Green and blue infrastructure - Cultural ecosystem services

ABSTRACT

“The world’s economic prosperity and well-being are underpinned by its natural capital, i.e. its biodiversity, including ecosystems that provide essential goods and services for mankind, from fertile soils and multi-functional forests to productive land and seas, from good quality fresh water and clean air to pollination and climate regulation and protection against natural disasters” (J. M. Benjamin Burkhard 2017)

Using different methods of monetizing and mapping, this analisys centres on green and blue infrastructure regarding the ecosystem services but in particular cultural services generated by studied area situated in Vaihingen an der Enz. “Mapping ecosystem services is essential to understand how ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing and to support policies which have an impact on natural resources” (J. M. Benjamin Burkhard 2017). Field visits and questionnaires were conducted in order to have a better understanding of the environment. Spending time in the studied area and speaking with visitors played an important role in analysing the relationship between people and services provided by the environment.

Keywords: Ecosystem services, cultural ecosystem services, mapping, monetizing, landscape aesthetics, landscape value

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

“Urban ecosystems i.e. blue and green infrastructure” supply multiple benefits to citizens and the quality of life is influenced by these essential features. (Vierikko Kati 2016)

One particular ecosystem service can be categorised by its characteristics related to natural structure, functional feature and organisational properties (J. M. Benjamin Burkhard 2017). All services like provisioning, regulating and cultural provided by nature are directly linked to people, therefore they are influencing the ecosystems and vice versa.

1.2 Research Questions

The following essential questions have been of significant relevance for concept of localisation, monatizing, indication and quantification of ecosystem services but especially cultural services in studied area.

What kind of ecosystem services are provided by Enz River in relation with Vaihingen an der Enz town?

In which manner cultural ecosystem services are influencing people’s well being?

Is there a distinction between cultural ecosystem service potentials and demands practical?

How perceive people the aesthetic characteristic of the space?

Which are the hot spots of the area?

1.3 Justification

We, as human beings are interacting with nature in our daily life both in rural and in urban areas sometimes without being aware or without appreciating the influence that it has in our way of being or developing. In urban surroundings, people are facing with speciffic characteristics of environment as heat island effect, quality of air or stormwater runoff so, finding a balance between all the aspects is tremendous.

Quantification and maping of cultural ecosystem services can guide citizens, authorities and researchers to awareness and to a better understanding of environment’s influence on quality of life.

More specifically, the aim of this study is to understand the relationship between the Enz River and the Vaihingen an der Enz locality concerning how people benefit of different ecosystem services but especially cultural services.

The main intention was to have direct and valuable data from the field “to support land-use policies based on public perceptions and opinions that could contribute to decision-making” (Izaskun Casado-Arzuaga 2013).