Ecosystem Services and Institutional Dynamics

This Special Issue on "Ecosystem Services and Institutional Dynamics" is composed of a selection of papers which were originally presented during the 10th biennial conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics held in June 2013 in Lille. Ecosystem services, i.e. the material and immaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems, has become a topic of increasing attention, over the past two decades, from both scientists and policy makers. This enthusiasm for such a concept can be understood, as an ideological option (commodification of nature), a pragmatic view at the (best) ways to conduct policies dealing with human–nature interactions—focusing on human well-being—or simply as a tool which has to find its place in the already existing toolbox. Various valuation methods have been developed or adapted to ecosystem services, ranging from monetary valuation to more sophisticated valuation/quantification methods taking into account more directly the incommensurable nature of human and natural capital (deliberative monetary valuation, multi-criteria analysis, integrated assessment). In parallel, an important development of policy instruments incorporating ecosystem services has been witnessed in recent years,. This Special Issue will deconstruct discourses and explore practices on the ground on all the above mentioned topics.