Public Private Partnerships for the Governance and Management of Ecosystem Services : Exploring Current Challenges and Potentials of Common-Pool Resource

Protected areas and Natura 2000 sites requires that adequate management and use are planned and implemented for maintenance of the ecological status of these. In many geographical areas e.g. the karst landscape located in the NE Italy (see: Rodela, 2012) much of the Natura 2000 sites are located on land which is owned and managed collectively (common property regimes, hereinafter CPRs). Thus, suggesting these having a role to play not only in terms of use and management (customary use) but also maintenance of Natura 2000 sites according to contemporary policy programs and standards foreseen by these. For instance the European Union, with its recently adopted EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 (Action 5) is now pursuing the implementation of a conceptual framework which recognizes the dependence of our society on the natural environment and foresees the need to understand, identify and map ecosystem services across the EU [1]. Ecosystem services are identified as all benefits that people get from ecosystems and contribute to human well-being (MA, 2005). This includes all different ecosystem services including cultural aspects embedded into landscapes. On this specific aspect a further document, the European Landscape Convention (2003) exposes the need to take into account different stakeholders and their needs with the aims to develop a complex management and governance able to maintain cultural landscapes. There is, thus, a role to be played by CPRs to contribute at the maintenance of ecosystem services (supporting, regulating and cultural ES). This workshop was a collaboration between researchers at Södertörn University and at Anton Melik Geographical Institute ZRC SAZUEnvironmental Governance in Contex