Highlights

• Understanding ecosystem services is only a curiosity unless this understanding helps us govern better.

• To analyze ecosystem services governance research during 10 years, we review articles from 2013 to today.

• The review shows that much of the research addressing governance does it in relatively distanced ways.

• Governance needs knowledge integrating locally adapted tools and engaging transparent policy processes.

• Governance research should be put on par with research highlighting ecosystem status and trends.

Abstract

In 2012 we sought to operationalize ecosystem services for governance, and asked in our Ecosystem Services paper (Primmer and Furman, 2012): “Do measuring, mapping and valuing integrate sector-specific knowledge systems?” Since our paper, much operationalization and innovation work has been done toward integration. In this paper, we analyze articles addressing governance of ecosystem services and measuring, mapping and valuation from 2013 to today. Our review shows that much of the research addressing governance does it in relatively distanced ways, suggesting analytical and operational tools and improvements, rather than analyzing governance in-depth. Yet, it is apparent that over the ten years, inventorying of ecosystem services has given way to meaningfully integrated assessments and trade-off analyses as well as to in-depth analyses of stakeholder perceptions and argumentation. Participatory approaches, stakeholder mapping and actors’ roles have been integrated with more technical mapping, grounding analyses in decision-making. Valuation has become routine, yet also more explorative and in-depth, feeding to specific decision-making situations and general policy discussions. Based on the still existing gaps, we suggest that while measuring, mapping and governance should continue to be integrated into governance processes, also the political and administrative processes driving governance need a strong message from the scientific community analyzing ecosystem services governance; so strong that it is on par with the alarming messages about the state and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Governance research has already produced the core message: Securing sustainability of ecosystem service provision, together with safeguarding ecosystem functions and the biodiversity that those functions rely on, requires knowledge integrating locally adapted tools and engaging transparent policy processes.