An exploration of the relationships between cultural ecosystem services, socio-cultural values and well-being

Although there is a growing literature on cultural ecosystem services, their relationship with well-being is still being explored. This paper reports on the application of a combination of deliberative and instrumental approaches to a coastal environment. The experience supports the ecosystem services approach and confirms the role of cultural services in providing for material as well as non-material benefits, but finds that the potential contribution to quality of life is often held-back by inadequate infrastructure provision compounded by human-induced environmental impacts and failures to mitigate these. The application revealed that stakeholders are knowledgeable on facilities and local impacts and are most comfortable when discussing the natural environment in these terms. We argue that, if stakeholders are introduced to the concept of ecosystem services, these insights can be combined with local knowledge to strengthen communities’ ability to work with the responsible authorities to achieve improved environment quality and management.