Governance of ecosystem services: a review of empirical literature

Although researchers have postulated different modes of governance, the degree of empirical support for different governance modes in ecosystem service literature remains unclear. Understanding the contexts under which governance modes have been researched and applied in practice could help decision-makers choose appropriate strategies to the provision of ecosystem services. We conducted a literature review to explore the development of empirical research on ecosystem services governance and to illustrate research frontiers and gaps in this research. We reviewed 157 empirical papers on the governance of ecosystem services published between 2006 and 2019. Our results show that the number of papers about the governance of ecosystem services has increased and that researchers have mainly used qualitative and mixed methods. No governance mode has dominated the research field. Rather, different governance modes have been studied in combination, possibly reflecting the fact that multiple and overlapping governance arrangements often affect the provision of ecosystem services. The geographical distribution of ecosystem services governance research is diverse, but misses perspectives from certain regions, such as Southeast Asia. This means that while decision-makers in well-studied areas like Western Europe can use a pool on studied arrangements, in other areas decision-makers may find limited literature to inform their decisions to maintain and strengthen ecosystem services.

尽管研究者已提出多种治理模式，但生态系统服务研究领域中，不同治理模式获得的实证支持程度仍未明晰。明晰治理模式的研究与实践应用场景，可帮助决策者选择适配的策略以保障生态系统服务的供给。本研究开展了一项文献综述，旨在梳理生态系统服务治理实证研究的发展脉络，并阐明该领域的研究前沿与空白。我们筛选了2006年至2019年间发表的157篇生态系统服务治理相关实证论文。研究结果显示，生态系统服务治理相关论文的数量呈增长趋势，研究者主要采用定性研究与混合研究方法。目前尚无某一种治理模式在该研究领域占据主导地位，相反，现有研究多对不同治理模式进行组合探讨，这或许反映出多重且相互重叠的治理安排往往会共同影响生态系统服务供给这一事实。生态系统服务治理研究的地理分布较为多元，但却缺失了东南亚等部分地区的研究视角。这意味着，尽管西欧等研究较为充分的地区，决策者可依托已有的相关研究成果储备制定策略，但在其他地区，决策者可获取的、用于指导其维护与强化生态系统服务的文献却较为有限。