Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations

This thesis provides a trajectory over the concept of ecosystem services and discusses possible implications the concept of ecosystem services might entail for human-nature relations. Through a literature review, the thesis traces the concept’s historical origins and how it has developed since secon...

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Autor principal: Chorell, Joel
Formato: H2
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Urban and Rural Development 2018
Materias:
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author Chorell, Joel
author_browse Chorell, Joel
author_facet Chorell, Joel
author_sort Chorell, Joel
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description This thesis provides a trajectory over the concept of ecosystem services and discusses possible implications the concept of ecosystem services might entail for human-nature relations. Through a literature review, the thesis traces the concept’s historical origins and how it has developed since second half of the 1900´s and become mainstreamed into present day society. The thesis discerns two discursive themes; i) ecosystem services as an instrumental link between nature and society, and ii) commodification of nature within the concept of ecosystem services. Through the discursive themes, the thesis discusses how the concept provides a simplified view of the complexity inherent in nature, and argues that the current application of the concept poses a risk of excluding values that do not fit the economic setting. There are also indications of nature being viewed as a machine with substitutable parts, especially regarding commodification and substitutability within nature. Although still debated, the language of economics makes possible a translation of nature’s values to a wider audience than traditional conservation. The thesis also argues that the urban lifestyle of humans with a changing relation to nature creates a need to invent concepts like ecosystem services that better capture our “modern” instrumental relation towards nature. Ecosystem services can thus be seen as an instrumental link between humans and nature that is compatible with the economic language of society at large.
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institution Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
language Inglés
publishDate 2018
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spelling RepoSLU137662020-05-20T11:28:03Z Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations Chorell, Joel ecosystem services human-nature relations instrumentality values development This thesis provides a trajectory over the concept of ecosystem services and discusses possible implications the concept of ecosystem services might entail for human-nature relations. Through a literature review, the thesis traces the concept’s historical origins and how it has developed since second half of the 1900´s and become mainstreamed into present day society. The thesis discerns two discursive themes; i) ecosystem services as an instrumental link between nature and society, and ii) commodification of nature within the concept of ecosystem services. Through the discursive themes, the thesis discusses how the concept provides a simplified view of the complexity inherent in nature, and argues that the current application of the concept poses a risk of excluding values that do not fit the economic setting. There are also indications of nature being viewed as a machine with substitutable parts, especially regarding commodification and substitutability within nature. Although still debated, the language of economics makes possible a translation of nature’s values to a wider audience than traditional conservation. The thesis also argues that the urban lifestyle of humans with a changing relation to nature creates a need to invent concepts like ecosystem services that better capture our “modern” instrumental relation towards nature. Ecosystem services can thus be seen as an instrumental link between humans and nature that is compatible with the economic language of society at large. SLU/Dept. of Urban and Rural Development 2018 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/13766/
spellingShingle ecosystem services
human-nature relations
instrumentality
values
development
Chorell, Joel
Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations
title Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations
title_full Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations
title_fullStr Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations
title_full_unstemmed Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations
title_short Conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations
title_sort conceptualising ecosystem services and implications for human nature relations
topic ecosystem services
human-nature relations
instrumentality
values
development