6533b86dfe1ef96bd12c9628
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Can green infrastructure help to conserve biodiversity?
Riikka PaloniemiJoanna CentMarianne KettunenJanne S. KotiahoEvangelia ApostolopoulouAnna Salomaasubject
0106 biological sciencesPublic AdministrationADOPTIONGeography Planning and Developmentta11720211 other engineering and technologiesBiodiversity02 engineering and technologyManagement Monitoring Policy and LawEnvironmental Science (miscellaneous)010603 evolutionary biology01 natural sciences12. Responsible consumptionEcosystem servicesGreen economyCONNECTIVITYenvironmental policy11. Sustainabilitymedia_common.cataloged_instanceEuropean commissionKNOWLEDGEbiodiversity governanceta519European UnionEuropean union1172 Environmental sciencesmedia_commonbusiness.industryEnvironmental resource management021107 urban & regional planningenvironmental governance15. Life on landEnvironmental governanceHabitat13. Climate actionta1181FRAGMENTATIONbusinessGreen infrastructureecosystem servicesdescription
The gradually decreasing connectivity of habitats threatens biodiversity and ecological processes valuable to humans. Green infrastructure is promoted by the European Commission as a key instrument for the conservation of ecosystems in the EU biodiversity strategy to 2020. Green infrastructure has been defined as a network of natural and semi-natural areas, designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. We surveyed Finnish experts' perceptions on the development of green infrastructure within the existing policy framework. Our results show that improving the implementation of existing conservation policy instruments needs to be an integral part of developing green infrastructure. Despite the potential of green infrastructure to benefit biodiversity, existing conceptual ambiguity of green infrastructure with rather complex role of ecosystem services – and the possible interpretation of this in practice – raises concerns regarding its ability to contribute to biodiversity conservation.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-01-01 | Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy |