Cultural ecosystem services, quality of life and their role in private land use
BackgroundEuropean cultural landscapes are shaped by agricultural and silvicultural uses geared towards the production of food or raw materials, such as timber. Beside these economically exploitable goods, cultural landscapes also deliver benefits which typically are not directly noticed, acknowledged or rewarded by society. These include, for example, soil formation or flood control, but also so-called cultural ecosystem services: the intangible benefits of ecosystems that often become evident when seen through the concept of (cultural) landscapes. Usually, these services are, in the first place, discussed in terms of the use of a landscape for tourism and recreation. However, ecosystems also form the matrix for aesthetic and spiritual experiences. Last but not least, and leaving aside a variety of other forms of intangible benefits, ecosystems and their use as cultural landscapes are said to play a crucial role for the identity, social networks and lifestyles of the local population. This leads to the hypothesis that cultural ecosystem services can be strongly correlated with the perceived well-being at least of those people who are directly occupied with land use in a specific region. However, up to now the specific forms and relations between land use practices and landscape guises have been elusive. There are many studies documenting that political incentives often fail in governing private land use. In this context, socially and culturally rooted motives of private land users have been pointed out as reasons why, for example, people stick to land use practices which are, from an economic point of view, not rational. But, here as well, the specific interactions and correlations between ecosystem services, human well-being and decision making in private land use remain unclear.
The overarching goal of this study is to advance the understanding of cultural ecosystem services and their correlation with given land use practices as well as the well-being of private land users. This is expected to deliver insights into decision-making in private land use and in the potential for policy incentives to govern ecosystem services The project ist part of the
Research Questions
Design and methodology The study is rooted in qualitative social research. In-field observations give in-depth insights into the lifeworlds of private land users in the selected regions. This approach is supported by interviews (including semi-structured, narrative approaches and the use of scenario technique). The surveys will be accompanied by the analysis of historical case studies, especially focusing on changes in land use practices.
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