Green Economies and Ecosystem Services

Objectives

In Europe there are areas with substantial green infrastructure and resources, but few people. As well as being sparsely populated, these areas are also often difficult to access. This project will explore the ways in which communities within such spaces address the interdependence and coevolution of green and blue economies and ecosystem services through enterprising forms of collaborative and resourceful practice. Special attention will be paid to the actions and learning that take place in the multi-layered networks of citizens, their associations, private and public sector organisations and political decision makers. This will include their identification of ways to safeguard the resilience of these places whilst simultaneously also utilizing the green and blue assets for local and wider societal returns. The research will investigate economic mechanisms which support community-led environmental action, especially social investment. (As a potential case: Kvarken Archipelago, listed on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list)

Expected Results

Mechanisms for dealing with contradictions arising from green asset utilisation and local (economic and environmental) resilience; Theorisation of resilient practices of green and blue asset utilisation; Economic mechanisms for transforming local resources into high-value community assets.