Mark Everard Mark.Everard@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Ecosystem Services
Systemic solutions for multi-benefit water and environmental management
Everard, Mark; McInnes, Robert
Authors
Robert McInnes
Abstract
The environmental and financial costs of inputs to, and unintended consequences arising from narrow consideration of outputs from, water and environmental management technologies highlight the need for low-input solutions that optimise outcomes across multiple ecosystem services. Case studies examining the inputs and outputs associated with several ecosystem-based water and environmental management technologies reveal a range from those that differ little from conventional electro-mechanical engineering techniques through methods, such as integrated constructed wetlands (ICWs), designed explicitly as low-input systems optimising ecosystem service outcomes. All techniques present opportunities for further optimisation of outputs, and hence for greater cumulative public value. We define 'systemic solutions' as "... low-input technologies using natural processes to optimise benefits across the spectrum of ecosystem services and their beneficiaries". They contribute to sustainable development by averting unintended negative impacts and optimising benefits to all ecosystem service beneficiaries, increasing net economic value. Legacy legislation addressing issues in a fragmented way, associated 'ring-fenced' budgets and established management assumptions represent obstacles to implementing 'systemic solutions'. However, flexible implementation of legacy regulations recognising their primary purpose, rather than slavish adherence to detailed sub-clauses, may achieve greater overall public benefit through optimisation of outcomes across ecosystem services. Systemic solutions are not a panacea if applied merely as 'downstream' fixes, but are part of, and a means to accelerate, broader culture change towards more sustainable practice. This necessarily entails connecting a wider network of interests in the formulation and design of mutually-beneficial systemic solutions, including for example spatial planners, engineers, regulators, managers, farming and other businesses, and researchers working on ways to quantify and optimise delivery of ecosystem services. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Citation
Everard, M., & McInnes, R. (2013). Systemic solutions for multi-benefit water and environmental management. Science of the Total Environment, 461-462, 170-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.05.010
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Sep 1, 2013 |
Deposit Date | Jun 13, 2013 |
Journal | Science of the Total Environment |
Print ISSN | 0048-9697 |
Electronic ISSN | 1879-1026 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 461-462 |
Pages | 170-179 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.05.010 |
Keywords | ecosystem services, integrated constructed wetlands, washlands, sustainable drainage systems, treatment wetlands, systemic solutions |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/928045 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.05.010 |
You might also like
Hydropower: The good, the bad and the ugly
(2023)
Journal Article
Book review: Addicted to growth
(2023)
Digital Artefact
The importance of habitats: How and policy developments shaping the world of habitats?
(2023)
Presentation / Conference
British Wildlife Freshwater fishes report 2022
(2023)
Journal Article
Downloadable Citations
About UWE Bristol Research Repository
Administrator e-mail: repository@uwe.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search