Socioeconomic mechanisms preventing optimum use of ecosystem services: an interdisciplinary theoretical analysis

Ecosystems provide a wide range of services to so-ciety. Some forms of use affect the quality of the ecosystem, reducing its value for other users. This leads to a conflict of interest that is often settled through political processes, resulting in some form of regulation. We link theory on ecosystem re-sponse to theories from the socioeconomic branches of science to analyze the mechanisms be-hind two widespread problems associated with such political solutions. First, they often represent a com-promise rather than an integrative solution. We demonstrate that, particularly in sensitive ecosys-tems, integrative solutions yield a higher average social utility and imply a higher ecosystem quality