This study describes a proposal for a new tool on how to incorporate an ecosystem services approach into the maritime spatial planning process. The proposed tool provides a prototype for a stepwise methodology to analyze linkages between maritime activities and ecosystem services, and to assess the status of marine ecosystem services as a part of the MSP process. The report addresses the Nordic cooperation needs, economic valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs between concurrent uses of marine areas and ecosystem services. The study shows that making use of the proposed methodology enables and facilitates the incorporation of an ecosystem services approach in the planning process. However, in order to fully assess its possibilities, and the needs for further improvements, future work should focus on applying the methodology on a comprehensive marine spatial planning case.

Aquatic ecosystems are rich in biodiversity and home to a diverse array of species and habitats, providing a wide variety of benefits to human beings. Many of these valuable ecosystems are at risk of being irreversibly damaged by human activities and pressures, including pollution, contamination, invasive species, overfishing and climate change. Such pressures threaten the sustainability of these ecosystems, their provision of ecosystem services and ultimately human well-being. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is now widely considered the most promising paradigm for balancing sustainable development and biodiversity protection, and various international strategies and conventions have championed the EBM cause and the inclusion of ecosystem services in decision-making. This open access book introduces the essential concepts and principles required to implement ecosystem-based management, detailing tools and techniques, and describing the application of these concepts and tools to a broad range of aquatic ecosystems, from the shores of Lough Erne in Northern Ireland to the estuaries of the US Pacific Northwest and the tropical Mekong Delta.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license Maritime or marine spatial planning has gained increasing prominence as an integrated, common-sense approach to promoting sustainable maritime development. A growing number of countries are engaged in preparing and implementing maritime spatial plans: however, questions are emerging from the growing body of MSP experience. How can maritime spatial planning deal with a complex and dynamic environment such as the sea? How can MSP be embedded in multiple levels of governance across regional and national borders – and how far does the environment benefit from this new approach? This open access book is the first comprehensive overview of maritime spatial planning. Situated at the intersection between theory and practice, the volume draws together several strands of interdisciplinary research, reflecting on the history of MSP as well as examining current practice and looking towards the future. The authors and contributors examine MSP from disciplines as diverse as geography, urban planning, political science, natural science, sociology and education; reflecting the growing critical engagement with MSP in many academic fields. This innovative and pioneering volume will be of interest and value to students and scholars of maritime spatial planning, as well as planners and practitioners. Jacek Zaucha is Professor of Economics at Gdánsk University, Poland. He is long experienced in maritime spatial planning, and is currently leading the team preparing the first plan for Polish waters. Kira Gee is Research Associate at the Centre for Materials and Coastal Research (Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht), Germany. She has been involved in MSP research and practice for over 20 years, and has participated in numerous national and transnational European MSP projects.

Ecosystem services provide benefits to humans, including- ̄provisioning services (food, water, timber, fibre and genetic resources), regulating services (regulation of climate, floods, diseases and water quality), cultural services (recreational, aesthetic and spiritual), and support services (soil formation, pollination and nutrient cycling). Promoting the concept of ecosystem services reveals the potential of its contribution to environmental wellbeing for conservation and sustainability. Humans, as users of the provided services, benefit from ecosystem services, fostering dependency on nature. The use of ecosystem services may lead to unintended environmental consequences throughout the supply chain. Hence, this book will focus on the services provided for human wellbeing and a multilayer association with human problems worldwide when supply chains are disturbed. Carbon emissions from city areas are responsible for 75% of world carbon dioxide emissions, making them a significant contributor to climate change. Urban populations are early responders to the impacts of climate change. In addition, ecosystem services are influenced by human activities. Domestic and industrial water pollution has led to the contamination of drinking water in many parts of the world. Waste management, such as solid waste management and biomedical waste management, is considered crucial for balancing ecosystem services as a consequence of human activities. In addition, air pollution has become part of ecosystem service disturbance, as it has become a worldwide problem and a major threat to the surrounding environment and human health. The major sources of air pollutants are mobile sources and stationary and transboundary emissions. Human activities, such as mining and exploration, have brought naturally occurring radioactive elements, such as gamma rays, which are present at relatively low concentrations in many geologic formations and earth materials, to the surface and have become a threat to human health. Among others, loud noise exposure in occupational settings has been found to be hazardous to hearing organs. Environmental stressors that lead to ecosystem changes have been shown to trigger noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The emergence and re-emergence of vector-borne diseases, such as Zika, Dengue and Malaria, are rapidly influenced by changes in ecosystem services. Many studies have been conducted to develop effective vaccines to combat such diseases. New drugs have been developed from natural resources with the aim of combating drug resistance, enhancing efficacy and reducing toxicity. In addition, a health education programme (HEP) is also being developed to improve the quality of life of patients. A broad spectrum of research is reported in this book covering environmental monitoring, modelling, molecular research, natural product discovery and health education programmes, showing the importance of support from ecosystem services that must be preserved for future wellbeing.

First Published in 2011. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Aquatic Functional Biodiversity: An Ecological and Evolutionary Perspective provides a general conceptual framework by some of the most prominent investigators in the field for how to link eco-evolutionary approaches with functional diversity to understand and conserve the provisioning of ecosystem services in aquatic systems. Rather than producing another methodological book, the editors and authors primarily concentrate on defining common grounds, connecting conceptual frameworks and providing examples by a more detailed discussion of a few empirical studies and projects, which illustrate key ideas and an outline of potential future directions and challenges that are expected in this interdisciplinary research field. Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in using network approaches to disentangle the relationship between biodiversity, community structure and functioning. Novel methods for model construction are being developed constantly, and modern methods allow for the inclusion of almost any type of explanatory variable that can be correlated either with biodiversity or ecosystem functioning. As a result these models have been widely used in ecology, conservation and eco-evolutionary biology. Nevertheless, there remains a considerable gap on how well these approaches are feasible to understand the mechanisms on how biodiversity constrains the provisioning of ecosystem services. - Defines common theoretical grounds in terms of terminology and conceptual issues - Connects theory and practice in ecology and eco-evolutionary sciences - Provides examples for successful biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service management

"The new book Mapping Ecosystem Services provides a comprehensive collection of theories, methods and practical applications of ecosystem services (ES) mapping, for the first time bringing together valuable knowledge and techniques from leading international experts in the field." (www.eurekalert.org).