ESs and GIs; the planning and governance of spatial processes aimed at supplying ESs; measures to increase water-holding capacity and purification in natural environments; and policies related to the afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable management of forests and woodland. NBSs are increasingly being embedded into the international, national, and local policies that address the negative impacts of climate change and related environmental hazards thereof, although these issues imply relevant technical expertise and insights in order to make NBSs fully operational as regards the thematic questions and spatial contexts at stake.

This Special Issue focuses on ecosystem services, green infrastructure, and Nature-based solutions as important reference points for spatial planning related to urban and rural contexts, with particular reference to the definition and implementation of planning policies aimed at protecting nature and natural resources.

Theoretical and methodological contributions as well as critical discussions on policy implementation are welcome, with particular reference to the following issues:

(1) Integration of ESs within spatial plans and strategic environmental assessment:

• What function do ESs play, or could ESs play, within plan-making processes and strategic environmental assessments?
• At which stage of the planning process is such integration most useful or effective?
• What are the most important challenges in putting integration into practice, and/or the most significant obstacles to achieving integration?
• What roles do scientific and technical expertise vs. community values and local knowledge play in integrating ESs within spatial plans and environmental assessments?

(2) Consideration and use of GIs within spatial plans:

• What function do GIs play, or could GIs play, within plan-making processes?
• What criteria are most effective for designing a spatially connected and multifunctional GI within a spatial plan?
• What kinds of spatial plans (land-use plans, landscape plans, basin plans etc.), are most suited for, or most effective in, designing and implementing GIs?
• Does scale (local, regional, etc.) make a difference in the way GIs are implemented within spatial plans?

(3) Relationship between NBSs and spatial plans:

• Since NBSs are increasingly promoted at the very strategic level (i.e., that of broad policies) and implemented at a very detailed level (i.e., that of projects), what is the role of NBSs within spatial plans?
• What tools are at planners’ disposal to effectively integrate NBSs in planning processes and promote their use, especially in urban contexts?

Dr. Sabrina Lai
Prof. Dr. Corrado Zoppi
Guest Editors

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• ecosystem services
• natural capital
• green infrastructures
• ecological networks
• nature-based solutions
• spatial planning
• land-use planning